THE year is 1983 and Ireland was in the depths of a crippling recession. A husband and first-time father looked at the figures from his inherited family riding school and realises they were never going to add up.

Unemployment was 21% in Dundalk. Families were living on the edge. Within six months, half the livery clients were gone.

Cue Plan B.

Fast forward the inevitable head scratching and the shadow of a new business idea began to form.

A second-hand industrial sewing machine was acquired from a defunct shoe factory and a solitary figure learned to thread it himself, starting the journey from sketching to stitching.

It didn’t have a name, a single customer or even the earliest prototype of a product but the gem of the idea that is now the hugely successful international horse blanket company, Horseware, was on its way.

“We were just lucky being in the industry we are in, that Ireland and horses was a natural fit in people’s minds, so we had a following wind as opposed to a head wind,’’ recalled Horseware’s managing director.

“I had this idea of making a good horse blanket, that would actually fit the horse and wouldn’t fall off. I collected 20 blankets and threw them out on an old hunter beside the house and watched how the blankets moved. I found the key to not rubbing the horse was to make the blanket smaller, not bigger, at the withers and the shoulder. The first few blankets I made, the neck shape was 50% smaller than the nearest one I could find.

“I sold 10 of my blankets to the late racehorse trainer John Fowler, he thought they were great. I went up to Goffs sales with 30 of them in the boot and sold them all. I got orders for 100, that was the start. It was not the Rambo rug as we know it now but it was revolutionary at the time as it did not move.

“I did a course in Manchester Textile Institute to bone up on my knowledge - yarns, coating and hydrophilics - in theory, a fabric that transports moisture to the surface to dispense it.

“I made a rug for my daughter’s pony with this and put a big heavy blanket over it and tested it overnight. The pony was dry in the morning and I knew I had the missing link. It took six months to get it right. It was the only rug on the market that was waterproof, robust, did not move on the horse and kept the horse dry,” said Tom.

The now famous Rambo Rug name was coined by his wife Carol as the couple walked across from the RDS to the Horse Show House, conjuring up possible names.

“We needed a name that would project toughness and was still attractive. It needed to be memorable and simple. Carol said: “‘Rambo; the rug that fights back.’ I bought her a gin and tonic for that.”

Carol’s knack for coming up with catchy product names came to the fore again when she named the Amigo rug, a good, more affordable line.

Horseware went from strength to strength, expanding to America and Cambodia.

Horseware survived three disasters in 18 months including a fire in Dundalk, an American hurricane and a near death experience for Tom. Expansion to China was the next chapter and today, Horseware employs 650 people in Ireland, America, Cambodia and China.

“We have just moved to a new building in Dundalk - a fantastic facility, overlooking the Cooley Mountains,” said Tom.

Horseware, the No 1 in the world today at what they do, is innovative – whether it is new products or having a strong social media presence – 100,000 Facebook friends, another 20,000 on Twitter. New business deals beckon with cutting edge sports technology with rugby and soccer clubs.

PHILOSOPHY

“It is about having a good team. I learned from my missionary work that I could not do it all myself. The trick is to manage people. It makes for a much more productive environment. All is voluntary in the missionary world and I have always had that mindset; get people to come along with you - like the horses. The horse is not getting paid, you have to persuade him to come with you.

“We fight against strata, society and class. We value people and don’t put up with someone who does not. Nobody calls me Mr MacGuinness. My office is open; there is a lot to be said for the golden rule - `Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.’

“One of the biggest dangers to any business is silence. It must be open to doing things better and more efficiently. Once you build the culture, you attract a certain kind of person.

“People leave their baggage at the door; not coming in dumping on everyone. If someone is destroying the psychological environment, we just don’t put up with that.

“That is the whole foundation of the market economy really - if you are thinking of the other person, open to their need. This is a business; it is not just making blankets.”

Tom and Carol’s three children – Annie (planning); Lorraine (marketing) and Tommy (production) all work in the business.

The couple are looking forward to the RDS. “The Dublin Horse Show is arguably the best in the world because it is so unique, right in the middle of a city. There’s a huge range of classes, from the pony kids to international show jumping. We have two corporate tables full every day with clients, many from Sweden and America, everyone loves coming to the Dublin Horse Show.”