Australia’s largest independent wholesale supplier of personal safety solutions, family-owned Paramount Safety Products, acquired Pratt Safety Systems in July 2016, bringing the total number of safety brands under its umbrella to four.

Best known for its personal protective equipment (PPE) brand, ProChoice Safety Gear, the 24-year-old Paramount Safety has been riding remarkable Australian and international growth, particularly during the past five years thanks to strong PPE sales and a string of successful business ventures.

These include the launch of LINQ Height Safety Gear, SignViz Safety Signs and the clinical research, development and release of industrial hydration and heat stress solutions, THORZT.

The acquisition of the 40-year-old Pratt Safety Systems – manufacturers of premium dangerous goods storage systems, emergency showers and eye wash stations – was a great fit for Paramount according to managing director, Tim Bird.

“Pratt was the market leader in bringing emergency showers to Australia and has lead the way with a very high quality product all the way through,” he said, adding that Pratt’s target market of construction, resources and manufacturing safety is in synergy with Paramount’s other brands.

“Pratt actually has a signage business too, which we will be merging with SignViz,” Bird said.

Pratt products will also be available to Paramount’s New Zealand network, while sales to Asia and Africa will continue to be driven through their strong global network.

“With our significant distribution network throughout our five warehouses in Australia and New Zealand, we can now offer Pratt products with next day delivery to most areas in ANZ.”

The acquisition will take the number of staff employed by Paramount to 72, which Bird expects to increase as the company continues to expand.

“We are growing through both targeted acquisition of relevant companies, as well as local and global expansion of our existing brands,” Bird said.

He credits much of the company’s success to the values upon which his father founded the business in 1992, being a premium product that delivers beyond customer expectations – a very powerful selling point when working with peoples’ lives.

Today those values can be found in their commitment to Australian Standards certification and compliance, the demand of which is reflected in their sales – the company sold over 1 million safety gloves in 2015-16.

“We are Australia’s biggest independent PPE wholesaler, fully Australian-owned and operated, however our products are globally popular,” Bird said.

America is the next target for Paramount’s growth strategy with research into US expansion opportunities being undertaken.