History

John Liscombe was established in Newport in 1873, when John Liscombe then aged 23, and who had come to Newport 2 years earlier from his family home in Dulverton, Somerset, opened his saddlery shop in Llanarth Street, Newport.

He prospered, and a few years later took over an old established leather business in the town centre, in Commercial Street. At about this time he commenced contracting with the Monmouthshire Colliery companies for the repair and maintenance of the harnesses used by the pit ponies above and below ground. The photograph, taken in 1895, shows the staff employed in Newport, but there were more men working on the contracts at the various pitheads.

John Liscombe was elected to Newport Town Council in 1892 and was mayor of Newport in 1906; he died just before his 65^th birthday in November 1914.

The Morris family, the current owners of the company, began their connection when Albert Morris joined in 1906, soon to be General Manager and eventually Managing Director of the Limited company in 1916. Cyril Morris, Albert's son, joined his father in 1920, becoming the driving force that in the 1930's and 40's would bring about the transition from Saddlery to Glove manufacturing. The purchase of the company from the Liscombe family was completed in 1938.

Roger Morris (the current Chairman), Cyril's son, joined the company in 1952 and took the company from a purely glove manufacturing company, to the complete PPE distribution company that it is today. Roger Morris started the importing of gloves from China in 1960 which complemented the specialist gloves made in the Liscombe factory.

Stephen and Richard Morris, sons of Roger Morris are the current Joint Managing Directors.

Today

Today Liscombe is one of the leading distributors of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), in the UK. We have an enviable reputation for quality, cost and delivery. We specialise in managing the safety requirements of large industrial organisations, and hold single source contracts with companies that are household names.

When buying from Liscombe you can be assured that you are accessing all the major brands of PPE. We have the widest possible range of PPE available and offer the fastest and most flexible response possible assisted by our use of advanced IT systems.

Our long history of supplying PPE into all sectors of industry provides our team with a depth of knowledge and experience unrivalled in the industry.

Manufacturing

Liscombe is one of the UK's leading industrial leather Glove Manufacturers. From our factory in Newport, we manufacture high quality, high risk gloves for industry.

All our 'Liscombe made' gloves are tested and approved the European Harmonised Standards and are CE marked accordingly. Our gloves are approved in Categories II and III of the PPE Regulations.

Liscombe is at the forefront of hand protection development and is continually striving to enhance the protection, comfort and dexterity that our gloves provide.

Service & Distribution

Liscombe operates from Newport, in South East Wales, where we have over 60,000 sq ft of distribution warehousing.

All stocks are held at our Central Distribution Centre in Newport, and goods are despatched either on our own transport locally or Nationwide on our Next Day carrier service.

Our centralised operation has meant that we have remained a low overhead distribution company, ensuring that we can offer the most competitive package to our customers at all times.

Local Contact and advice

Liscombe's nationwide team of Area Managers are on hand locally to give you technical support and product information. They will quickly understand your needs and be able to assist, where necessary, with the selection of the right PPE.

Quality Assurance

We are ISO9002 approved for both our Distribution and Manufacturing operations. We work closely with SGS International Certification Services to ensure continuous improvement and refinement of our Quality system.