The PaddlerUK magazine December 2015 issue 5 | Page 58

PADDLERUK 58

The staff welcome me with a smile
and the factory’s management all speak excellent
English. Many are wearing Palm neon logo tshirts, a gift from Andy and the staff have put
them on because they knew I was coming to
film. Cynically, I wonder how I might politely
explain that it’s going to look ridiculous if
everybody’s wearing the same thing. After a
while however, I come to realise that the Palm
logo is not being worn under duress, but with
real pride. This sense of pride in work became a
recurring feature of my trip.

Logistical complexity

The number of processes involved in
manufacturing paddling gear is incredible. As
Christophe, the General Manager, walks me
through the production rooms I’m struck by the
logistical complexity of this place. Machines fill
the main factory floor and all the smaller
workshops too. There are high frequency
welding machines, heat taping machines in
climate controlled rooms, sewing machines for
fabrics, for neoprene, for bar tacking and box
stitching, heat presses, screen printing rigs, foam
cutters, fabric cutters and my personal favourite,
the laser cutter. Time on these machines is
carefully allocated to fit the production schedule,
with many different Palm products making their
way through the production line any one time.
Besides machines for manufacture, the quality
control department also keeps machines for
testing water permeability, tensile strength, load
bearing and buoyancy. I’m dragged wide-eyed
from room to room, rather nervous about how
I’ll manage to film it all. The machines are not
what impresses me so much, as the skill of the
people using them. The precision necessary to
sew the front pocket of an Extrem buoyancy aid
is mesmerising to watch and the focus required
to make 50 in a row, all identical – seems
beyond human to me!

Pride in their work

Talking to the management, the technical
department and communicating in charades to
the people in the workshops, the message is clear;
“We are good at what we do, and proud in our
work.” Andy’s presence at the factory, and the
relationships he has built with the staff have an

undoubtedly positive effect. Much of his work
could be done from afar, but the time spent on the
factory floor with the manufacturing teams means
that staff genuinely feel enfranchised and valued.
The productive atmosphere in the factory is
borne out by the numbers. The strict working
hours set by Vietnam’s trade unions are followed
tightly and crucially, most of the workers live
with their families, just a short walk or ride from
the factory. This detail seems trivial to me, until

Clockwise
starting with
main photo:
Staff in their Palm
neon shirts
Factory front
Tech department
Christophe, Hieu
and Andy Knight
Samples room

Christophe explains that in Chinese factories it is
the norm for workers to live away from home in
dormitories, with only a few weeks holiday per
year to visit their family. Good employee
retention is not only a good indicator of staff
well being, he explains, it also helps maintain
production quality – the longer staff stay, the
m