Cork firm proud of their specialist badges of honour

What connects Real Madrid’s 15th UEFA Champions League win, Leicester City’s 5000/1 odds Premier League winning campaign, and Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph to a town 25km south of Cork city?

Believe it or not, the competition badges heat pressed onto the jerseys worn by those legendary teams were manufactured by a company from Kinsale.

Elms Marketing, trading as Sporting iD are the leading creators, producers and suppliers of officially licensed and authentic name sets and sleeve badges for professional and fan replica garments for some of the biggest names in the game.

Some of their licenses include Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea at club level, professional football leagues like the EFL Championship, League One, and League Two as well as the SPFL in Scotland and federations such as England, Portugal and Scotland.

Another key license is the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League competitions and, the Euro 2024 competition that saw Spain beat England 2-1 in Germany, this summer.

Biggest achievements

Design and marketing manager Ciaran Goggin said one of Elms’ biggest achievements in recent years was the work they did with Manchester City for their Year of the Wood Dragon limited edition kit.

“One of our designers came up with the font and we presented it to them (Manchester City), and they loved it.

“We also manufactured it here as well,” Mr Goggin said.

The shirt was used as a pre-match jersey against Spurs in January this year.

Outside of football, Elms manufacture the names and numbers for the NBA, NFL and NHL merchandise outside of the USA.

So, how did a company in Kinsale become a prominent part of football’s past, present and future?

Founded in 1982 by Chris and Marina Kay, and known as Chris Kay Ltd, the company focused manufacturing flock heat transfers.

Flock is a type of heat transfer vinyl that has a fuzzy or furry texture, with a likeness to felt or suede.

Because of flock’s soft and raised texture, it gives the design more depth and thickness.

Chris Kay Ltd moved into a purpose-built factory in 1997 and was later acquired by ITW in June 2004. In 2019, the company was acquired by the FlexDev Group under the guidance of Managing Director Peter Gleeson.

FlexDev produces products in Ireland, UK, Spain, Italy, France and Turkey.

Beckham

A spokesperson for the company said some of the most stand out success stories include producing the Premier League name set and badges from 1993 up to 2019 as well as the Real Madrid name set including the ‘Beckham 23’ and ‘Ronaldo 7’ eras.

“On a local level in Cork, seeing past players such as Roy Keane and Denis Irwin of Manchester United to the current players such as Caoimhín Kelleher from Liverpool and Adam Idah from Celtic FC adorning the UEFA Champions League badges on the field of play, is very satisfying” they said.

Elms currently sponsor Kinsale RFC — helping hundreds of local boys and girls train and play rugby in their locality.

With a membership exceeding 500 individuals from the wider Kinsale area, the club plays a crucial role in introducing hundreds of boys and girls to rugby.

“We are thrilled to support Kinsale RFC, a club that has been instrumental in nurturing young talent and promoting the values of teamwork and sportsmanship,” said general manager of Elms Éanna Ó Súilleabháin.

“As a company that has called Kinsale home for over 30 years, we see this sponsorship as a natural extension of our commitment to the local community,” he added.

Celebration

This sponsorship comes at an exciting time for Kinsale RFC, following their 40th anniversary celebration in 2023.

Kinsale RFC’s dedication to grassroots rugby aligns perfectly with Elms’ vision of supporting community-based initiatives and supporting sports at all levels of the game as a global leader in sportswear and personalisation services.

Also, when Mr Ó Súilleabháin is away from his desk, he trains Ringmahon Rangers. Former Ranger’s club man Caoimhín Kelleher recently saved a Kylian Mbappe penalty for Liverpool against Real Madrid while wearing a Champions League patch made in Kinsale.

Counterfeit competition

Mr Ó Súilleabháin said the cost of production has increased dramatically.

“The price of raw materials has gone up, the price of utilities has increased dramatically, as well as labour. Every factor has increased in cost,” Mr Ó Súilleabháin said.

As the price of an authentic or stadium football shirts steadily increase year on year, many online consumers have ventured into fake versions for a fraction of the cost, but the industry is still able to “hold their own” according to Mr Ó Súilleabháin.

“It is difficult to compete with the likes of factories in China and places like that, nut we are still able to hold our own.

“We have a unique business here with specialist skills here and patented products here that we can offer to our market,” he said.

Another selling point for Elms is giving customers the peace of mind that the substances in their products are safe.

“Every part of our raw material passes the Restricted Substance List. There are not any harmful substances in our products — and that can’t be said for all the products made in other locations.

“We have our certificates to verify that our products pass all the standards required,” he added.