Coats and GSD announce strategic alliance
- 20 May 2014
Coats plc, the world’s leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, and GSD (Corporate) Ltd are pleased to announce an important strategic alliance. GSD, a UK based company, supplies expert management solutions that analyse time, cost and production capability in the sewn products sector with the focus on maximising productivity and controlling costs.
Coats and GSD will collaborate on offering their respective management solutions to maximise productivity and drive down costs in the manufacturing sector, with GSD providing time-cost benchmarking and Coats offering consulting and technical production expertise, for retailers, brands and their supply chain vendors. A key element in this process will be to analyse working methods and manufacturing procedures, including machinery and associated equipment requirements, to provide internationally accepted and globally recognised GSD based Standard Minute Values (SMV). The SMV is invaluable to brands and manufacturers worldwide as it facilitates fact based decisions on multiple aspects of production, including unit cost, production targets, operator performance, factory efficiency, wage levels, location and ethical sourcing, as well as identifying thread demand and highlighting potential improvements in productivity.
Paul Forman, Group Chief Executive, Coats plc, said: ‘GSD is an innovative company and a world leader in its field of expertise. This strategic alliance further strengthens the position of Coats Global Services by providing a valuable addition to the portfolio of products and services we are able to offer our customers.’
Paul Timson, Managing Director, GSD (Corporate) Ltd, said: ‘This is an important strategic step for GSD and we are delighted to be working with Coats, which is a recognised global leader. This alliance provides further recognition of our world leading management solutions and consolidates GSD’s position as the accepted international standard in work measurement and productivity improvement. The combination of GSD’s specialist technical knowledge, data integrity and industry experience married to the global reach, industry stature and consulting expertise of Coats, creates a unique and exciting offering.’
Coats Global Services was launched in response to customer demands to help them achieve operational excellence across manufacturing, sourcing and colour management. It provides technical services, consulting, training, accreditation and technology solutions. Once GSD’s management solutions have defined and predicted manufacturing methods and labour costs for brands and manufacturers, Coats Global Services can then collaborate with them on how to optimise production and speed to market.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Kristina Blissett, Communications Manager kristina.blissett@coats.com
T +44 (0)208 210 5084, M +44 (0)7714 539887
David Berry, Sales & Marketing Director david.berry@gsdhq.com
T +44 (0)1772 697730, M +44 (0)77367 92233
Notes to Editors
About Coats
With a rich heritage dating back to the 1750s, Coats is the world's leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, at home in more than 70 countries, employing over 20,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2013 were US$1.7bn.
Our well-known brands and strong relationships with customers and consumers mean our products and services meet current and future needs. Our company-wide understanding of our business partners and consumers, coupled with the deep expertise of our people, builds trust and certainty.
Coats’ pioneering history and innovative culture ensure the company continues leading the way around the world: providing complementary and value added products and services to the apparel and footwear industries; extending the crafts offer into new markets and online; and applying innovative techniques to develop products in new areas such as tracer threads, aramids and fibre optics.
- One in five garments on the planet is held together using Coats’ thread
- 100 million car airbags are made using Coats’ thread every year
- Coats produces enough yarn to knit 70 million scarves a year
- In three and a half hours, Coats makes enough thread to go to the moon and back
- 400 million pairs of shoes are made every year using Coats’ thread
- One million teabags using Coats’ thread are brewed every 10 minutes
- Thousands of surgical operations take place every day using Coats’ thread
- Thomas Edison used Coats’ thread in 1879 to invent the light bulb
- Coats produces enough thread to reach around the Equator every 11 minutes
- Coats is the second largest and fastest growing global zip manufacturer
To find out more about Coats visit www.coats.com
To subscribe to news releases as they are added to the website go to www.coats.com/media
About GSD (Corporate) Ltd
GSD is a UK company based in Preston, traditionally the heartland of the UK garment and textile industry. Since 1976 it has been, and continues to be, a global market leader, supplying methods analysis and productivity improvement solutions to the sewn products sector. Its products, pedigree and more than 38 years in its business sector make it the industry standard in its field. It is active in more than 68 countries and has more than 5,000 customers worldwide. There are also more than 12,000 formally licensed ‘GSD Practitioners’ in the world today.
To find out more about GSD visit www.gsdhq.com