CLEAN 2017
Vision was at Clean 2017 visiting its American partner of just over a year, Riegel, with whom it has identified synergies in attacking a wider marketplace for their table linens.
According to Chris Gowdy, vice president of Riegel, a division of Mount Vernon Mills, access to Vision’s Liddell range of top end table linens has successfully opened up the luxury hotels market to the company. “We have always done business with the Marriott and Hyatt but with access to the Liddell brand we have a product that has opened doors to the 5-star market in the US.”
Victoria Iracz, Vision Support Services sales director, says: “Meanwhile, we are seeing a staggering response to the Liddell brand in new markets such as Asia because of its quality and heritage. We now employ 15 people in China at our distribution hub and the same number again in India and Pakistan.”
The pairing also supplements Vision’s offering with Riegel spun polyester linens to supply for linen rental in the UK – and elsewhere. The product, Gowdy says, feels exceptionally good as well as lasting forever. Both companies are committed to ethical trading with a fully traceable supply chain, right down to feathers for pillows. Both companies have a long history and seem to have grown in parallel on both sides of the Atlantic.
Riegel was founded in 1938 and is the largest employer in Providence Forge, Virginia while Vision can trace its history back to1789 and the historical Helmshore mills, located on the River Ogden in Lancashire, UK. The Liddell brand itself first saw the light of day in River Lagan in Donaghcloney, Ireland in 1866 and its products were in service on The Titanic’s fateful and tragic maiden voyage in 1912.
PAIRING: Pictured are Chris Gowdy, vice president, Riegel; Victoria Oracz, sales director, Vision; and Laurie Thomas, Vision group managing director
