Portwest is a global clothing manufacturing company based in Westport,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

that specializes in the design and production of

protective clothing Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...

, including high visibility, flame resistant workwear, safety footwear, work gloves and

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, e ...

(PPE). Portwest was founded by Charles Hughes in 1904, in Westport. The Hughes family still own and manage the company. Portwest directly employs 4,500 people worldwide and sell to 10,000 safety distributors and national retailers in more than 130 countries. Portwest expanded its Australian operations through the acquisition of two Australian companies, Prime Mover and Huski Explorer. Portwest also invested in Italian company Base Protection footwear, a premium safety footwear brand.

History

The origins of Portwest began in 1904 when Charles Hughes commenced his business as a small retail shop in Westport, Co. Mayo. Padraig Hughes, nephew of Charles Hughes, joined the business in 1936. After the death of his uncle in 1949, Padraig took over the running of the company until his retirement in 1988. For 52 years he oversaw the development of the wholesale business, the building of Hotel Westport, and the development of Westport Clothing company (now Portwest Ltd) and Carraig Donn Industries Ltd. The Hughes family still own and manage the company. The Hughes Group trading companies include: Charles Hughes Ltd, Hotel Westport Ltd. and Portwest Group. Portwest employees 4,500 people worldwide and sells to over 10,000 safety distributors and national retailers in more than 130 countries. Today, Portwest has warehouses and sales offices in six global locations including UK, USA, Australia, UAE, Ireland and Poland.

Products

Portwest specializes in the design and manufacture of

workwear Workwear is clothing worn for work, especially work that involves manual labour. Often those employed within trade industries elect to be outfitted in workwear because it is built to provide durability and safety. The workwear clothing industry ...

, gloves and personal protective equipment under the brand names Araflame, Bizflame, Bizweld, and Modaflame. Products meet international safety standards including

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

, EN,

GOST GOST (russian: ГОСТ) refers to a set of International standard, international Technical standard, technical Standardization, standards maintained by the ''Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC)'', a region ...

ANSI The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organi ...

and NFPA. Portwest has sales offices and warehouses in six global locations, manufacturing facilities in Asia and customer support in 130 countries. Their products are used in a variety of industries including: oil and gas, mining and cement, service and hospitality, transportation, law enforcement, and security. Their products are used in a variety of industries including:

oil and gas A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and combustion, burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, petroleum, oil, and natura ...

, mining and cement, service and hospitality, transportation, law enforcement, and security.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.portwest.com Clothing companies of Ireland