What’s in a name? Everything, if you’re Cobmex Apparel.

This fall, Cobmex will officially change its name to PSC Uniform Apparel, a moniker which better reflects the company’s focus these days. “Public safety is the anchor of the company in Canada, and will be in the United States as well,” says Cobmex’s owner Phil Newman.

But there is another reason for the switch. Cobmex, an acronym meaning Cobbler’s Mexico, has at times evoked strong negative reaction from those in the States. “We may be in a global marketplace, but Xenophobia still exists in some segments of the industry,” notes Newman.

In actuality, Cobmex has strong American roots, and today has an office and warehouse in Buffalo, NY. The company first got its start in California, primarily as a supplier to the school apparel industry. “It was my father-in-law’s business, and I would help him source items in Mexico for sale in the states and Canada,” explains Phil Newman, who later launched a division of Cobmex in Canada that focused on the public safety market.

That was the early ‘90s, and the timing for such a relationship could not have been better. A retailer by trade, Newman’s own business was quickly being eroded by the recently signed North American Free Trade Agreement. “Smaller, independent retailers just couldn’t compete with the likes of Wal-Mart and the Gap,” he notes.

Seeking to reinvent himself, he traveled with a contractor to Mexico, sourcing and manufacturing sweaters for resale in Canada. “Within three years, Cobmex became one of the better known sweater producers in the country,” says Newman. Although heavily concentrated in public safety, the company also has a stable of image apparel clients, including McDonald’s Canada.

Cobmex manufactures acrylic and acrylic blend sweaters and is perhaps best known for its Durapil™ by Cobmex brand. Cobmex Durapil™ is a special treatment applied to high quality acrylic yarn for greater durability and pill-control. “We start with a long staple acrylic yarn,” explains Newman. “A long staple yarn will always perform better than a short staple, which is what is currently being used in the uniform market. Long staple performs better because the fiber is longer, and in the spinning process, the yarn is twisted in a ring-spun fashion.” Independent tests have shown that the process outperforms other leading pill-control fabrics, according to the company’s website.

Sales in the public safety arena reached a new high after September 11, leading Newman to believe that opportunities for his products existed outside Canada. “I called the NAUMD, and was told I couldn’t exhibit because my products weren’t manufactured within the United States.” At the time, the National Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors, as it was known before changing its own moniker to reflect its North American reach, excluded non-U.S.-based companies from membership, and banned the promotion of foreign goods from its exhibits.

Because of his ties to his father-in-law’s California operation, he was eventually able to attend the show. “I went to the show and brought samples with me. I played golf. I made contacts,” remembers Newman. “A few weeks later, I received a call for samples from a major manufacturer, and subsequently got an order for 16,000 units. By the end of the year, I had sold over 56,000 sweaters.”

The story is typical of the types of relationships Cobmex has developed over the years and continues to cultivate to this day. The company’s U.S. reach was further extended through its strategic alliance with Unison Marketing Group, headed by industry veterans Ron Pate and Bob Gates. “It’s the perfect fit,” notes Newman of the relationship. “They didn’t really have a sweater line in their arsenal, and since they’re out there working hard to promote their Perfection brand, and they know the business so well, why not let them handle the U.S. market for me, too?” He says his other option, hiring and managing his own sales force, would be cost prohibitive. “You should delegate everything, except person genius,” he wryly notes.

The company is determined to be a major player within the public safety niche. “Our research has shown there’s tremendous growth potential in this area,” says Newman. To better service this segment, Cobmex recently teamed up with W. L. Gore, and will begin producing sweaters made with Windstopper®. “We just met with company reps in New Orleans at the IACP, so we’re just getting started,” says Newman. The Windstopper®. fabric utilizes a proprietary Gore membrane that allows the highest level of sweat vapor to escape while extending the wearer’s comfort by being truly windproof. “It’s a great product, and contrary to what some believe, Gore fabrics are not necessarily more expensive,” he added. “It’s a great addition to our line.”

Cobmex has also recently been certified by the United States Postal Service. “We were told that companies were presenting some off shore samples to the USPS, so we went for it and got certified,” says Newman.

Newman credit’s his company’s success with its out-of-the-box philosophy. “Companies get in trouble when they stop challenging themselves,” he says, and believes that many uniform businesses are stymied because of the industry’s unique characteristics. Newman continues: “Many are still family businesses, which are today second generation. They still operate the way their fathers did, unwilling to change because they are comfortable doing things the way they’ve always been done. It’s a poor business model.”

His own family ties were severed recently, when he and his father-in-law officially split the business, with Cobmex California getting the school apparel side of the company. “Working with family is rough,” was his only comment on the topic.

As for soon-to-be PSC Uniform Apparel, Newman continues to look for new challenges, and will continue to look for new opportunities through alliances. “Is there a better product out there? I hope so, and I’ll keep researching until I find it."