Area guide · Coventry
Coventry has rebuilt itself around what comes after the engine: EV development, battery research and the R&D arms of half the motor industry. The quiet consequence for workwear is voltage — high-voltage packs are turning garages and test shops into places where arc-flash ratings, once a substation concern, appear on the clothing list.
The local economy
The badge factories mostly left; the engineering brains stayed. Coventry and its ring hold vehicle R&D centres, the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, EV startups, taxi manufacture and a dense supply chain of prototype, test and niche-vehicle shops. Around that: logistics parks on every motorway junction, two universities' worth of estates and construction, and the everyday trades of a big city.
The kit story is transition: the mechanical wardrobe (coveralls, boots, nitrile) meeting the electrical one (arc ratings, insulating gloves, ESD) inside the same workshop — often on the same task card.
Kit by industry
| Local industry | The kit that matters | The spec detail |
|---|---|---|
| EV & battery workshops | Arc-rated garments for HV tasks | IEC 61482 — arc flash decoded |
| Battery lines & labs | ESD garments and footwear where zoned | EN 1149-5 explained |
| Vehicle R&D & prototype shops | Fitted workwear, no-scratch fastenings | Paint-safe rules — covered zips, no exposed studs |
| Logistics belt | Hi-vis, S1P trainers, layered kit | Kit by zone |
| Construction & fit-out | Class 2 hi-vis, helmets, S3 boots | The baseline |
The detail that matters
A high-voltage battery pack can deliver an arc fault, and an arc fault burns through ordinary workwear in milliseconds — which is why serious EV workshops now specify IEC 61482 arc-rated garments for live or potentially-live HV tasks, alongside the insulating gloves and face protection the electrical trade has always known. The practical shape: mechanics keep their everyday fitted workwear, and the HV-authorised technicians hold an arc-rated layer for the tasks their authorisation covers.
It pairs with the opposite discipline on battery production and lab work: static-dissipative kit to protect the cells, not the wearer. Same building, two electrical dress codes — the task card tells you which applies.
Supply
Questions
For high-voltage tasks, increasingly yes — workshops working on live or potentially-live HV systems specify IEC 61482 arc-rated garments for authorised technicians, with insulating gloves and face protection per the task. Routine mechanical work on an isolated vehicle stays in ordinary workwear; the HV authorisation boundary is where the wardrobe changes.
Direction of protection. Arc-rated (IEC 61482) protects the wearer from the energy of an electrical arc. Antistatic (EN 1149-5) protects the environment from the wearer, dissipating static that could ignite vapour or damage sensitive electronics. EV work can demand either — task and zone decide.
Nationwide from stock, express — R&D shops, garages and their logistics neighbours order fitted workwear, arc-rated layers, ESD kit and hi-vis through one trade account, embroidered before dispatch.
We supply nationwide from stock — send the roles and headcount and we'll come back with a kit list, embroidered.