Direct Corporate Clothing (DCC) has secured a major contract to provide a full range of protective workwear and footwear for Network Rail.
Innovation and inclusivity are key pillars of the breakthrough four + four-year contract which was secured after an extensive tender process and wearer trials.
The multi-million-pound tender win sees DCC meeting the protective personal equipment (PPE) needs of colleagues at Network Rail – the owner and infrastructure manager of most of Britain’s railway network.
The West Midlands-based company is supplying a full range of waterproof foul-weather garments, flame-retardant and arc-protection clothing, high-viz polycotton T-shirts, vests, trousers and footwear.
Rebecca Jones is Managing Director of Direct Corporate Clothing, experts in large-scale co-ordinated rollouts of high-volume orders for major organisations in key industries including construction, facilities management, rail, logistics and retail.
She said: “This is an important and significant contract win, highlighting our position as a leading supplier and top-to-toe solutions provider in the market.
“It was an in-depth tender process with extensive wearer trials and to secure this contract is a fantastic achievement. Throughout the onboarding process we have developed an excellent partnership with Network Rail and look forward to working closely with them to develop and deliver key innovations around inclusivity and sustainability.”
Network Rail owns, repairs and develops the railway infrastructure in England, Scotland and Wales. That’s 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. It also manages 20 of the country’s largest stations.
DCC have worked with Network Rail to create a brand-new online ordering portal providing easy to navigate product pages for more than 80 different styles and are already developing a range of inclusive PPE items for colleagues.
The range currently includes maternity wear and further inclusive PPE items will be added over the coming months. Diane Buckley, National Account Manager at DCC, said: “It’s great to be working with Network Rail to develop a range of inclusive PPE which will have a positive impact on the workforce .
“The portfolio currently includes a maternity range, and we are now talking to staff around comfort and wearability for those going through the menopause, stoma wearers or anyone who has a medical condition which requires them to inject.
“We are also working with Network Rail to trial a hijab at Birmingham New Street station.”
DCC is now part of a major new Group – the Workwear Uniform Group Ltd (WWUGL) – creating a UK leader in the sourcing, design, manufacture and distribution of technical workwear, PPE and bespoke corporate uniforms to large, multi-sited organisations.
With significant investment in physical infrastructure – including a £15m state-of-the-art automated warehousing and product distribution handling system and online digital platforms, WWUGL offers fully managed, best-in-industry, cradle-to-grave contract solutions to clients.
