A major employer in my constituency plays a key role in keeping people safe at work – and made the uniforms for the London 2012 Olympics.
Arco Clothing Centre in Preston is a major facility for the decoration, customisation and distribution of safety workwear and PPE.
I pulled on a hi-vis and work boots to tour the factory with operations director Ed Corbett and his team where I saw the care and precision that goes into this huge operation.
Impressive growth
The business, which has its head office in Hull, employs around 200 people locally and clothing operations represent more than £30m turnover annually. It actually started life in 2002 in Garstang with a couple of sewing machines in a lock-up, so the growth has been impressive.
Inclusive
Arco prides itself on offering the best quality clothing and champions the message that cheaper may also mean an item fails to comply with safety regulations if it’s not the right shade or orange or yellow. There’s an emphasis on comfort for all, too and I looked at vests, gilets and shirts designed specifically for women, as well as items made from recycled materials.
Once a customer has chosen their clothing, logos and other customisations are designed by the digital team before being embroidered in the busy factory. Previous pieces of work have included producing the uniforms for the London 2012 Olympics and, as we walked round, I recognised some logos from local businesses being stitched onto garments.
Parliamentary input
I was interested to hear about Arco’s work with some of my colleagues as part of the Respiratory Health All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). It recently took part in a roundtable discussion on silicosis, lung disease caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica.
I’ll be keeping in touch with the team if there’s anything I can assist with and I’m really grateful for the time they spent showing me round.
