Interview 13 Richard Jones (Operations & Marketing Manager de Portwest): Our new collection includes 150 new products” Founded in 1904, Portwest have been designing, developing and manufacturing high quality workwear, Flame retardant clothing, High visibility garments, safety footwear and PPE for over a hundred years. Excellent quality, very competitive pricing and large stock holding ensures we offer a market leading service to all customers. What are the main values of Portwest? Our company values of Quality, Service and Value are not new – they are the principles on which our business was founded and the fundamentals on which we have built. Solid associations with cus- tomers, end-users and staff are key to our company’s continued progression. How is the new collection? Our 2011-2012 collection is now availa- ble and includes new styles specifically developed for warmer climates around Europe, the Middle East and Africa.The new brochure is packed with 150 new products and, at 274 pages, it is our lar- gest publication yet. Available in 13 lan- guages, including Spanish, the brochure has already been an overwhelming suc- cess and a valuable sales aid for custo- mers and buyers alike. Free copies can be downloaded at www.portwest.com by clicking on the national flags for each language. Will you introduce some new products in Sicur 2012? We are delighted to announce that our new range of inherent Flame Resistant Coveralls, Nomex® and Multi-Norm flame-retardant coveralls will be on show at Sicur 2012 for the very first time. Port- west AraFlame and Modaflame are two new fabrics we have developed and are exclusive to our company. Each provides excellent protection against flame, wel- ding and electric arc and is anti-static. Ma- nufactured specifically for the on-shore and offshore oil and gas industries, these garments come fully certified and com- bine the best in functional design with le- ading edge technical fabrics. Alongside the inherent FR clothing we have the light- weight BizFlame anti-static FR21 and FR28 coveralls.The fabric is designed for use in hot climates and has weight op- tions of 210g (6oz), 280g (8oz) or even padded versions for wintertime. And in footwear, do you have any news? After almost two-years in development and after multiple wearer trials on oil rigs in the North Sea and Africa, we will launch the new Portwest range of pre- mium safety footwear at Sicur 2012. Using only the finest materials and com- ponents and focusing on safety perfor- mance comfort and stability, the FD01 and FD02 are at the fore-front of mo- dern technology. Both styles incorporate Green DiamondTechnology for extreme anti-slip properties, have a composite to- ecap and midsole, S3 E-leather, are fully waterproof and soles can resist tempera- tures up to 300 degrees. There are also developments in Gore- Tex garments, right? Also new to our collection is the 11- piece collection of high visibility rainwear clothing and corporate workwear jackets and trousers utilising GORE-TEX® fa- brics.The high visibility workwear range consists of waterproof, windproof and breathable GORE-TEX® jackets, parkas, trousers and hoods that conform to EN471 and EN 343 Class 3.3. Our two corporate wear GORE-TEX® jackets are contemporary, sleek and conform to EN 343 Class 3.3. What customer service Portwest offers? Our stock levels are at an all time high and our innovative operations ensure all orders are picked, packed and ready for despatch accurately and on-time.With over 900 individual product lines Port- west are truly a ‘one-stop-shop’ for all workwear, footwear and PPE require- ments. Our state-of-the-art warehouses, positioned strategically around Europe, are holding more stock than ever before to ensure we can offer exceptional ser- vice to all customers. In addition, our ex- pert team of designers, quality assurance experts, market researchers and product managers are constantly upgrading pro- ducts and producing safer, more functio- nal solutions for use in hazardous environments. What are your challenges for 2012? 2012 will see further development of our website and an even larger product offe- ring.We aim to have stock held locally in additional facilities around Europe to im- prove delivery times and can also offer container loads direct from our manufac- turing plants in the Far East.We will work closely customers and users to ensure the relevance of the products coming to market, whilst also looking to provide in- novative solutions to everyday problems. JOBWEAR 59 4o TRIMESTRE 2011