Embroidery promoting the manufacturer is normally done at source these days and that is, disappointingly, all too often overseas but often for bespoke embroidery it is done locally. Ironically, although much development had been done in making it easier and more productive for the "at source" embroiderer, little changed to help the local decorator. However, a few years ago some companies started to change that.

"There seemed to be an impasse between garment manufacturers and machine developers as to who should make changes to enable easier and more successful decoration," says Tony Whitmore. "One blamed the other and continually put the onus on "them making the changes" and not "we". What it needed was for someone to step forward and develop a joint strategy."

Two of the companies that did this were Beechfield, one the major suppliers of caps, and Your Embroidery Services, one of the UK's leading suppliers to the embroidery industry, who not so much worked together but, rather, developed a symbiotic relationship where one took notice of the other, he says. Each looked at the other's products and was willing to accept comment, criticism and advice on how things could be changed to make production easier and more successful. The types of backing, for instance, were looked at by the embroidery expert, YES Ltd, and the findings were passed on to the cap manufacturer, Beechfield, who absorbed this information and passed it on to their customers.

More significant changes came when Beechfield took the decision to invest in machinery so that it could experience any problems its customers encountered. By doing this it was then able to make design changes that resulted in a smoother workflow and, to put in plainly, a nicer looking embroidered cap. As it had already formed a good relationship with YES the obvious machine was the SWF single head industrial machine, the T1201C.

Regardless of what was done to the design of the cap, one of the hurdles to the embroiderer was the time it took to change from flat to tubular embroidery. In some cases, depending on the machine, this took an inordinate length of time and was a deterrent to many embroiderers. This was recognised and discussions took place about how this could be changed, resulting in the development of the SWF Quick Change Cap Frame System, explains Tony.

This system allows the embroiderer to change to cap embroidery in seconds and not minutes. In fact none of those semi-mechanical changes normally associated with changing over are involved at all. The machine stays as it is with just the frame being changed. It is more or less no different to changing from polo shirts to T-shirts.

"The bonus is that, because of the relationship between the two companies, the cap fits (to coin a phrase)," he says. "Caps are an obvious part of everyday sportswear these days. You only have to watch any sport on TV and you will see someone wearing a cap. It may be a trainer or a player but one thing is certain it is difficult to find a sport where the humble baseball cap does not appear either as sportswear or sports promotional wear.

"There is another item where this type of joint activity took place but it is one that you may not immediately associate with sport. I am talking about the humble bag, which is used in some form in every sport. Here again a relationship grew up between YES Ltd and Quadra, who pooled information to produce a better, more suitable, product."

Techniques and equipment were also investigated, particularly framing which was always a problem for bag embroidery. Quadra even redesigned some of its product lines so that the bag could be put straight onto the machine without the usual time consuming slitting of seams and removal of stiffeners, says Tony.

That being said bags were still a pain to frame, both physically and mentally, so YES launched the clamp frame into the UK. This simple device removed the arduous task of forcing the standard frame together by replacing it with a clamp, which would grip the bag in its jaws whilst supporting the rest of the product.

"Although not unique, this type of relationship happens all too infrequently in our industry," says Tony. "YES, together with Beechfield and Quadra, have demonstrated the sort of results that can be achieved by working together and not in isolation. The developments may have been small on an individual basis but they have resulted in major steps forward increasing production and profitability for those who take advantage of them."

For more information about any of the products mentioned contact Your Embroidery Services Ltd on 01623 863343 or by e-mail at sales@yesltd.co.uk

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