ImagesMagUK_February_2021

www.images-magazine.com FEBRUARY 2021 images 33 IS DECORATOR PROFILE C ovid-19 had a devastating impact on many businesses in 2020, but some are weathering the storm and even coming out stronger. Sales dried up overnight at Shropshire-based MyWorkwear when the first lockdown was announced in March 2020, but it was a temporary setback: through investment and ingenuity, the business entered 2021 with higher turnover and double the staff. In fact, managing director James Worthington admits the growth was more than they had anticipated. “We had ambitions and had been growing steadily each year, but we hadn’t forecast for such rapid growth. We are very appreciative that it has been a good year for us as a business.” The company now specialises in the embroidery and printing of workwear, PPE, uniforms and other clothing, however that wasn’t always the case: it was founded in 1976 by James’s father, Mike Worthington, as JM Worthington & Co, to make golf trolley and saddle A tech-savvy success story James Worthington explains to Mark Ludmon how, through a combination of investment and ingenuity, MyWorkwear has increased both its sales and staff during the Covid-19 pandemic bags. The business started to move in its current direction when car parts retailer Halfords placed an order for customised children’s coveralls for a promotion. From there, JM Worthington & Co grew into a workwear specialist, switching to the trading name of MyWorkwear 20 years ago. New technology The new name was part of the company’s adoption of new technology and the launch of a website for ordering products, myworkwear.co.uk. This was spearheaded by James, who joined the business in 2000 from an eight-year background in software and internet sales. MyWorkwear has continued to stay ahead of the field through investment in technology, with its own in-house IT team of six, boosted by the arrival of operations director Ben Simpson – from a web and software development background – six years ago after Mike decided it was time to retire. “Although we are a small business, We are very appreciative that it has been a good year for us a business James Worthington appeared on ITN and Sky News talking about the impact of Covid-19 The company’s new logo on the outside of its Telford factory after the rebranding