National Work Clothing LTD. News: "NATIONAL WORK CLOTHING: Then and Now"

National Work Clothing LTD. News: "NATIONAL WORK CLOTHING: Then and Now": "As many in our industry are already aware, National Work Clothing Ltd. is well-known for its custom workwear manufacturing. What ..."

"NATIONAL WORK CLOTHING: Then and Now"

As many in our industry are already aware, National Work Clothing Ltd. is well-known for its custom workwear manufacturing. What most people don't know is that NWC got its start back in 1981, as a rainwear manufacturer called R.T. Sainthill & Son, out of North Sydney, NS. That year my father, Lolek Morawiecki, was offered the job of Research & Development/General Manager of Sainthill’s, and relocated to the East Coast from Norton Safety Products (now North) in Rexdale, Ontario. Sainthill’s supplied clients such as Ontario Hydro, City Of Toronto, QIT (QUEBEC IRON & TITAINIUM) and QNS&L ( QUEBEC NORTH SHORE & LABRADOR) with large amounts of industrial rainwear. 

My father bought out and took over the company in 1987 and changed its name to Great Bras d’Or Rainwear. Not long afterwards, my mother Jeannette joined the company as production manager  The company continued to manufacture quality products such as rain jackets, rain pants, long coats, aprons and sleeves. The first work clothing to come off their production line was a labcoat-style product designed for use in fish plants of the east.  The company quickly saw the potential of this type of product. So, in 1993 the company expanded - purchasing a work clothing manufacturing plant in northern New Brunswick and moving production to a newly purchased plant in Sydney Mines, NS.  The new company was incorporated and renamed National Work Clothing Ltd.  

NWC continued to manufacture rainwear and work clothing successfully until the early 1990s, when cheap rainwear began flooding the market from the Far East.  By the late 1990s, by which point my wife Lisa and I had joined the company, sales had dropped considerably - to the point that it was no longer feasible for the company to tie up its working capital by purchasing large amounts of PVC-on-polyester material in three colours, which were slow to move. Despite much protest from loyal distributors and end-users of rainwear products, pressure from market forces meant that a "no choice" decision was made to dissolve the rainwear line.  NWC then regrouped and focused its efforts on research and development of new and improved workwear products.

In late 2009, I sat down with my wife and my parents, and began discussing the logistics of taking over NWC Ltd.  One thing we knew for certain was that NWC produced durable, good-quality, comfortable, Canadian-made workwear.  In considering how we could revitalize the company and take it into the twenty-first century, we spent time identifying existing challenges in our production, and finding solutions to these.  Two of our biggest challenges were:

1.     Workforce and Plant Location: Although the core full-time NWC employees working out of the Sydney Mines plant were loyal, labour market conditions in the region meant that it proved extremely difficult to find and train new employees. Without a large, trained production staff, we couldn't take on large orders.  We needed to tap into a market with a more qualified manufacturing workforce. Also, a more central location in Canada would allow us to save on freight costs of fabrics coming in and product going out. These savings would allow us to raise our profit margins and still maintain competitively-priced products.

Our solution was to move the plant to its current location in Elmira, ON. Being just twenty minutes north of Guelph, it is also in proximity to Kitchener-Waterloo. These three cities have a large, ready-made workforce trained for manufacturing industries. Moving to Ontario also brought NWC closer to its suppliers, which saves considerable freight expenditure.

2.     Research & Development: Although NWC has always been known to possess a versatile production floor, in the 1990s we found ourselves going head-to-head with producers in the Far East, which meant tying up our production floor with low-profit-margin products. A fresh approach and new direction was needed in terms of research into and development of new product offerings.

Our solution has been to focus on smaller, more custom lines of work clothing. Because of the smaller scale of this production, the Far East is much less likely to do this type of business. This ensures our product continues to be made in Canada, by a Canadian manufacturer. 

To develop these new product lines, NWC went out into the workforce to see what workers wanted in work clothing, and developed innovative lines with products that are safe, comfortable, and easily personalized.  These lines include "Women At Work Wear" (a line of work clothing designed by women, for women), "DuraDuck" (heavy-duty cotton duck workwear developed for the hardest labourers) and "Lanyard Slot" (clothing and rainwewar manufactured with a 3” slot in the upper back of the product which allows the worker to wear a safety harness under the workwear and pass the lanyard through, it makes for a safer, more comfortable garment.)

Now, due to customer demand, NWC is proud to relaunch its rainwear line, now known as "DuraGear". Three of NWC’s former customers, who had bought our rainwear in the past and later switched to imported product from the Far East, recently told us their concerns about the imported goods’ quality, delivery, customization, and pricing.  Production in the Far East is not what it was a decade ago; a Chinese middle class is now growing rapidly.  Higher labour costs in China are pushing production costs up, and rainwear which was once inexpensive to import is no longer that cheap. We at NWC felt that the time was right to relaunch our rainwear back onto the Canadian market. Ours is a proven, quality product that is made to last - but we knew that in order to be competitive in today’s market, we would have to find an edge or niche. We sat down with our supplier and did just that!  Now, we are pleased to offer industrial-strength, fire-retardant, oil-, rot- and mildew-resistant DuraGear rainwear in custom colors and exact Pantones.  Feedback from our customers has been incredibly encouraging!  NWC plans to have eight regular colours in stock, with a 75-suit minimum order for custom Pantones. Until now this variety has been virtually unavailable on the market.  Still in the concept stages, we are presently working on three large contracts which are being kept confidential until our customized product launch later this month.

NWC will continue to expand to what market will allow, and will continue to develop and produce safe, durable, Canadian made products to the specs of what people want in work wear.

Why Is The Cost Of Cotton At A 15-Year High?

Cotton prices are above $1 per pound, the first time since 1995. Prices have risen more than 40% since July due to strong demand, tight supplies, and strong buying from speculators. Prices may continue to stay above a $1 per pound though 2011 as global demand exceeds supplies, creating an imbalance that will not be solved anytime soon.

Supply concerns have been prominent around the world as floods in Pakistan, heavy rains in China, and India capping cotton exports have led global inventories in 2010 to decline to roughly 45 million bales, the lowest since 1996.

by: Greyson S. Colvin

Over the past 10 years NWC Ltd. has seen a 50% rise in the manufacturing of 100% cotton work wear. This is due mostly to safety and comfort.  (cotton unlike poly/cotton does not melt and stick to skin when burned and also does not absorb perspiration like 100% cotton does) Although its not going to impact NWC a great deal, customers can expect a minimal increase in work wear pricing over the next few months.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMIZED WORKWEAR

Customized work wear have many perks when compared to blank, unimprinted workwear.  When I say workwear, I'm talking about any type of clothing, coveralls, overalls, jackets, pants and outerwear, rain suits, uniforms, safety gear, aprons,shop coats, lab coats, hats and hard hats, etc... basically anything that you buy (or is supplied by your company) that you wear to work.  So what's the big deal?  Does it really matter if your company's name or logo is printed on the coveralls you wear to work each day?  Here are three good reasons to go with the imprinted corporate apparel or workwear as opposed to their plain old counterparts.

1. Self Worth:  Employees like to feel needed, and they like to feel as though they are valued by their employer.  When employees are given a uniform or workwear freshly embroidered or screen printed with your company's logo, it gives them more of a sense of belonging.  If you're a company that values its workers, those workers will be proud to wear the company logo.  This sense of self worth is taken to yet another level when the workwear or uniform is personalized.  That's to say that the employee's name is printed along with the company name or logo.  When an employee feels valued and knows they are an important piece of the puzzle, they will put forth a superior effort, every single time.

2. Advertising:  When your company has its logo imprinted on uniforms or workwear, it suddenly becomes multi-functional.  Not only is the workwear serving its purpose as a uniform or protection from work hazards or the elements, it is now a walking billboard.  Every time an employee wearing the imprinted apparel comes into contact with somebody outside the organization, whether it be a customer or just someone they pass on the street on their way to or from work, you are putting your company's name in front of many people every day.  And some of those people are potential customers.

3. Presentation:  A nicely customized, two-tone coverall, or rain suit just looks better than blank apparel. This give the company a more uniformed and branded look! You took the time to design an innovative, impactful logo, so why not add a creative punch to your company's uniforms, or workwear by customizing it with that catchy logo?  Make it pop!  That once ordinary article of clothing is now a sharp-looking corporate outfit with a high perceived value.

As you can see, there are definite advantages to imprinting your corporate apparel and workwear.  For more information, please visit our www.nwcltd.ca website.  Our selection of corporate imprintable wearables is among the most uniqiue in the industry, and with our state of the art customizing techniques your company will be the talk of the town.