Some say Britain no longer has much in the way of a home grown manufacturing base. But Mark Johnstone, chief executive of JSP, which has a factory in a former Witney blanket mill, would certainly not number himself among them.

Indeed, ghosts of early 20th Century blanket workers would probably not be too surprised, were they to return to the lovely Worsham Mill, near Minster Lovell, to see the place still being used for making things — even if those things are now personal protective clothing, such as safety helmets and road safety signs instead of blankets.

Mr Johnstone said: “This business has grown out of traditional Oxfordshire skills.”

His father, Clive, took over the semi-derelict mill back in 1969, to make workplace clothing, including helmets and gloves. He came here because he wanted to utilise the know-how of former glovers — whose industry, which had flourished in the area since Elizabethan times, was in decline.

He even bused in workers from the former glove factory in Charlbury when it closed down in the early 1970s.

Now present-day JSP chief executive Mark Johnstone freely admits his business is “legislation driven” — supplying companies that must buy protective equipment to comply with the law.

Before the health and safety laws were given teeth in the 1960s, his grandfather Maurice, formerly a tea planter in India, had been manufacturing work clothing in London. After it became compulsory, for example, to wear helmets on building sites, business boomed and moved here.

Now the company — with the river Windrush flowing right through its picturesque headquarters — employs about 700 people on three continents, manufacturing safety items and generating sales of more than £28m.

Commenting on the mill Mr Johnstone said: “Chinese customers in particular love it. They like its fengshui. They love flowing water.”

But the question that has many economists scratching their heads is why JSP continues to make such things as safety helmets — many destined for China — at UK factories not only at Worsham but at two other Cotswold sites.

After all, the perceived wisdom is that its cheaper to manufacture in China than Europe.

Mr Johnstone, an accountant by training who worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers for nine years, said: “The costs of manufacturing in China are going up and the UK still has a tremendous amount to offer.

“It’s becoming bettter to keep the base here and set up satellite bases elsewhere, otherwise it’s all too easy to lose your corporate culture and control. You risk throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

As a result, the company has a highly developed research and development team at Minster Lovell, constantly updating the efficient design platform of products like safety helmets to suit all needs.

Mr Johnston added: “We can manufacture helmets more cheaply in the UK than anywhere else in the world.

“First, this is because we can design for manufacture in one place. Second, because we can achieve greater volume with the same number of people, and third, because achieving high volumes produces cost efficiencies.”

Now the company, far from cutting back, is looking to recruit more staff.

Mr Johnstone said: “We are trying to recruit because we are expanding. We are always on the lookout for new employees, both on the shop floor and in our offices.”

But surely the recession in the building trade and in public spending must have hit hard?

Mr Johnstone said: “We have to look for overseas markets in which to sell JSP branded products. The Chinese market is expanding enormously, for instance.

“There are 1.36 billion people in China and their spending power is rising. In 2009, for example, they bought more mobile telephones than all Americas put together.

“In 2010, they bought more than the rest of the world put together. That gives you some idea of the expanding market.”

To reach that market, and others in the fast-developing world — particularly the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China but also the Middle East — JSP is expanding its sales force and investing more in research and development.

Its idea of ‘localism’ is to have more people on the ground in different potential markets, even in addition to the 90 countries to which it already exports.

Mr Johnstone, a firm believer in the principle that bigger is not necessarily better, seems to be doing far better than merely surviving, despite having to compete with giants like 3M.

He said: “We speak ten different languages in the sales office here and we are able to react quickly and produce bespoke products when and if necessary, right up to the last minute.”

He added: “Local offices and satellite manufacturing are essential. You can get to a certain level by visiting your markets periodically, but really you need day-to-day contact with customers locally.”

Many economists and other manufacturers must be watching JSP with interest to see whether, despite this belief, Mr Johnstone’s prediction that Asia will soon become too expensive a place to centre manufacturing will indeed come true.

And the paradox is that now the company can no longer draw on workers from the traditional West Oxfordshire trades, it is becoming more dependent on Eastern Europeans working in this country.

Mr Johnstone said: “I cannot stress enough how much we value our loyal staff here in Britain.”

Name: JSP Chief executive: Mark Johnstone Number of staff: 700 worldwide Annual turnover: £28m Contact: 01993 824000 Web: www.jsp.co.uk