Christopher Nieper, Managing Director of David Nieper Ltd writes an open letter to Lord Deighton about securing quality and sustainable supply of PPE through British manufacturing…

Lord Deighton

House of Lords

London

Dear Lord Deighton,

As a manufacturing company, working on the front line to supply the NHS, I’m writing to support your efforts in the monumental task of unblocking the nation’s PPE and urge a radical rethink to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Following weeks of frustration and delay, I believe we must create a new category for all strategic supplies to the NHS as being of vital national importance. In doing so we prioritize short, sustainable supply lines and create closer co-operation between hospitals and local suppliers.

I read with disappointment, that rather than dismantle the central procurement bureaucracy which has caused delays, local hospital trusts have now been discouraged to work with local suppliers or to quote the press ‘banned’ from using local suppliers, therefore dampening the spirit that has proved valuable in recent weeks.

Our family business, based in Derbyshire has designed and manufactured high-end women’s fashion for sixty years.  We’re one of very few in British textiles to have remained loyal to British skills and never go offshore. We employ 300+ staff in our 5 factories in the town of Alfreton.

Allowing British textiles to become all but extinct has left us dangerously exposed to overseas supply and put our country at the mercy of others.  We wait while RAF planes sit on a runway in Turkey; we hear of 7-mile freight queues in China and of the transport cost to the UK rocketing from $3/kg to $22/kg. 

Our company was one of the first to turn our production over to supporting the NHS, first contacting the government on 16^thMarch and I’m delighted to say that within a fortnight we’d cut patterns, bought fabric and were underway making PPE for frontline doctors and nurses. As I write we’re supplying over 20 hospitals with scrubs, clinical hoods and reusable surgical gowns.

Our staff are proud to have put themselves forward to work during the lockdown and hundreds of thousands of our own fashion brand customers have waited patiently in recent weeks.  It’s our contribution to the national effort.

However, reaching this position has been far from straightforward. Indeed, we have had to bypass central procurements systems entirely and work directly with our local hospital trusts to get vital PPE to the frontline.

From our experience going local has always been highly effective. In this case we used a local fabric supplier, we worked with the local hospital to design our reusable parachute gown, we produced locally and now supply top quality garments to our local doctors and nurses.

I have kept a dossier of events regarding our journey to supplying the NHS – including my first conversation in March and subsequent correspondence with NHS Supply Chain, Deloittes, Crowne Commercial and the Government – frustratingly none of whom have delivered for us.

Our government has a duty to protect our national health service and whilewe’re at it, why not use the opportunity to kick start British textiles for the rest of our economy to create jobs and wealth across Britain with value adding British manufacturing.

I’d be happy to support you in establishing secure British supply lines and Boris Johnson’s ambition to level up opportunity across our country.

Yours sincerely,

Christopher Nieper, OBE

Chief Executive, David Nieper Ltd.

David Nieper Academy in Alfreton has been doing their bit to help support and protect local healthcare workers in the battle with Covid-19.

The Academy’s design and technology team has put their skills to excellent use by designing and producing face visors for staff working at 5 care homes across Derbyshire.  

Academy teachers James Turner and Emily Thorpe, as well as technician Alastair Benton have made almost 100 masks to date, using their own technical know-how and the school’s resources to make the visors.

Emily Thorpe, Head of Technology at David Nieper Academy explains the process: 

“The visors are made-up from five separate parts. Four Polypropylene parts are cut on a laser cutter. The intricate detail in the design means it provides healthcare workers with a ‘cap’ and an adjustable strap so they are both comfortable and protected.  

Thin PVC sheets are cut to approximately A4 size to make the face shield, these are hole punched and attached to the front and cap.

A production line was set up once all the parts had been cut, which maximised the numbers we could assemble in a day, while still socially distancing.  Now that the process has all been refined, we hope to increase out output each week while there is still a demand.”

Once produced, the team batch visors in boxes of 10s to share among care homes including; The Meadows Care Home in Alfreton, Longmoor Lodge Care Home in Long Eaton, Woodhall Park Nursing Home in Risley, Sandiacre Court Care Centre in Sandiacre and Wrenhall Nursing Home in Selston.

Dr Kathryn Hobbs, Headteacher at David Nieper Academy commented:

“We are delighted to be able use the resources and skills within the Academy to help our local community and support our healthcare workers.

This is a real community effort – local schools and organisations have rallied round and have been working together to share design ideas and CAD files to get things moving as quickly as possible.

We know that our visors and donations of goggles and other equipment has been well received put to good use both in both care homes and with district nursing teams across the county.”

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Fashion firm, David Nieper has received the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for Sustainable Development. The firm is the only British fashion manufacturer to be recognized for their commitment to sustainability in this year’s awards

The family business based in Derbyshire, has been sustainably designing and manufacturing high-end women’s clothing since the sixties. The company has always put its people at the heart of business and promoted the responsible use of natural resources.Christopher Nieper, CEO David Nieper Ltd. commented:

“A Queen’s Award is the highest recognition a British company can receive, we are hugely honoured to be the only British fashion manufacturer to receive a Sustainable Development award.

Through our manufacturing we are delighted to be able to play our part in the UK’s response to Covid-19. By switching production and transferring skills, we are proud to support our doctors and nurses by making high quality scrubs for their vital work on the frontline.

The recent turn of events has shown us that not only is manufacturing in the UK more sustainable – it is fundamental to the future of our country. We hope this is a new dawn for localization with community at its heart.

We would like to the thank Queen’s Award for introducing a sustainability category and putting environmental and social sustainability on the national agenda for business.

We are facing catastrophic climate change and industrial globalization has decimated British textile manufacturing, leaving us hopelessly exposed to offshore supply chains – this made even more pertinent throughout the Covid-19 crisis.”

David Nieper is committed to manufacturing in Britain and has never taken production overseas. The company prioritises creating jobs for local people, but also supports the educational welfare of local children.

To help raise the level of education and skills in the area, David Nieper took the unprecedented step of setting up an education trust and sponsoring the local secondary school to raise the standard of education in the community.

In 2019 David Nieper became a zero waste-to-landfill company. The company is working to re-shore textile supply chains back to British shores and uses renewable energy with solar panels on all factory roofs.

In 2019 David Nieper has engaged with the University of Nottingham’s Energy Innovation & Collaboration team to undertake a study into the company’s carbon footprint, illustrating that a garment produced at the David Nieper factory in Britain creates 47% less emissions than a similar garment produced overseas.

David Nieper was awarded British Manufacturer of the Year 2020 and British Sustainable Manufacturer of the Year by Make UK.

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For further information contact

David Nieper Press Office

[email protected]07904 257687

David Nieper, Derbyshire based fashion firm has begun production of NHS scrubs.

The family business has received its first order to make an initial 5000 sets of scrubs for two major university hospital NHS trusts – a total of 9 hospitals, including Royal Derby Hospital, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Queen’s Hospital Burton, Leicester General Hospital, Derbyshire Children’s Hospital and other Derbyshire community hospitals.

Skilled sewing machinists, who usually make luxury ladies fashion and had been furloughed, are returning to work this week to support the NHS.

With two sewing factories and two shifts patterns, the company has plenty of space to ensure the social distancing of its staff.

Christopher Nieper OBE, CEO David Nieper Ltd commented:

“We are delighted to welcome staff back to work and help the national effort!

Four weeks ago we were one of the first to offer to make PPE and support the NHS, but our efforts have been frustrated by the slow centralized procurement system.

To break through this red tape, we took the decision to sidestep the bureaucracy and bypass the central system. We are are now supplying direct to 9 hospitals through local East Midlands NHS trusts.

We very much hope this approach proves to be groundbreaking in that local suppliers will be able to serve their local hospital services without delay, to ensure that PPE gets to where it is needed the most.

Over the last few days we’ve cut and graded patterns for surgical scrubs and gowns, we’ve made prototypes for the hospitals to approve. We’ve sourced, bought and had delivered 12,500m of fabric and a volunteer team has been working over the Easter bank holiday, cutting the first 1,000 garments ready to start sewing today.

Where possible British manufacturers should be switching production to support the government in defeating this virus.  This will support the NHS by providing them with vital equipment to do their jobs safely, while getting Britain back to work. We all need to put our shoulder to the wheel.”

David Nieper is a family business that employs 350+ staff designing and manufacturing clothes in Britain, the company also has facilities to send a quarter of a million packages all over the world each year. All of this was put at the disposal of the NHS

Christopher Nieper was awarded an OBE for services to manufacturing in this year’s New Years Honours. His business has also been named as Manufacturer of the Year and Sustainable Manufacturer of the Year 2020 by Make UK.

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 For further information/ interviews contact

[email protected] 257687

The chief executive of international fashion brand, David Nieper Ltd, has challenged the government to target tax cuts to encourage businesses to invest in skills development and level up opportunities across the country.

Christopher Nieper OBE, outlined his proposal for a Learning and Skills tax credit while addressing business leaders, government officials and academics attending the Make UK conference, held at the Queen Elizabeth ll Centre in Westminster, on Tuesday, February 25.

Christopher, whose family company has just been named both British Manufacturer of the Year and Sustainable Manufacturer of the Year by Make UK, thinks businesses have an opportunity to support learning in their local communities and open the door to free university tuition fees.

He said: “I urge the new Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to introduce a corporation tax credit to incentivise employers to nurture talent in schools, in apprenticeships and in universities. Unlocking talent in forgotten communities is the key to levelling up and employers could be the route to free university tuition fees.

“Businesses have a real opportunity to make a huge difference by taking responsibility for their local communities. They should work with the education sector to unleash talent to level up opportunities across the country.”

Attended by over 800 delegates from the manufacturing, government and academia, as well as Alok Sharma, the Secretary of State for Business, the conference was compered by former BBC Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern.

Speaking on skills and learning, Christopher voiced his frustration at the current apprenticeship levy, calling it a ‘tax on jobs’ that obstructs, rather than supports genuine skills development in the UK.

Christopher said: “Scrap the apprenticeship levy and level up Britain by replacing it with a Learning and Skills tax credit which any employer large or small can access. Make it a big, bold scheme, encourage the private sector to support schools, apprentices and university undergraduates. And allow educators to benefit too, additional schools funding could be available this way.

 “Although we run our own sewing academy, we couldn’t access our levy funds as our own tried and tested in-house apprenticeships were not ‘officially’ recognised. We found ourselves in a position where we were paying twice – paying to train dressmakers in our sewing school and also paying a levy we couldn’t use.”

David Nieper Ltd, which employs over 300 staff, took a bold step of becoming a recognised employer provider of apprenticeships and has also led the government’s national trailblazer for apprenticeship standards which didn’t previously exist for the textiles industry.

“We are striving to make this system work for us – but there is a simpler way.

The government’s Research and Development tax credit system has proved highly effective in making Britain a leader in innovation. “Why can’t we support learning and talent in the same way? A Learning and Skills tax credit would boost the UK’s talent pipeline and support the government’s levelling up agenda,” added Christopher.

The David Nieper Sewing Academy was established in 2015 to address the chronic skills shortage in the UK’s fashion and textiles industry with the aim of developing specialist skills locally.

And in 2016, the company made the unprecedented step of sponsoring the town’s local secondary for 850 pupils – now the David Nieper Academy.

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For further media information contact

David Nieper Press Office

[email protected]

07904 257687

Editors Notes:

• David Nieper is a designer, manufacturer and retailer of fine ladies’ fashion, established in Derbyshire in 1961.
• The family business operates 5 factories in Alfreton, Derbyshire and has offices in France, Germany and Holland employing 320+ skilled people.
• David Nieper is committed to manufacturing in Britain and has never taken production overseas. The company prioritizes local jobs and local economic prosperity.
• David Nieper operates sustainable production at each stage of the garment manufacturing process creating minimum impact on the environment.
• In 2019 the University of Nottingham conducted a study which illustrated David Nieper is 47% greener than similar UK designers, producing in offshore textile manufacturing hubs.
• The company was named both British Manufacturer of the Year 2020 and Sustainable Manufacturer of the Year 2020 by Make UK.
• The David Nieper approach to social responsibility is altruistic and far reaching, not only creating jobs for local people, but also prioritising the educational welfare of local children.
• To help raise the level of education and skills in the local area, in 2015 the David Nieper Education Trust was established and in 2016 the company became sponsor of the David Nieper Academy.

Derbyshire fashion house David Nieper Ltd, scooped a hat-trick of awards at the prestigious finals of the National Make UK Manufacturing Awards in London . 

The family business  was voted National Gold Winner for Sustainability and runner up in Developing Future Talent, and  , beating winning companies in all the six award categories across the UK.

Judges said the company, which has been a designer and manufacturer of high-end women’s fashion for almost 60 years, has shown a consistent and strong commitment towards having a sustainable business model.

Managing Director, Christopher Nieper who was awarded an OBE  in the New Year’s Honours List for services to manufacturing, is recognised as an ambassador for sustainable business and sets an example for both David Nieper and the industry.  

The judges added that the breadth of ambition across all three components of sustainability, and the determination shown by setting tough targets and meeting them time after time is highly impressive.

As well as a commitment to sustainability the company is opening  its fifth factory to digitally print fabric in the UK rather than import it and set up its own skills academy which aims to train the talent of the future.

Christopher Nieper OBE, Managing Director, David Nieper Ltd commented,

“This is the first time in the 124-year history of Make UK/EEF that a fashion company has been recognised and named Manufacturer of the Year.

This is a real triumph for our family business. We take both our social and environmental responsibility seriously, so being recognised fo r Sustainability and Developing Future Talent, as well as being the best amongst our peers, means a lot . 

“The fash ion and textiles industry is increasingly highlighted as one of the world’s most polluting industries. Decades of offshoring manufacturing has ultimately resulted in offshoring pollution; it is evident that change needs to happen on a major scale.

Winning a  sustainability award goes to show that being a fashion manufacturer and a supporter of our planet are not mutually exclusive. We can all play our part in bringing about change through responsible production and consumption.”

The awards which recognise excellence among manufacturing companies in six categories, as well as four Apprentice categories across the UK, were presented at the annual awards ceremony of Make UK which was held at Canary Wharf in London and sponsored by Japanese IT solutions provider Hulft.

Claire Almond Director, Business Development EMEA at Hulft said. “Britain is one of the world’s biggest manufacturing nations, and it is a great privilege to be working with MAKE UK to help support and champion UK manufacturing. The sector is facing significant change, as a result of what is being referred to as the 4th industrial revolution, and it is important that businesses are given the right opportunities to properly position themselves for the future. We are looking forward to getting out to meet MAKE UK’s members and being part of such an important and credible awards programme.”

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About Make UK

Make UK, The Manufacturers’ Organisation, is the representative voice of UK manufacturing, with offices in London, Brussels, every English region and Wales.

Collectively we represent 20,000 companies of all sizes, from start-ups to multinationals, across engineering, manufacturing, technology and the wider industrial sector. We directly represent over 5,000 businesses who are members of Make UK. Everything we do – from providing essential business support and training to championing manufacturing industry in the UK and the EU – is designed to help British manufacturers compete, innovate and grow.

From HR and employment law, health and safety to environmental and productivity improvement, our advice, expertise and influence enables businesses to remain safe, compliant and future-focused.

About Hulft

HULFT is the flagship product from Saison, a Japanese IT solution innovator. Established in Japan in 1970 Saison launched HULFT in 1993. HULFT enables companies to automate traditionally manual processes, to eliminate the risks of duplication and errors which are inherent when rekeying data. HULFT can integrate legacy systems with more contemporary applications, and its comprehensive suite of connectors and intuitive software development kit (SDK) enable it to connect virtually any system to another. The HULFT solution has helped more than 10,000 customers across 43 countries automate, orchestrate, and accelerate the secure flow of information at scale.

www.hulft.com/uk

Christopher Nieper, Managing Director, David Nieper Ltd has been awarded with an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List 2020, for services to UK Manufacturing and Apprenticeship Development.

David Nieper is a designer, manufacturer and retailer of luxury women’s fashion established in Alfreton, Derbyshire in 1961.

Alfreton is a former coal-mining town, which following the closure of the mines has suffered a raft of social issues, unemployment and poor education. It is a town illustrative of Britain’s forgotten communities, often referred to by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

From early in his career, Christopher Nieper has been passionate about British
manufacturing and rebuilding prosperity in his hometown of Alfreton.
Christopher has made it a personal mission not to turn his back on his local community, but instead has worked tirelessly to support, develop and enrich community life by creating local jobs and developing skills and education.

Christopher commented:
“What a tremendous start to the New Year! I was totally overwhelmed to be included in the Queen’s Honours List, and humbled to be recognised among so many inspirational and well-deserving individuals. It is an honour that can be shared by our whole family and wonderful staff.

The honour is a boost to British manufacturing, but is also fantastic recognition for the town of Alfreton. I am incredibly proud of this community and the hardworking, skilled people that I have the privilege of working with everyday.

Through apprenticeships and training our company is committed to ensuring that young people in our town have the same opportunities to progress in life irrespective of postcode.

I was encouraged by the Prime Minister’s acknowledgement of Britain’s ‘left-behind’ communities and wholeheartedly support government plans to address the north/south divide, by driving a new and better deal for communities beyond the M25.

All over the UK in former industrial regions, rural areas, and coastal towns there are towns just like Alfreton desperate for support. I believe inclusion in the list goes a long way to demonstrating that these towns can be a great place to work and build a career.

With more government support, private sector and wealth creation investment we will really see these left-behind communities start to thrive.”

Christopher joined his family’s business in the eighties – at time when the majority of UK fashion designers were taking their manufacturing overseas. Christopher took the decision to keep manufacturing in Alfreton, to build economic prosperity in the town and secure jobs for its people.

His vision to drive a manufacturing renaissance in Britain, along with his unswerving commitment to local people and local jobs has created a centre of fashion manufacturing excellence in the heart of Derbyshire, where the company is today one of the largest employers with over 300 staff.

In 2015, Christopher set up the David Nieper Sewing Academy to address the chronic skills shortage in the UK’s fashion and textiles industry. One year later in 2016, the Derbyshire fashion house became a national trailblazer for the government’s apprenticeship drive. The company pioneered a system, which replaced the previous framework to develop new standards for fashion and textiles.

Further to this, in 2020 David Nieper Ltd will become an employer provider of apprenticeship training regulated by Ofsted, to develop specialist skills and create a new generation of British dressmakers.

The David Nieper approach is both altruistic and far reaching, not only creating jobs for local people, but also prioritising the educational and future of local children.

Within the last three years Christopher Nieper has also taken the unprecedented step of sponsoring the town’s secondary school for 850 pupils – now the David Nieper Academy.

As part of a campaign to localize British manufacturing, Derbyshire fashion firm David Nieper has commissioned an academic report into the environmental impact of offshore manufacturing.

The report which was conducted by the University of Nottingham  Energy Innovation and Collaboration team, has revealed the practice of offshoring manufacturing essentially amounts to offshoring pollution, with two-thirds of emissions from UK clothing occurring overseas.

The report also highlights 47% less emissions are created by manufacturing clothes in the UK, in comparison to a similar operation in an overseas textiles production base.

 Citarum River, Indonesia -featured in Stacey Dooley’s BBC documentary, Fashion’s Dirty Secret. The environmental destruction of the Citarum River is attributed to local clothing factories which are linked to large high street fashion chains in the UK. 

The University’s report studied the energy and greenhouse gas emissions for the manufacturing operations of David Nieper, who design and make clothes in the UK and sell online and through catalogues, as opposed to a garment retailer that manufactures overseas and sells on the British high street.

Renewable energy plays a key part in keeping energy consumption to a minimum. Within the garment production process, the sewing phase typically requires most energy consumption. David Nieper’s solar panels, energy efficient machinery and LED lighting means the average power required to make each garment has been reduced by 37.5%, dropping from 8.03kWh to 5.16kWh per garment.

The report also shows the biggest contributing factor to cleaner and more efficient manufacturing in the UK, is due to the lower carbon intensity of electricity supply network. The UK has significantly lower carbon emissions per unit of electricity compared to overseas production hubs such as China, Bangladesh and Turkey; therefore production in the UK has lower direct carbon emissions – making it a more sustainable manufacturing base.

For example, according to the report – a manufacturer in China would typically release around 90% more greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) while using the same energy as in the UK; Turkey would release around 70% more GHG emissions than using the same energy as the same in the UK and Bangladesh uses 24% more – ultimately making UK production more environmentally viable.

The long distance transportation of goods and component parts, which has become synonymous with the textiles industry, is cited as another environmentally damaging practice and significant contributor to GHG. 

According to the recent House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s  ‘Fixing Fashion’ report* the fashion and textiles industry produces an estimated 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year – more than international flights and the maritime trade combined.

The University of Nottingham report details shipping distances to the UK high street from the three biggest textiles manufacturing centres range from 6,226km from Turkey, 16,123km from Bangladesh and 21,694km from China.  Air freight is the worst polluter in the distribution stage, contributing 90% of greenhouse gas emissions.

David Nieper Ltd, Managing Director, Christopher Nieper commented:

“The trend to manufacture overseas has not only decimated the jobs in British fashion, but is having a disastrous effect on the planet.

We commissioned this report to highlight the environmental benefits of manufacturing closer to home. As an industry we can become more sustainable by removing at least some of these journeys to help make production process gentler on the environment.”

Another shock statistic revealed by the report is that the energy used in making clothes is dwarfed when compared to the energy used ‘upstream’ in the textile supply chain, in making fabrics as well as printing and dyeing. This accounts for over 70% of the total carbon emissions in garment production emphasizing the importance of transparency throughout the entire supply chain.

Christopher added:

“It stands to reason that sourcing offshore incurs thousands of air miles per garment and environmental standards are not the same in all countries. British retailers need to consider their entire supply chain and take more responsibility. Our report has shown that more than two-thirds of the emissions from UK clothing consumption occur in other countries.

Offshoring manufacturing is offshoring pollution – it’s not acceptable to shift the problem overseas, where it’s out of sight and out of mind.”

David Nieper has been a designer and manufacturer of fashion for ladies aged 50+ for almost 60 years. The company has a zero waste to landfill status and operates a just-in-time manufacturing policy to eliminate waste.

 Full report here

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For further information visit https://press.davidnieper.co.uk/

Contact David Nieper Press Office

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07904 257687

*https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/report-summary.html

Christopher Nieper, Managing Director of fashion firm David Nieper Ltd, has put his home town of Alfreton on the national map in his address to the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester this afternoon. 

Championing social justice in the community, Christopher outlined his vision to create a ‘new deal for Britain’s forgotten communities’ escalating the Derbyshire town of Alfreton to the top of national debate.

Alfreton is a former coal mining town; the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) indicates that the town has some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the area, with attainment in education significantly lower than the national average. (CSJ Reports)

David Nieper Ltd has been one of the largest employers in the town for almost 60 years and has always placed social justice at the heart of its business model, committed to creating local jobs and developing skills within the community.

In 2016, the business took the unprecedented step of sponsoring their local school which had become symptomatic of the community’s social and educational breakdown.

The school was in the bottom two percent in the country for attainment, 48% students were on pupil premium, there were teacher strikes, a paedophile scandal and students leaving in droves – sometimes up to 10 a day.

Christopher commented:

“This school had suffered enough. These families had no-one fighting their corner. They had been let down by previous governments and I was deeply concerned for the future of the children, their families and the knock-on effect for the whole community and local economy. Our family business had moral obligation to step in.

What I have learned since then, is that Alfreton is not an isolated case. All over the UK there are literally hundreds of communities like Alfreton, Boris calls them the ‘left-behind towns’…I call them the forgotten towns.

These towns need a voice and proper representation – I was hugely encouraged to hear Boris pledge his support to these  ‘forgotten people’ and ‘left-behind’ towns in his first speech as Prime Minister, at last support for communities and for companies like ours fighting for social justice.”

Christopher added:

“The David Nieper Academy takes a pioneering approach to education and offers a unique formula for the worlds of business and education to work together promoting opportunity and social mobility.

After less than three years under new governance, the school has moved up an Ofsted rating and tripled its intake of students moving up from primary school creating a waiting list for the first time in over twenty years.”

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For further media information contact:

David Nieper Press Office

[email protected]

07904 257687