Blackpool-based Mina Print is today being relaunched as Nationwide Workwear to reflect the company’s shift from general printing to focus on branded workwear.
Founder and managing director Jake Adams said the move was the first step towards the objective of becoming one of the leading branded workwear and promotional clothing companies in the UK.
While The Mina Group will remain the parent company, the print business will focus on garment decoration as that has seen more growth than other kinds of print such as banners and business cards over the past two years.
After moving into promotional clothing and then workwear, Mina has been steadily investing in new equipment including embroidery machines, direct-to-garment (DTG) printers and direct-to-film (DTF).
It now has eight Happy embroidery machines: four six-heads, three twin-heads and two single-heads. It also has two DTG printers: a Brother GTX and an Epson SureColor SC-F2100.
This month will also see the delivery of a new DTF printer, a Resolute R-Jet Pro DTF, after Mina previously outsourced the printing of transfers.
Jake explained: “We started off with traditional printing and then moved into promotional items and then branded workwear. During Covid, nobody wanted signs, banners and posters while workwear continued to grow and grow.
“Coming out of Covid, the traditional print work did come back but never at the level it was before. But we were still growing year on year because branded workwear was very busy.”
The new name reflects Nationwide Workwear’s ambitions to be active across the whole of the UK, and it already has a growing number of customers outside of its heartland in Lancashire and the north-west.
“We want ultimately to be the UK’s leading branded workwear company. That’s not going to happen overnight but by doing one thing and doing it well, we can achieve that.”
From today, the company will no longer supply traditional types of printing such as business cards, banners and leaflets – the bedrock of the business when Jake founded it in 2012.
“This has been a difficult decision to move away from this type of work but I know that for this business to reach its full potential, niching down and solely working in the workwear space will allow us to give the very best service, the best turnaround and the most competitive pricing.”
Today’s rebranding also sees the launch of the company’s new website at nationwideworkwear.co.uk, with features such as online ordering and the ability to upload artwork. It is integrated with a new bespoke production management system that was introduced two months ago.
The rebranding comes after The Mina Group relocated in May 2020 from two smaller sites in Blackpool to one 32,500 sq.ft site in The Pavilions industrial estate just south of the centre of Blackpool. It now employs 12 people.
Jake admitted he was aware of possible confusion with a Nationwide Workwear Group which closed some years ago but he is confident his business can be distanced from that.
The Mina Group also provides services to other garment decorators through its separate TradeEmbroidery.com business which was set up 18 months ago due to demand within the sector.
