Mayo-based Portwest acquires Canadian flame resistant clothing group

Mayo-based company Portwest has announced the acquisition of Canadian flame resistant clothing company IFR Workwear for an undisclosed sum.

Portwest sells workwear, safety footwear, and PPE. It now employs more than 5,000 people around the world.

The most recently filed set of accounts for Portwest show it generated revenue of €185.3 million in the year ended February 28th, 2019, which was up 26 per cent on the year before. It also had assets worth €133.6 million. Profit for the year was €32.8 million.

Portwest director Harry Hughes said IFR will benefit from the global presence of Portwest, while Portwest will benefit from the IFR’s presence in Canada and its production facility in Mexico.

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“Investment in innovative, market-leading workwear and safety companies is part of the Portwest Group’s growth strategy,” he said.

“We previously acquired two Australian workwear companies and invested in a premium Italian footwear brand, Base Protection, all of which reinforce our value proposition to our customers.”

Portwest specialises in flame resistant, high visibility, workwear, hand and foot protection products in addition to a full range of personal protective equipment.

Founded in Co Mayo in 1904, the company is family-owned and in its fourth generation. It has sales in more than 130 countries, as well as warehousing facilities in Ireland, Britain, Poland, Spain, Italy, Albania, UAE, China, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. It also has four fully owned factories in Europe & Asia.

Established by Reg Radford and Erin Buckland in 2005, IFR Workwear is one of Canada’s leading brands of premium flame resistant products.

It designs and manufactures safety garments for millions of people throughout Canada. It operates a fully owned factory in Mexico, two warehouses in USA and Canada, and employs over 250 people across all sites.

IFR Workwear president Erin Buckland said the two groups are “very compatible organisations and we share the same route to market by selling only to distributors and resellers”.

She added: “This strategic acquisition will allow IFR Workwear to develop faster in North America.

“I am delighted to remain on the management team at IFR Workwear and our core commitment of developing pioneering products, investment in stock and rapid customer service remains unchanged.”