The last leg of the tour was on familiar turf - at Sandy Park, home to Exeter Chiefs rugby club. And if the Exeter event was anything to go by, PenCarrie has a hit on its hands.

"It's probably the world's most expensive team building exercise!" David Abraham quips, as we settle down for a chat in PenCarrie's boardroom. "It's a testament to everyone on the bus that we're still talking to each other."

Immaculately dressed, with carefully matched accessories, Jill Granger breezes into her Colchester office with a warm smile and a polite inquiry about my journey. She sympathises when I say it's been awful. An hour stuck on the M25. Jill is at once, friendly and down to earth.

It isn't about being the biggest, it's about being the best, managing director Inder Jain tells me as he shows me some of his latest bits of kit. In front of us is an 18-head Barudan. The only one in Europe. And, there are probably three more on the way.

Set up by founding directors Andrew Talbot and Andy Barton in 1999, PromoServe Business Systems have specialised in providing technology solutions to the promotional products, corporate clothing and print industries since 2005, and have more than 1000 customers worldwide.

I manage a quick "Through the Keyhole" type snoop around TheMagicTouch (TMT) foyer before managing director Jim Nicol arrives to greet me. In the words of Howard Carter opening up Tutankhamen's tomb, I discover all manner of "wonderful things", from transfer printed designer bags and Dr Marten boots to a Pandora's Box full of colourful personalised giftware.

As long as there are kids, there will be a need for school uniform. So acquiring schoolwear supplier Stag was a no-brainer for Blue Max.

Blue Max already had a proven track record in supplying primary and secondary school wear so Stag was a tantalising proposition with its complementary range of blazers, shirts, trousers, skirts and specialist tartan skirts.

Strange but true: when the Spice Girls exploded onto the music and fashion scene, they were indirectly responsible for the success of garment decorators Essential (formerly Essential Embroidery Design Ltd). Editor, Debbie Eales visited the company's new 18,000 sq ft premises in Dunstable to meet founder, George Georgiou, following a £100,000 spend on in-house screen printing

With a portfolio of top drawer brands distributed in the UK through PenCarrie, Ralawise and Prestige, Lea Sportswear has more than established itself in the quality, style and performance stakes.

We know exactly how green ours is. Our paper mills are inspected, certified and uphold rigorous standards, enabling us to offer a range of paper products with the knowledge that we are helping to take care of mother earth, for a "brighter shade of green".

A modular embroidery system with automatic tensioning and speeds of up to 1,500 stitches a minute, is proving a winner for Petersfield-based Amaya Sales UK Ltd, which has seen some record sales months since the Autumn.

As part of Edun, the socially-conscious clothing company founded by Ali Hewson and rock star husband, Bono, Edun Live's mission is to promote sustainable employment in sub-Saharan Africa through bulk sales of blank and organic T shirts. Debbie Eales talks to Edun Live's business development manager, Christine Driscoll, about the company's ethos and the positive impact it is having on the Third World.

Losing is just not an option at Team Colours. Since Stanley Rogers and his wife Pearl founded the company in the late '70s, the business has been totally transformed. This Hertfordshire-based family firm was forced into making significant organisational changes, as its core business - manufacturing garments for the major catalogue companies - evaporated overnight. They simply could not compete with Far East companies offering the same for less. Some quick thinking was required.

With more than two decades of industry success to its name, Mantex Embroideries Ltd has plenty to celebrate as it fast approaches its 25th anniversary year.

Maintaining a position at the cutting edge of trade screen printing world is a tough challenge, yet one Screenworks is equal to. Neill Barston met the firm's MD Andy Gilmour to find out more about what makes the company tick.

As a business model, Mary Fawcus's philosophy of supplying quality products and smart service at realistic prices has proven a winning formula.

Famed as the city that never sleeps, New York is rarely without a statement to make in fashion styling and clothing stakes.

From starting out working a Saturday job at Harrods as a student, Atul Lakhani has come a long way.