Dunlop® Protective Footwear acquires ONGUARD

Raalte, The Netherlands, 2nd May 2016 – Dunlop Protective Footwear, the global market leader in protective boots, takes an important step in its growth strategy with the acquisition of ONGUARD Industries from Ansell Corporation.

ONGUARD is a leading manufacturer of protective boots in the USA with over 75 years of experience and an extensive product range with state of the art production facilities. The company will become the foothold for Dunlop Protective Footwear in the USA and offers a strong platform for growth in North America and beyond.

There are several important strategic considerations to this transaction. First of all it will accelerate the growth of Dunlop Protective Footwear in the USA. The Dunlop brand, being the leading global brand in protective boots, will enhance the premium position of the ONGUARDS’s PVC product range.
Dunlop Protective Footwear’s unique proprietary technology Purofort®, that offers exceptional product performance, will gain further access through the wide distribution network of ONGUARD. The company offers a great manufacturing and logistic platform to further expand local capabilities.
Finally, the geographical coverage of both companies is highly complementary with a strong presence in dedicated market segments and solid partnerships within the trade. The iconic Hazmax and DuraPro product lines will be rolled out on a wider global scale.

Combined, the two companies produce and sell over 7 million pairs of safety boots worldwide offering protection and comfort to end-users in Agriculture, Food processing, General Industry and the Oil, Gas and Mining with a comprehensive good-better-best product range.

Allard Bijlsma, CEO at Dunlop® Protective Footwear, says: “We are proud to be able to announce this next step in our expansion in the USA. We are happy to have ONGUARD joining our family, a company that has the same strong heritage, focus and determination like we have for many years. Our collective market knowledge, brand equity, innovation resources and people will safeguard the best interests of our valuable partners and customers now and in the future”.

“We remain focused on the execution of our strategic priorities, and divestiture of the ONGUARD by Ansell brand is a step to concentrate the Body Protection business to segments we can lead globally,” says Magnus Nicolin, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Ansell.

Allard Bijlsma concludes: “This acquisition fits perfectly in the global expansion strategy of Dunlop Protective Footwear, which includes the recently acquired brand license for Australia and New Zealand”.