ALTHAM-based uniform firm Simon Jersey recently celebrated its 35th year, after being built up from a small company with just three employees to one of the most respected in the industry, with 210 staff.

We met Heiko Rees, the Altham firm's managing director, to see what 2007 holds for the company.

At any one time, half a million garments are available for instant delivery from Simon Jersey's Altham offices.

The firm serves about 50,000 customers each year, and in total delivers more than 2.8million pieces of uniform to corporate clients like Vision Express, Pets At Home and the airline Emirates.

From a small family firm when it was founded in 1971 with three employees working with local hotels and pubs, the company has grown to become one of the most respected in the industry, delivering to 120 countries worldwide.

And the firm prides itself on being a quality provider - not the cheapest, but hopefully the best.

And it is this attitude that Heiko Rees, managing director, believes will see it continue successfully into the future.

He said: "We are an upscale provider. We aren't the cheapest but we don't compromise on quality. We always want to give the customer a good deal.

"There are larger companies but in this sector of the market we are the largest one. We always call ourselves, not the largest, but the leading brand. Leading because when we look in other company's catalogues we find out items and our prices so people seem to follow us.

"We feel we are the leading brand in corporate wear.

"I think the key to our success is creativity.

"When we speak to major account holders and they tend for new business it's always that we need to impress them with creative designs.

"Of course we also have to offer good prices but we have seen that many companies say they don't want the cheapest they want good quality and good designs."

Simon Jersey was founded by businessman Simon F Moyle, who sold the business in 2002.

Mr Moyle now lives in the south of England but still keeps in touch, and helps judge a yearly student fashion show run by the firm.

His son Robert still works for the firm, now as procurement director.

Simon Jersey now has four key areas of business - transport, retail, medical and hospitality. Its catalogue and website are the main providers of busines, with the website making up 25 per cent of all new customers.

And a new catalogue was issued in September, which, at more than 300 pages, is the coroporate wear industry's largest.

Mr Rees joined Simon Jersey as marketing and logistics director in 2002 when the firm became part of European firm Mercatura Holdings. In 2004 he was appointed as joint managing director.

In 2005, Simon Jersey's annual sales grew to more than £20million.

It has seven designers with an eighth joining it in January, and hopes to impress new clients with its ranges.

Mr Rees said: "We are growing in many places especially our major account business is growing substantially.

"We are driving our business into two of not three areas - small clients, medium and major accounts. Emirates are our biggest client and we are quite strong internationally.

"Thirty per cent of our sales are international so it's quite strong.

"In the medium term we still want to grow. We feel there is a lot of room in the major account business.

"We will think of adding more customers to our portfolio. We need to bank on the success we are currently having and exploit that.

"We are expanding the field sales in the next year.

"Our international portfolio currently stands at 30 per cent of the business.

"This could increase to a higher percentage. We have great success in France and Germany, and the Middle East market. That is very promising for the medium term.

"In recent years there has been a tendency to think that price is everything. This has now turned a bit.

"For many companies corporate wear is not in the focus. They just have to dress their people but it isn't in the focus. They produce cars, for instance, or have to run a hotel.

"So the garments aren't in focus. But if they always buy the cheapest garments the employees aren't happy.

"Although this isn't our clients focus, it is ours, and as we are the experts in this field, clients know that they can trust us to manage the entire process for them."