5th August 2002
SMALL ACORN PRODUCES KING-SIZED RAG BUSINESS FOR McQUEEN

Eighteen years on from redundancy from the local pit, life is a lot brighter for life-long Grimethorpe resident Jimmy McQueen, who took the initiative and set up a clothing recycling business that's now turning over in excess of £250,000 per annum from its base at the Acorn Centre.

The Acorn Centre is a £3m multi-purpose Community Resource Centre, based at the former Coal Board Headquarters. Managed by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council in partnership with Grimethorpe Regeneration Executive (GRE) and Barnsley Development Agency (BDA), the centre was purchased in 1992 and is now approaching 10 years of successful partnership that has already made a significant contribution to the social and economic regeneration of the village.

McQueen's moved to the Acorn Centre 5 years ago, and was then only recycling around 7 tonnes per week. Being based at Acorn has helped Jimmy increase business almost five-fold to 30 tonnes a week, a staggering 1500 tonnes per year - about 215 articulated lorry loads to look at it another way. Jimmy has used local transport companies from day one, so as with any business success story, there have been other positive spin-offs for the local community as a result of McQueen's relative rags-to-riches story.

Apart from Jimmy, four people are now employed in the business, which has reached a level that Jimmy is content with. "Staying quite small enables us to stay competitive in the market we're in", says Jimmy. But it wasn't all plain sailing for the ex-miner, who found getting into the rag trade was not as easy as he had hoped: " I knew someone in the rag industry already, so I learned a few tricks of the trade from them and started to try an build something up. At first it was very difficult to get in though, the trade was quite close and it was hard to get any business, but I persevered and it all worked out for me eventually."

Jimmy started collecting from jumble sales and when he took redundancy from Grimethorpe Colliery, he started to look further afield for clothing to recycle. "I started collecting from charity shops and managed to get a foot in the door in Lincolnshire and then Sheffield, and once I was established it really started to snowball." McQueen's won its first contract with the Salvation Army in Barnsley & West Yorkshire, and the business has taken off so well that Jimmy is now recycling a massive 30 tonnes of clothing a week. So exactly where do all your old jumpers and jeans end up? "Most of it ends up being used again by someone else, whereas the poorer quality stuff will sell for making industrial wiping cloths." adds Jimmy.

And if you've ever wondered where your unwanted winter coats end up, they make fleck for bedding and seat fillings for the motor industry. Around 75% of the clothes that leave McQueen's warehouse at the Acorn Centre in Grimethorpe end up in Asia, a large proportion of which are for the Pakistan market. Jimmy has also started to export to Africa and Ireland, and is shipping around 10 tonnes a week overseas.

One of the main reasons for Jimmy McQueen's success is the level of service he offers the hundreds of shops and clothing banks he now regularly picks up from: "Service is the key, absolutely", says Jimmy. "The British Red Cross, British Heart Foundation and Salvation Army have all come to rely on me, and I never miss a collection which is why I continue to get repeat business", he concludes.

For more information on the Acorn Centre, contact John Heckingbottom at the Acorn Centre on 01226 712575.
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