timesTRAN

EMO

WO

RKW

EAR ESTABLISHED IN

1934

YEARS OF

EXPERIENCE

TERA TX New collectionsT-MORE

Things rarely turn out as you expect

Inga and Håkan Larsson talk about taking over Tranemo Textil. Page 4

In adversity lay the seeds of success

Roger Johansson talks about inherent Flame Retardant. Page 7

Large orders roll in

Tranemo Workwear AS, Norway. Page 3

Cutting department

Tradition rules in Great Britain

Tranemo Workwear LTD, Great Britain. Page 2

2014 edition no. 01

Sewing department

T-M

ORE

2 TRANEMO WORKWEAR TIMES 01, 2014

Softshell jacket 3530 48 21Trouser 3550 28 07

Is there is a difference between the view on workwear in Great Britain and Sweden?

Arjan Piet, Tranemo Workwear’s Managing Director responded with “Oh yes!”. Ten years ago, if anybody would try to sell workwear in any colour other than navy, they would be met by a “Oh, dear, how very European”- and not in a positive way!

“It has a lot to do with the history of British industry” explains Sales Director Danny Hemmings.

By tradition ”British industry was rough, tough and dirty. We’re talking mines and steel mills. You wore what to hand.

“We’ve only had a market for quality workwear for 25-30 years, not 80 years as in Sweden” Danny Hemmings continues. “We’re used to navy or black, in a simple design. Scandinavian workwear, in black and grey or contrasting stitching – Oh, no!”

Tradition rules in Great Britain“But we are slowly catching up – the UK adopts

changes much more slowly but we are definitely moving in the right direction” Danny Hemmings confesses.

Arjan adds the tale of a customer whose employees were assigned five boilersuits per week, one for each day.

“They weren’t happy about the existing quality so they bought some garments from us. A year later, when I went to visit them again, I saw that four of the boilersuits were still in their original packaging. This one lasts the whole week, the worker told me, and I just bring it home for a wash over the weekend!”

Sales office in the UKThe sales office in the UK also handles sales

in Ireland, Iceland and the Middle East. The UK subsidiary was established in 2001, originally in London but now operates from Cramlington, just North of Newcastle.

“The office has been situated in different places during the years, but Cramlington gives us a perfect location from which to supply our markets in the UK, Ireland, Iceland and further afield areas such as

Tranemo Workwear Times 01, 2014Project manager: Mia OlssonLayout: Mona ElwingReportages: Tina Hjorth Svensson Image photos: Daniela FerroPortrait photos: Boel Ferm, Britt-Marie Karlsson

When users are satisfied

Being a family business gives us a different

perspective on entrepreneurship. We don’t

consider high turnover and large profits

as everything. For us, it’s more about

creating the right products with the right

protection and function. Our aim is to

protect professional workers and simplify

their everyday work.

To achieve this, we must

reinvest in the business

and create the conditions

necessary to further develop

the company and the products

we market. This is illustrated

in particular by our fire

protection range, now the

leading range in Europe, which

is developed in conjunction

with users in numerous global

companies.

From the CEO

“We are only satisfied when users are proud of the clothes they are wearing.”

Max Larsson, CEO

3TRANEMO WORKWEAR TIMES 01, 2014

Jernbaneverket chooses Tranemo Workwear

Text från Tranemo Workwear England

Tradition rules in Great Britain the Middle East and Africa” says Danny, who started working with the company in 2004.

The reason for establishing in UK was the fact that Tranemo Workwear’s factory in Portugal lost clients who started their own factories, hence the decision was taken to establish a European sales network.

To sell a Swedish brand in the UK, does it work?“The British market is a bit different from the rest of

Europe. Other than the historics as we’ve mentioned, price is more of an issue here. British customers are mainly driven by low prices rather than quality, and 75 percent of the market is oriented that way. The rest, those 25 percent who understand the the importance of quality and the advantage of properly certified garment - are becoming more aware of our brand.”

Tranemo Workwear isn’t the only brand marketed by the sales office in the UK.

“It’s the core, but we also market Lyngsøe Rainwear and ID Identity” says Arjan Piet.

“In Sweden and Finland, you want to focus on warm winter clothes. But you know with the weather in Britain and Ireland, there is a lot of rain all year, so there is a big need for waterproof clothing!”

Arjan PietTitle: MDLives: Morpeth, NorthumberlandFamily: Wife, children James 16 and Annelies 14Interests: Walking with their Border Terrier in the countryside. Running. Parent Governor of a school for disabled children run by The Percy Hedley Foundation.Team: Newcastle United

Danny HemmingsTitle: Sales DirectorLives: NottinghamFamily: MarriedInterests: Travelling. Preferably cruises - in that way you get to see a lot, but you only have to unpack once! Golf. Team: Nottingham Forest

Jernbaneverket has revealed that it will issue its 2600 employees with work wear and protective clothing from Tranemo Workwear in the coming year.

“We are especially proud that they have chosen our products, since they placed great importance on quality, comfort and safety when making their choice” explained a very satisfied Pål Branderud, General Manager at Tranemo Workwear AS.

Our products were compared with products from other manufacturers and tested by employees throughout Norway. The employees felt that the protective clothing from Tranemo Workwear was the absolute best. In addition, Jernbaneverket stipulated numerous other criteria including price, environment and delivery.

Tranemo Textil has invested considerable resources in the development of flame-retardant clothing in recent years, and offers one of the most comprehensive ranges on the market.

“We have an unique concept based on Cantex quality fabric, developed by Tranemo Texil itself. We don’t use flame retardant chemicals, instead the material’s flame retardant properties are built into the structure of the fibres. This provides permanent protection against flame which cannot be washed out or worn away” explains Pål Branderud.

Although the subsidiary was established as recently as 2007, Norway is Tranemo Textils’ leading export country.

“Exports here began in the early nineties through an agent” explains Pål Branderud, CEO of the Norwegian company, which he runs together with Marketing Manager Frank Melbye and Sales Manager Tom Roger Melby.

An exciting startThe new company’s first year was somewhat turbulent.“A competitor copied large parts of our range, but it was obvious that the clothes were not of the same

quality as ours” reveals Frank Melbye, admitting that there was no shortage of anxious moments during that period.

Today it’s a different story. They joke that they simply sit in the office answering the phone, and the orders roll in of their own accord. Of course, it’s not quite that simple. Pål, who looks after sales in northern Norway, explains that flights are like routine bus journeys in the more densely populated areas.

“We take off... we land, one or two people get on or off, we take off again… we land, and so it goes on.”

Seven people currently work at Tranemo Workwear AS in Norway, four salespeople and three office staff. Turnover has substantially increased in recent years.

“Our Flame Retardant range has contributed to the increase” says Tom Roger. “When we started out, we didn’t sell any Flame Retardant work wear at all.”

In Norway they like to celebrate. It’s the same at Tranemo Workwear, an opportunity arose a few years ago when they received an email from the Norwegian National Rail Administration, Jernbaneverket. Pål couldn’t quite believe his eyes, and called in Frank to his office: ”What does it say?”

“The e-mail said we’d got a contract to supply Jernbaneverket with protective clothing, a huge order” explains Frank with a grin, “then we went out and had a slap-up dinner!”

Don’t you ever get complaints?“Well yes” says Tom Roger, after a pause. “We had a female buyer call to say she wasn’t

satisfied with the kneepad pockets on the trousers she’d ordered. She thought the holes were the wrong way round - her keys kept falling out!”

“It is exciting and inspiring to work with an organisation like Jernbaneverket which places such importance on comfort, quality and, in particular, safety - it’s not something that’s left to chance. We feel that fits very well with the Tranemo concept”, said Pål Branderud.

Pål Branderud, Tom Roger Melby and Frank Melbye

Large orders roll in

4 TRANEMO WORKWEAR TIMES 01, 2014

Håkan and Inga Larsson had no plans to spend their lives in Tranemo. And they never dreamed they would take over Tranemo Textil from Inga’s father, Gustav Kjöllerström, who founded the company with several other factory owners in 1934. Håkan was a Chalmers University of Technology graduate and an engineer and had a good job in Motala. And Inga? She had no desire to move back to Tranemo.

It was always assumed that Inga’s brother, Karl-Gustav “K-G” Kjöllerström would take over Tranemo Textil. However, while working on his thesis for the Stockholm School of Economics, K-G took a closer look at the Swedish clothing industry and like others, came to the conclusion that it would soon be too expensive to produce clothes in Sweden.

One of the countries that appeared to have the right conditions for the textile industry was Portugal and in the late sixties, K-G relocated there to begin production. It was unrealistic to think he could also manage the sewing factory in Tranemo.

“Is there any chance that you might come home?” Gustav asked Håkan.

“In any case, or so I thought, at least I’d get a bit of management experience” says Håkan, who promised Inga that they would only stay in Tranemo for five years.

Things rarely turn out as you expectInga and Håkan Larsson never envisaged taking over Tranemo Textil

Not a single loss-making yearThe rest is history. At that time, Tranemo Textil had

just one customer - Stockhaus & Co - for whom we made trousers. In 1969, Tranemo Textil was making 1.1 million garments per year for its customer and felt the sharp loss when order volumes took a dip. The company’s prospects looked bleak. However, Håkan thought it would be a good idea to save money, rationalise and increase the efficiency of the business, thereby giving the company a solid foundation for the future.

“We have actually never had a single loss-making year” he proudly states.

A young, enthusiastic Håkan realised that other sewing factories had started to make jeans.

“Why can’t we do that too?” he thought, and because there was money in the coffers, he was able to quickly acquire the necessary machines.

“This was just when V-jeans were coming into fashion and we were producing all the big brands, Puss & Kram, Gul & Blå and Sgt Pepper” he remembers.Puss & Kram’s shop was on Västerlånggatan in Stockholm. When they first opened, there were long queues and all the jeans sold out immediately. The desperate shop owner called Tranemo that weekend.

“How quickly can you get more jeans to us?”And I remember that when the kids wanted branded jeans, I went down to the factory and got several pairs of jeans with different labels .

“Which brand do you want?” explains Inga.

Make 2000 boilersuitsHowever, the textile industry crisis was fast approaching. The chances of surviving as a contract sewing company looked slim. An alternative had to be found.

“We found two” reveals Håkan. “Firstly we started up a mechanical workshop, Tranemo Metal, which we sold when our son Max took over as CEO in 2008. Secondly we started making workwear. Our production factory in Portugal was great at making work boilersuits - the classic blue and green versions typical of the early seventies. Some of these were supplied to Fristad.”

“Can you make us 2000 boilersuits?” Gustav asked K-G. He then took the boilersuits and went to visit a customer in Falkenberg. Gustav paid one krona per boilersuit and the customer bought 1000 straight away.

“It’s really easy to sell workwear” thought Gustav before heading to the neighbouring village, Länghem, where he sold the rest.

“Then we took on Lars Bengtsson as a salesman, and carried on in a small way” explains Håkan.

K-G lives happily in PortugalThe plan was for Karl-Gustav “K-G” Kjöllerström to take over the company from his father, Gustav. However, that’s not how things turned out. After completing his Masters thesis at the Stockholm School of Economics, he realised that the future of the textile industry in Sweden was gloomy to say the least.

“I’m probably the only one who carried out such a study and who would actually have to suffer the consequences” he says, with a little laugh.

You have lived in Portugal since 1967. Tell us about it!

“It was so obvious that I would take over the company that the school careers adviser even said to me ”you’re the only one in the whole school who knows what they want to do when they leave!”. Then Dad wanted me to study and the choice was between textile engineering and economics. Because I hated chemistry, I chose the Stockholm School of Economics.

After graduating I worked a year for the Swedish Savings Bank Association in Stockholm and then my plan was either to move to another country or change branch. At the same time, both I and our only customer, Stockhaus in Stockholm, had seen the way the industry was heading.”

K-G first looked to Italy, where he went and started up a factory.

“But Portugal was the only low-wage country in the EFTA at the time, so Portugal it was.”

You had been there before, what did you think of the country?“I had driven around a bit and I thought it was terribly poor. I don’t want

to live here, I thought. Two years later I was back to set up the factory.”

Most sewing in Portugal is located in Porto, you were in Lisbon?“Haha! Yes, our customer and I were in Lisbon. We flew up to Porto for a

look around, but it was so foggy that the plane couldn’t land. We realised it didn’t matter whether the factory was in Lisbon or Porto, and it was easier to fly to Lisbon. So we set up there.”

In the beginning you rented premises, what about the workforce?“It was really easy! The factory was south of the river, where there was a

shipyard and a steelworks that employed a lot of men. Many of those who wanted to work for us were young women. Plus, we paid more than the Portuguese.”

How did you find running a company as a foreigner in Portugal?“Portugal is probably the only country I know where it is an advantage to

be a foreigner. Everything’s set up to help you. The factory in Portugal was always profitable with good, loyal staff in a flat organisation. But what K-G Kjöllerström is most proud of, is the social impact the factory had.”

“Among other things, we had the opportunity to give our staff access to doctors. The factory also had a crèche for the youngest children, a nursery for the older ones and tutoring for those of upper primary school age.”

But it wasn’t the plan for you to stay abroad?“The plan was that I would set up the factory and make sure we had

60 employees after six months. Then I would come home. After a year, we had 150 employees, eventually rising to 800, together with my old classmate from Tranemo, Jonny Ridefjord, plus 500 people doing contract sewing. I hadn’t the time to go home. And if I did go home, something always went wrong. Now I think: why should I go home to the weather you’re having?! You can keep it…”

Don’t you have the factory any more?“No, I don’t have the factory in Portugal or any involvement in Tranemo

Textil an longer, now I’m just a small customer.”

Karl-Gustav Kjöllerström

Håkan och Inga Larsson outside Tranemo Textil AB

5TRANEMO WORKWEAR TIMES 01, 2014

Fortunately, as the other contract sewing dropped off, sales of workwear increased, so we never had to lay off staff due to lack of work.

Should we bring in the orchestra?The workwear was gradually developed. However,

more dark clouds were gathering. We realized it was becoming too expensive to sew in Portugal.

K-G sold the Portuguese factory and the company set about looking for an alternative. By then, Inga had started to work as a buyer for the company. Among her contacts were the Danish/Swedish couple Britta and Mikael Ammitzböll. They had just found a huge Soviet-era factory in Bulgaria.

“OK, says Inga, you can have an order for 500 pairs of trousers and we’ll see how it goes.”

A little later Inga, Håkan and K-G visited Bulgaria. The Ammitzböll’s had found another, more modern factory with unused machines. Using the Ammitzbölls’ human capital and Tranemo Textil’s money, they founded TAC (Tranemo Ammitzböll Corporation), with production facilities in Plovdiv.

“Now it’s a gigantic factory and our production headquarters” says Håkan, with some satisfaction.

He explains that when he went there several years ago, Mikael had told a foreman, who used to work for a contract sewing company that made uniforms for Russia, that ”the Boss” was paying them a visit.

“Should we bring in the orchestra?” the foreman asked. Håkan laughs as he recalls the story.

HandoverApart from its very earliest days, Tranemo Textil has

always been a family company. Inga, Håkan and K-G have always worked together. However, in the early 2000’s, Inga and Håkan took over Tranemo Textil.

In 2008, Håkan handed over as CEO to their son, Max, while daughter Sofie took on her mother’s duties as purchasing manager. Just over a year ago the ownership was handed over to the children, Sofie, Catrine and Max.Although Håkan is past retirement age he has no desire to give up work completely.

“I still handle the finances and I’m here every morning working. It’s good to be around people and to use my head. But he leaves Max to get on with running the company, however, he’s happy to give advice if it’s needed.

And naturally, I keep an eye on the business as chairman of the board.”

“We don’t talk about work much at home” reveals Inga. “But we’re OK with doing it if there are occasional work-related concerns... but there haven’t been many at all!” Both agree that they’re always happy together and spend much of their free time together thanks to a shared interest in horses and sport.

“At least I’d get a bit of management experience.” Håkan Larsson

80 years of experience

Director Gustav Kjöllerström -42

2008 Håkan Larsson hands over Tranemo Textil to his son, Max, who takes on the role of CEO.

1934

1942

1967

1970

1989

1991

1995

1998

1999

2000

2001

2006

2007

2008

2010

2014

1990

Tranemo Textil is founded.It was generally felt that there was a need for female employment in Tranemo,

shares were purchased by many of the town’s businesses and private individuals.

Tranemo Textil celebrates 80 years. The company is in the most expansive period of its history and sees a very bright future.

Gustav Kjollerstrom buys all shares in Tranemo Textil AB.

Tranemo Textil Lda is founded. Production unit registered in Portugal.Håkan Larsson becomes the company’s Managing Director.

Major expansion of the head office in Tranemo, to present size with a floor area of 7600 m². Tranemo Textil Lda is sold.Sales of Tranemo Workwear’s products in Portugal and Spain started through the sales company Odin Workwear SA

Tranemo launches its first certified flame retardant collection

Board of directors decides to create TAC (Tranemo Ammitzboll Cooporation) for production in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Tranemo Workwear GmbH is founded. Sales unit registered in Germany.

Tranemo Workwear Ltd is founded. Sales unit registered in UK.

Tranemo Workwear Danmark A/S is founded. Sales unit registered in Denmark.Tranemo launches its first inherent flame retardant collection, Cantex. At the same time it stops selling chemically treated flame retardant clothing.

Tranemo Workwear AS and Tranemo Workwear Benelux are founded. Sales units registered in Norway and The Netherlands. Tranemo Workwear Logistics Centre, 5000m² warehouse, comes into operation Max Larsson becomes the company’s Managing Director.Tranemo Workwear Finland Oy is founded. Sales unit registered in Finland.

TRANEMO Textiles begin exporting Workwear. First exporting country is Norway.

TERA TX

6 TRANEMO WORKWEAR TIMES 01, 2014

Flame Retardant, strong and light.Tera TX combines the best properties from our Cantex Flame Retardant collections with the excellent durability and lightness of aramid.

The inherent fabric is woven with ripstop reinforcement which, in addition to its three-dimensional structure, increases the fabric’s durability. The ripstop also reinforcement enables the weight of the fabric to be reduced to 260 g/m², which makes the clothing very light and easy to wear.

Take a closer look at the Flame Retardant Hi-Vis

jacket 5830 81 with decorative stitching. Among other things, the jacket has an adjustable waist for a better fit,

inside phone and iPad/eReader pockets.

The work trousers 5850 81 are advanced Flame Retardant Hi-Vis work trousers with

plenty of pockets for tools. They also have shaped knees with adjustable

inner kneepad pockets for increased comfort

and safety.

Flame Retardant Hi-Vis jacket 5830 81 94 Flame Retardant Hi-Vis trousers 5850 81 94

7TRANEMO WORKWEAR TIMES 01, 2014

Suitable protective clothing is obviously a must where there is any risk of exposure to heat or fire. But that day, in 2006, when the accident happened and the flame protection really was needed, the trousers were found to have worn out.

“Imagine being a salesperson then” says Roger Johansson, Key Account Manager for Tranemo Workwear’s Flame Retardant clothing, with a little shudder.

He was a salesman at the time. Yet something good came from the tragic event, inherent flame retardent, that didn’t wear out over time.

Roger picks up a pair of blue trousers and rubs the fabric between his fingers. Unlike traditional FR clothing, which is treated with a Flame Retardant chemical product, Japanese kanecaron fibre is woven into the inherent flame-retardant fabrics. Containing 40% untreated cotton, the garment feels just like a pair of jeans, but its fibres restrict the oxygen supply to prevent fire from taking hold.

Roger Johansson explains:“For a fire to take hold, three things are

necessary. First and foremost, a flammable substance, secondly an oxidant such as oxygen, and finally heat.

When the kanecarone fibre comes into contact with fire, the oxygen supply is restricted. No oxygen - no fire. The Flame Retardant function of the garment does not wear out, which means it benefits from consistent fire protection throughout its life.”

“This is the future” states Roger “all of our Flame Retardant clothing is inherent.”

But it doesn’t stop there. There are many agencies and standards that govern the development of Flame

Retardant clothing. Because we started out with inherent fire protection early on, we had plenty of time to gain knowledge of the various standards.

For example, a standard that applies in Europe will not apply in the US, where the legal system imposes various risk assessment systems to enable companies to avoid expensive lawsuits. In this respect, Tranemo Workwear has taken a drastic decision.

“We naturally comply with both standards, but we choose the better alternative when they differ. We don’t compromise on quality!”

The company adopted the same policy when the discussion turned to hazardous bromides in reflective material.

“No, we decided, we won’t have that here” states Roger firmly. “We’ll always be at the forefront, we learnt that from the accident in 2006.”

In adversity lay the seeds of success

ATPV valueThe Arc Thermal Protective Value (ATPV) indicates the amount of energy a garment can withstand, and is measured in calories per square centimetre. TeraTX garments have an ATPV of more than 8 cal/cm², the value required to prevent second degree burns in accordance with American risk assessment standard NFPA70E, level 2 and EU standard EN 61282-1.

LOI value The LOI (Limiting Oxygen Index) method is used to determine a material’s relative fire protection. The higher the LOI value, the better the fire protection. The LOI value measures how much oxygen must be in a room for a material to catch fire. Ordinary cotton burns at 18, while Tranemo Workwear garments have an LOI value of 30.

Also in ladies

sizes!

Flame Retardant Hi-Vis vest 5860 81 55 Flame Retardant shirt 5770 91 94Flame Retardant Hi-Vis trousers 5821 81 94

FR Hi-Vis ladies jacket 5839 81 94 FR Hi-Vis ladies trousers 5829 81 94

Read more on:

www.tranemoworkwear.com

About Tranemo Textil AB Tranemo Textil AB is a family company which was founded in 1934. The company manufactures and markets high-quality workwear and protective clothing under the Tranemo Workwear label. 44 staff currently work at the head office in Tranemo, Sweden.

The group has subsidiaries in Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Finland and Bulgaria, the company also has sales staff based in Poland and Portugal. Tranemo Textil AB has a turnover of approximately SEK 200 million, 60% of which comes from exports.

References:

In next edition:Tranemo Workwear Denmark

Tranemo Workwear NetherlandsTranemo Logistic center

Sweden - Headoffice

TRANEMO TEXTIL ABBox 207 514 24 TranemoPhone: +46 325 799 00 Fax: +46 325 799 20info@tww.se

Norway

TRANEMO WORKWEAR ASPostboks 172017 FrognerPhone: +47-47 90 22 22 Fax: +47-63 82 09 50tww@tww.no

Germany

TRANEMO WORKWEAR GMBHGoebenstr. 5632051 HerfordPhone: +49 5221-34692-0Fax: +49 5221-34692-29info@twwde.de

The Netherlands

TRANEMO WORKWEAR BENELUX B.VPostbus 1868300 AD EMMELOORDPhone: +31 (0) 527 616534Fax: +31 (0) 527 618624info@tranemoworkwear.nl

Denmark

TRANEMO WORKWEAR DANMARK A/SFarøvej 4-6 9800 Hjørring Phone: +45 96 23 44 88 Fax: +45 96 23 44 84tranemo@tranemo.dk

Finland

TRANEMO WORKWEAR FINLAND Oy AbKustaalantie 21 / Gustavsrovägen 2165230 Vaasa / VasaPuh / Tel: +358 400 566 636, +358 400 560 337info@tranemo.fi

Portugal

ODIN WORKWEAR ASPraceta António Almeida Costa 12840-069 Seixalwww.odin.pt info@odinworkwear.pt

Great Britain

TRANEMO WORKWEAR LTDUnit 7 Easter ParkBaker Road, Nelson Park WestCramlington, NE23 1WQUnited KingdomPhone: +44 1670 732 333Fax: +44 1670 732 332marketing@tranemo.co.uk