52 | REGIONAL Cleanline Tasman T T Russell Fredric Five decades of continuous improvement The company employs close to 50 staff across Auckland, New Plymouth and Christchurch, spanning product design and research and development through to embroidery, printing, warehousing, logistics, sales and management. BUILT TOUGH SINCE 1870. blundstone.co.nz “Speed matters, but quality and consistency matter just as much. Whether you get one logo or a thousand, it’s the same every time.” Marking its 50th anniversary this year, Cleanline Tasman has grown from a small family operation into a nationwide specialist in workwear, uniforms and personal protective equipment (PPE). The company supplies mid-sized to large businesses across New Zealand, specialising in high-risk sectors, including construction, transport, engineering, manufacturing and utilities. Director Sefton says Cleanline Tasman has come a long way since its humble beginnings in Taranaki in 1976. “We started as a very small family company with just a man and a van in 1976. The business has moved through different decades and different demands. It hasn’t been without challenges, but it’s been a rewarding journey.” A turning point came during the oil and gas boom in Taranaki, which helped shape the company’s focus on specialist safety products, systems and services. “When you’re working in high-risk environments you have to think differently about protection and responsibility,” Sefton says. “That’s shaped the way we operate, and the innovation we bring to other industries as well.” Today, the company employs close to 50 staff across Auckland, New Plymouth and Christchurch, spanning product design and research and development through to embroidery, printing, warehousing, logistics, sales and management. It brands and distributes thousands of garments each day to organisations nationwide, many with large workforces and demanding safety requirements. A key differentiator is Cleanline Tasman’s proprietary PPE and uniform management platform, developed in-house and continually refined through customer feedback and ongoing research and development. “We launched our first PPE management system in 2013 and we’ve been developing it ever since. It lets customers track PPE spend, ordering, staff sizes and replacement cycles in one place.” For large employers, it replaces spreadsheets and guesswork with visibility, helping manage budgets, compliance and replacement schedules efficiently. Customers report less administration time, fewer errors, and faster issuing of gear across sites. “If you’ve got hundreds or thousands of staff, you need a system – you simply can’t hold that information in your head. It puts the right information at your fingertips, so teams can make educated decisions on the fly,” Sefton says. Another advantage is its fully digitised in-house embroidery and printing, which helps deliver faster turnaround without sacrificing quality or consistency. “Speed matters, but quality and consistency matter just as much. Whether you get one logo or a thousand, it’s the same every time.” Research and development remains central, with the Cleanline team working alongside customers to identify issues and continuously improve products. “A big part of what we do is working with end users on their challenges, whether that’s reducing fatigue, improving comfort, or designing better clothing for women working in high-risk industries,” says Sefton. Sustainability is also a growing focus, with advanced recycling programmes, and garments and PPE made from recycled and renewable materials now part of the range. “We want it to be as cost neutral as possible, so as many companies as possible can afford to do it properly across their business.” Now into its third generation of family involvement, Cleanline Tasman remains very hands-on and relationship-driven, with a strong focus on continuous improvement. “To still be here after 50 years, you have to keep evolving and improving,” says Sefton. “We’ve been hands-on since day one, and that hasn’t stopped.”
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