“We need it tomorrow”

Until the price of oil went above $100, the Norwell work-apparel firm WearGuard never got last-minute corporate orders. Now they’re expected.

By LANE LAMBERT
The Patriot Ledger

Most people wouldn’t think of work clothing like construction coverups and lab coats as a last-minute corporate purchase. Until the last couple of months, neither did WearGuard president Mark Barrocas.

The strains of record fuel and energy prices and expensive raw materials have changed that. As company budgets tighten for WearGuard’s customers, they’re delaying apparel orders as long as possible - telling the Norwell firm in so many words, “We need it tomorrow,” as Barrocas put it.

That means WearGuard is turning orders around in one to two weeks, rather than three to four as in the past. The company is also keeping smaller quantities of uniforms and other items in stock, because customers are often buying a minimum order, without extras.

With 1,400 employees and manufacturing and distribution centers in Norwell, Rockland and Hanover, and also in Salem, Va., and Reno, Nevada, WearGuard hasn’t been hit as hard as some other firms by freight charges or health insurance costs. Barrocas said health premiums are levelling off a bit, after “pretty significant increases” for three years.

“The game changes are the customer demands,” he said.