Tibard, the international supplier and UK manufacturer of restaurant and hotel clothing and associated workwear solutions, celebrates its 35th anniversary this month.
Founded in 1979 by John and Sue Shonfeld at their Mottram home, Tibard’s first major large national account was established with the Whitbread Group, the UK’s largest hotel, restaurant and coffee shop operator, an account it still maintains to this day.
Since then it has gone on to become the chief distributor for over 4,000 of the world’s biggest restaurant chains including Pizza Express, TGI Fridays and The Restaurant Group of companies (Frankie and Benny’s, Chiquito, Garfunkels).
Priding itself on producing workwear that leaves employees dressed to impress, Tibard has over the past 35 years produced more than 3.5million chef jackets and in excess of 7million aprons, utilising enough thread to stretch to the moon and back many times over.
Tibard has also been formally recognised as one of Europe’s Top 500 small to medium enterprises, one of many high-profile accolades the company has received in its lifetime.
Operating out of a purpose built site in Dukinfield, Tibard presently has a production output of around 150,000 items per month covering a number of sectors; hospitality, catering, beauty, construction, medical, corporate wear and personalised clothing.
As a family-run business where three generations of the same family work within its sales team, Tibard employs generations of other families from throughout the local area, with several members of staff having worked for the company for over 25 years.
Its high level of staff retention can be put down to the many career development opportunities offered to employees and the valued working environment provided.
Tibard founder and Chairman, John Shonfeld said: “It has been a long journey to get where we are today and it would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our staff. While Tibard may have grown around my vision and ideas, the success and continued growth of the business is down to them.”
Already looking ahead to their next 35 years, Tibard has committed £250k to enhance its increasingly important digital presence over the next two years, an investment that has seen the recent unveiling of two brand new online platforms.
Ian Mitchell, Managing Director added: “What the business has achieved in the past 35 years is exceptional, especially for a British manufacturer. The real test is how we fair over the next 35 years and recent key appointments and investment in our online business highlights how ready prepared we are for a changing business environment.”
