Tibard celebrates its 40th year

July 5 marked the 40th year since Tibard, a leading chefswear and hospitality uniform provider, first opened for business.

Founded by husband and wife John and Sue Shonfeld in Mottram, Tameside in 1979, Tibard has long been the clothing of the hospitality industry. Originally it was just the two of them, selling chef jackets and providing laundry services to local restaurants. Since that day, the business grew exponentially into a leading manufacturer and supplier of uniforms to all business sectors.

As of 2019, Tibard employs more than a 120 people in the UK including expert machinists, designers and engineers at its newly expanded manufacturing facility in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester. Tibard now makes over 10,000 workwear items a week for chefs, front-of-house and kitchen staff. With customers including some of the biggest restaurant chains in the country, including TGI Fridays, Pizza Express and Wagamamas, Tibard is incredibly proud to serve such corporate groups as a family business.

Reflecting on the past 40 years, founder John Shonfeld, said: “Tibard was born out of the local hospitality industries need for high-quality chefswear and this expanded to supplying restaurants with a reliable resource for all their uniform but being a family run business I believe makes us special as we’re approaching business with a personal approach that extends to everyone from customers to partners to employees.”

On July 5, Tibard hosted customers, suppliers and staff both old and new to a day of celebrations including an open house at the newly renovated 60,000sq ft site in Tameside, Greater Manchester where stakeholders were invited to tour the new facility. The day’s festivities went into the night with an official anniversary party at the Village Hotel, where everyone celebrated this momentous occasion.

Managing director, Ian Mitchell, added: “Showing appreciation to staff, customers and suppliers is important to us. A company like ours is built off the relationships we have with people around the country, and we wanted to bring everyone together for one night because we couldn’t have built such a successful company if it wasn’t for everyone who works tirelessly to make Tibard the place it is today.”

Over the past 40 years, Tibard has made millions of garments proudly worn in venues and businesses across the UK and is ready for the next 40 with its expanded operational capabilities.