Focus on UK Manufacturing
Proudly designed and made in Wales
Many years ago garment manufacturers could be found in abundance in Wales. One by one they have closed up shop, as the work has been taken overseas. Now only one corporatewear manufacturer remains.
P&P editor Melanie Attlesey reports. I
t makes for sorry listening, when MD of First Corporate Clothing, Mal Davies, begins to list all of the garment manufacturers that have left Wales in recent years.
Dewhirst, which once boasted five plants in Wales, shut its last factory in 2002 resulting in the loss of 168 jobs and more than 1,400 in total. Dewhirst was badly affected when its major customer from the high street withdrew its orders, taking the work overseas instead. In February 2009, womenʼs clothing manufacturer Alexon shut its doors for the last time. All manufacturing at the site was moved overseas in 2003 with the loss of 190 jobs, but around 35 staff were kept on to run a fabric warehousing and storage facility, testing laboratory and a clearance shop on site until it closed eight years ago.
The most recent garment manufacturer to leave Wales was Robinson Webster Production, which once manufactured clothing for high-end fashion brands such as Jigsaw. The Neath factory was closed in 2014, resulting in the loss of 34 jobs.
Bucking the trend However, Port Talbot-based First Corporate Clothing is bucking the trend and has remained true to its UK manufacturing heritage. Formed in 1998 by Mal, whose background lies in high street fashion, First Corporate Clothing employs 20 machinists who manufacture everything from a ladies blouse, to a shirt or jacket through to bespoke pieces of corporatewear. The level and the skill of these workers is extremely high, and Mal says it can take six months to train someone to learn how to sew together a blouse, before even learning how to sew a pair of trousers. However, it is a skill set which Mal says is declining among the youth of the UK as many school leavers do not see this line of work as a viable career path. “Itʼs not like Coronation Street, where you can take someone from the café to work straight away in the factory. These machinists are highly skilled professionals,” he adds. To stress the benefits that companies can expect when working with UK garment manufacturers, Mal refers to a blouse made for a prominent high street retailer that he says around 15 years ago could be seen at every Christmas party up and down the country. Given the popularity of the garment, local factories could turn it around really quickly to replenish stock, something which an overseas factory would now struggle to do. Mal explains: “Now retailers have to predict fashions and commit to stock well in advance. When you take manufacturing overseas response times go down and these days factories in the Far East are no longer price competitive.”
A true corporatewear specialist
As the name suggests First Corporate Clothing is a specialist in the manufacture of corporatewear. Clients include those in the
| 54 | September 2017 Mal Davies in the factory It’s not like Coronation Street,
where you can take someone from the café to work straight away in the factory. These machinists are highly skilled professionals. – Mal Davies, MD, First Corporate Clothing
hospitality, banking and front of house sectors. At present the company is working with the Royal Albert Hall for a complete uniform redesign.
Over the years the company has become an expert in its field and manages well the hurdles that come with manufacturing corporatewear, for it is a whole different ball game to manufacturing for the high street.
When manufacturing for the high street factories are only required to consider garments, generally speaking, for one gender or age bracket. However, for the corporatewear market a designer has to consider making a stock range that is flexible for all ages, genders and sizes.
The fabrics used are also completely different. Garments on the high street are not designed for longevity, whereas a corporate uniform needs to have both washability and durability. This is where First Corporate Clothing comes into its own. Mal says that his companyʼs USP is the design team. This small, but
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