Built on a Handshake: COBMEX® and The R&R Group – 25 Years of Partnership

In the uniform industry, most manufacturer-distributor relationships are straightforward: a distributor needs product, a manufacturer delivers it, and the arrangement holds as long as both sides are satisfied. COBMEX® and The R&R Group built something less common: a partnership that has lasted 25 years.

In this article, Phil Newman, COBMEX® founder and CEO, and Jonathan Edberg, COBMEX® President and COO, and Ron Pate and Bob Gates, co-founders of The R&R Group, reflect on a quarter century of partnership, its impact on the uniform industry, and what has kept it going.

How It Started

The partnership began at the 2002 NAUMD conference in Miami Beach. Phil showed up with sweaters he believed in and a clear sense of where he wanted to take it in the US market. COBMEX® was based in Canada, and at the time the association had not yet expanded to include North American membership, which meant Phil was not officially welcome as an exhibitor.

Phil’s memory of those early days is precise: “I had a bag of samples, a contact sheet with style numbers and prices, and if someone wanted to see product, I had to arrange to meet them outside the exhibit hall. I wasn’t allowed to show inside, and I respected that.” Ron and Bob love to joke that Phil showed up with just “three sweaters and a suitcase.”

Regardless, Phil was there because he believed in the product and knew where he wanted to take it. He introduced himself to Ron Pate and Bob Gates on the sidelines of the conference, and that conversation started everything.

Ron and Bob had spent decades building credibility across the US uniform market and were in the process of establishing their own rep group. They had seven territories, an established network, and were looking for manufacturers worth representing. As Ron recalls it, the fit was immediate: “It kind of just was pretty natural.” What followed was a working relationship that has outlasted most in the industry.

Shared Values as a Foundation

After that first conversation, Ron and Bob agreed to represent COBMEX® across their US territories, and they did it the way they did everything. There was no contract, no negotiated terms, no formal agreement to define the partnership. From the beginning, it was built on a handshake.

Phil is direct about what made it hold: “By having the same goals and the same moral foundation, you’re able to forge ahead together. I never doubted their integrity or their intention. And I never will.”

It worked because both sides came to the table with the same beliefs about how business should be done. Neither side had to explain this to the other, that understanding was there before either side had named it.

“We shared a common theme about how we thought customer service should be, and I’m not sure we even knew it at the time,” Ron reflects. Over time that standard became the reputation. “COBMEX® has created the customer service model that everybody in the States tries to duplicate,” he says.

Beyond Borders

From the beginning, their partnership operated without regard for borders. COBMEX® was Canadian and The R&R Group was rooted in the US, but the way they worked together did not reflect that divide.

For Phil, working alongside Ron and Bob made that clear early: “They showed me that it doesn’t matter whether you’re sitting in Toronto or Nashville or Guadalajara. If you have that relationship and that trust developed between a supplier and a partner, that’s all that really matters.”

That way of working extended into the industry. Phil had long believed the border was an arbitrary limit, and Ron, who shared that view, was in a position to act on it as a member of NAUMD. Together, they pushed for the association to expand its scope. When it formally changed its name to the North American Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors, COBMEX® was able to join. As chairman at the time, Ron invited Phil onto the board, where he went on to serve in several leadership roles, eventually becoming chairman himself. The fact that Phil went from attending on the sidelines of the conference in 2002 to chairing the organization in 2019 says everything about what a conversation can become. It proved that the industry was moving beyond borders and that strong relationships would lead that change.

Trust, Sincerity, and a Bit of Fun

Despite all the emphasis on trust and common values, the relationship between the four has never been purely business. It has always carried a personal dimension that is just as important.

When Ron is asked to sum up why the relationship has lasted, he does not hesitate. “I think it comes down to trust and sincerity.” But he is quick to add one more important descriptor: “Fun.”

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of laughs with Phil and Jon,” Ron continues. “Bob and I have always said we’ll keep working as long as we’re having fun.”

Some of the best moments have played out on the golf course and at COBMEX® hosted industry parties. Over the years Phil has developed a habit of taking the microphone, announcing a special guest speaker, and handing it directly to Ron, who has never once been warned in advance. Bob has learned to brace himself for whatever comes next.

It is a dynamic that has played out for decades, and one that reflects a deeper truth about the relationship. The trust is real and the foundation is serious, but the ability to enjoy the work and the people behind it has always been part of what keeps it going.

The Next Chapter

As COBMEX® grows and evolves, the values that built it remain the measure of what the next chapter should look like.

For Ron, watching Jonathan Edberg grow into his role as President and COO has been that confirmation: “He develops relationships, not just acquaintances. It’s not about selling sweaters. It’s about building relationships.”

What stood out early was how seriously Jon approached the business. He came in with energy and a genuine drive to understand knitwear, the uniform industry, and the relationships that made COBMEX® what it is.

Phil noticed it immediately: “”Jon came in with a lot of energy and a lot of passion, and he developed a deep knowledge of this business very quickly. Ron and Bob saw what Jon was capable of from the beginning.”

That recognition translated into something more than professional respect. Ron and Bob took a genuine interest in Jon’s development, holding him to the same standards they had always held Phil to.

After watching Jon work a trade show floor, handle product, and present to distributors, Bob is confident: “Phil’s built a very good company and he’s leaving it in very good hands. Jonathan Edberg probably knows more about sweaters than anybody in the world.”

Jon is equally clear about what that relationship has meant to him. “Ron and Bob have had a huge impact on my career and on the way I understand this business. They shared their knowledge freely, challenged me to grow, and showed me the importance of doing business with honesty, consistency, and real respect for relationships. Over time, what started as a professional relationship became something much more personal. They’ve been mentors, trusted partners, and in many ways, they’ve become like family to me.”

A partnership that began with a suitcase of samples and a handshake has become a defining example of what trust, shared values, and genuine relationships can build over time. Twenty-five years later, COBMEX® and The R&R Group aren’t just looking back on a successful history, they’re carrying those same principles forward, proving that the strongest businesses are still built the same way they always have been: together.