Initially formed in 2003 to develop a range of promotional clothing for Kenwood Electronics UK, today Rad Sheep Sportswear uses dye sublimation to print polyester sportswear for a range of sports teams - from rugby and football to ice hockey and lacrosse.

In 2004 the company moved to its current premises in Redmoor Mill, High Peak, where it began to develop an extensive range of custom made team and leisurewear. Earlier this year it expanded dramatically by acquiring the assets of J Nuttall & Co - a long established manufacturer of rugby and cricket kits - which has allowed it to increase production levels and offer a wider range of decorated teamwear.

Rad Sheep Sportswear md Garry MacLaren explains the thinking behind the acquisition: "We used to use J Nuttall & Co's capacity to cut and sew for us, so when they went into liquidation in January 2008 we decided to buy them, otherwise we would have had to reduce our service.We managed to keep all the staff on, and expanded our management team by appointing Ken Jones as production manager and Tanya Hampshire as sales office manager, who between them have over 30 years' experience in sportswear manufacturing with Nuttalls. The company also did embroidery, so we were able to add that to our portfolio of services too."

Made in the UK

Taking on Nuttalls put Rad Sheep Sportswear in the rather unusual position of being able to say it manufactures in the UK, and gave it the capacity to produce 750 kits a week. "It's been a steep learning curve," says MacLaren. "We've merged the traditional cut and sew operation with the new digital side, and in doing so have regenerated an area of decline. The problem is that there is a skills gap - we can't get young people into sewing - but hopefully we are helping to make it more sexy."

So how did the company progress from supplying promotional clothing for Kenwood, to making sports shirts for local teams? Manchester Phoenix, an ice hockey team, is one of the company's biggest end user customers and was the first customer taken on after Kenwood. MacLaren explains how the team was pivotal in the company's growth: "We started off just doing promotional items for Phoenix, then about five years ago they asked about shirts as they'd been let down by their shirt supplier. So we spoke to another company that did dye sub and had them made up. At that time it was the beginning of the whole dye sub thing and we thought there might be a market for large format dye sublimation, so we looked at buying our own set up."

He continues: "Our biggest trade customer at that time had also been looking at sublimation for their rugby shirts and said they would use us if we set up a business."

Which, of course, is what MacLaren did, initially under the name of Rad Sheep Marketing (it became Rad Sheep Sportswear following the Nuttalls acquisition).

In some markets, like ice hockey, the company is quite well known, but ideally it wants to move into some of the other minority sports markets, such as lacrosse or volleyball. While some of this business can be generated by approaching local teams, much of it is done through word of mouth, says MacLaren. "There is quite a close knit community in these sorts of sports, so we get a lot of business from one team liking the look of another team's kit and asking where they got it from," he explains.

"Then when people come in they say, ‘I didn't realise you could do all this, here in the UK'. There is a so-called decline in British manufacturing, but here we are doing it."

One of the areas where the use of sublimation has exploded is in rugby shirts, says MacLaren. "Around 25% used to be sublimated and 75% cut and sewn with vinyls and embroidery added on, but now it's the other way round," he says. "This is what we've found from working with our biggest trade customer, a major manufacturer of rugby wear.

"Working with Rad Sheep Sportswear has enabled this customer to grow their business and create designs that couldn't really have been done before, or would have had to be done abroad, where lead-times are longer and there are more variables to contend with."

Being in the UK enables Rad Sheep Sportswear to offer fast turnaround when necessary, says MacLaren. "It means we can be a bit more flexible and can pull out all the stops if needs be.We're still up against people buying the kit from overseas themselves, but that approach doesn't work when halfway through a season someone else joins the team and new kits need to be printed up fast - that's where our service comes into its own." The service MacLaren and his 15-strong team offers also allows a team to take orders from their fans for replica shirts on an ad-hoc basis, rather than having to order hundreds of replica shirts in advance, which helps the team with that all-important cash flow.

No limit to design variations

Using sublimation also offers many different design variations that you couldn't otherwise achieve, he adds. "Things like ghosting, drop shadows and blending just couldn't be done any other way.

The only limit in design is the imagination. There is also no extra cost for all the logos often used on these shirts, but if you were using a different form of decoration you'd be charged per logo. You can even mix and match fabrics within the same garment." The only issue with dye sub is really one of educating the customer, says MacLaren. "They might think they want embroidery, but if we show them the look they can achieve with sublimation they will often change their mind. Although since acquiring Nuttalls of course, we can do both."

The company uses two large format dye sublimation printers, which run for 20 hours a day, and one rotary heat press. Some print jobs run to sheet, others roll to roll, depending on the colours, explains MacLaren. The print outs are then matched up to a pre-cut fabric panel, then put through the rotary heat press. Some jobs simply require printing, but any work requiring cut and sew as well is done under the company's own brand. For these jobs Rad Sheep Sportswear uses the traditional polyester sublimation fabrics, but it does a lot of work researching and developing new fabrics. Customers currently using this service include Manchester Phoenix; New Mills AFC (who Ryan Giggs' brother plays for); and Sale Sharks.

Like all companies in the current economic climate, Rad Sheep is under pressure to manage the rising costs of raw materials and labour. But the real challenge is keeping up with demand and trying to maintain a steady growth, says MacLaren. "There are so many different sports we could go after that we probably haven't even heard of. But we've got to be able to manage our growth.

"Our plan is to become a major player in the minority sports markets.We also want to be a quality supplier and not get bogged down by price. We are looking for steady growth and investment in new machinery."

MacLaren believes that the 2012 Olympics will help boost the company's future growth - "anything that raises the profile of a sport is good for us" - and says there is room to grow at the current site for the next three to four years.

In terms of specific target markets, the company is aiming to raise the profile of its brand in Rugby Union and recently signed a contract with Rugby Union premiership team the Sale Sharks, to sponsor its schools programme and pre-match clinics. "This will get us into schools and clubs in the North West, enabling us to build relationships with the schools direct.We will also be on the Sale Sharks' website as their main sponsor," says MacLaren.

Other future target markets include cricket, rugby, basketball and volleyball. MacLaren believes the recent surge of interest in 20/20 cricket will benefit the company, because unlike in test match cricket where the teams wear traditional whites, in 20/20 they wear coloured flannels. "Even some of the bigger clubs are now putting their juniors in the less traditional shirts, and as more and more sponsors come into first class cricket, it can only help," says MacLaren.

Lacrosse is currently the company's biggest growing market, as the sport becomes more popular in places like universities, where for many it is now an official sport. Rad Sheep Sportswear is involved in the forthcoming 2010 world lacrosse championships and also sponsors http://www.laxforums.eu/ which is a European lacrosse forum.

The next logical step forward for the company would be to take on specialist agents (ex-players who go out on the road and sell to their target markets) although it is an area that requires careful consideration, as MacLaren explains: "The downside to that is if the customer being approached really doesn't like that particular ex-player or their team!" But for now Rad Sheep Sportswear will just be taking things one team at a time.

Web: http://www.radsheep.co.uk/

Tel: 0845 680 1749

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