Arco
Arco, a leading UK safety product provider, collaborated with alsico to provide clothing for BT Openreach engineers, featuring workwear powered by our ALSIFLEX® fabric stretch technology.
the situation
Arco is the nation’s leading provider of safety products and services with 140 years of experience, offering industry expertise and a wide variety of solutions including PPE, workwear, footwear, gloves as well as training and consultancy services.
As the UK’s leading supplier of safety equipment, Arco is continually on a search for the highest standard products to offer customers across sectors including manufacturing, construction, utilities, transport, healthcare and many more. As a result, the specialist began collaborating with Alsico over 30 years ago, developing products to meet the needs of the industry.
With 30,000 engineers across the country, Arco’s customer BT Openreach was selected to put the ALSIFLEX® fabric to the test. Openreach had previously expressed demands for superior fit, comfort and sustainable credentials, and in addition to this, its team were on a mission to source a trouser that would be a perfect fit for the telecoms industry.
Case Study
Upon selection, Openreach, Arco and Alsico commenced with discussions to explore the fabric’s benefits in more detail and agree on the trial’s objectives. Following alignment, in November 2022, the wearer trial began, with approximately 100 pairs of trousers tested by Openreach engineers across the country.
In response to these requirements, Alsico shared its latest development: ALSIFLEX®. The fabric has a minimum 25% weft stretch to allow wearers more flexibility and freedom of movement without compromising the durability of the garment. The stretch and softness of the fabric also ensures increased comfort even during long wear periods.
The whole process with Alsico has been really straightforward and we’ve had really fantastic response from the Openreach wearer trial
Case Study
ALSIFLEX® was developed with the environment in mind, emitting two-thirds less CO2 than any other comparable workwear fabrics and crafted with a blend of 100% sustainable fibres.
Following the success of the trial, the ALSIFLEX® trousers are currently being added to the Openreach customer portal for a full roll out to its 30,000 engineers. Arco is also currently looking at the incorporation of the ALSIFLEX® range to its website to serve customers across its key sectors.
Reflecting on the success of the wearer trial, Leigh Hardie, key account manager at Arco shared, “Across industries, we see customers struggling with uniform challenges such as not being able to offer the same uniform options to both male and female team members or having to compromise on comfort in order to take a more sustainable option. Therefore, it has been so rewarding to provide a solution that ticks so many boxes for them, and to see this reflected in the really positive customer feedback. I’m looking forward to seeing how the range develops in the coming years too!”
Case Study
implementation
Throughout the wearer trial, live feedback was shared with alsico to support further product development. From the beginning, feedback was overwhelmingly positive from both the male and female engineers, with a real focus on the trousers being a true body fit and proving incredibly comfortable to wear.
The detailed approach to feedback also resulted in an opportunity to make the trouser even better suited to Openreach’s requirements.
Engineers included in their feedback that they wanted to test a heavier duty pocket to accommodate the various tools and equipment they use throughout the working day. Following the discussion, the Alsico team quickly developed prototypes with a reinforced pocket material, and as a result of the positive feedback - this feature has since been incorporated for standard roll out.
There was such a swift but still thought-out response to the pocket consideration that was raised, and as a result, the end product has become an even better fit to our requirements – it is great to see!
Following the success of the trial, the ALSIFLEX® trousers are currently being added to the Openreach customer portal for a full roll out to its 30,000 engineers. Arco is also currently looking at the incorporation of the ALSIFLEX® range to its website to serve customers across its key sectors.
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Reflecting on the success of the wearer trial, Leigh Hardie, key account manager at Arco shared
“Across industries, we see customers struggling with uniform challenges such as not being able to offer the same uniform options to both male and female team members or having to compromise on comfort in order to take a more sustainable option. Therefore, it has been so rewarding to provide a solution that ticks so many boxes for them, and to see this reflected in the really positive customer feedback. I’m looking forward to seeing how the range develops in the coming years too!”