Safety-wear manufacturer MB Workwear is focussed on providing specialised and technologically advanced garments using the latest and best fabric innovations, including new antistatic inherently flame-resistant coveralls to meet the evolving needs of the industries it serves.

The company is producing a full range of garments for multiple requirements in the mining, foundry, steel, oil and gas, chemicals and utilities industries. Some of the developments used in these garments include the Zeroflame, Zeroflame Acid Resistant, Protal Electric Arc and Vinex ranges.

The company states that using the latest fabric innovations ensures extra comfort for the wearer.

In 2014, MB Workwear launched a specialised garment that provides protection against molten metal splash in the aluminium industry. It also developed a range of high-visibility fabrics, chainsaw trousers and the first-ever mining safety-wear range for women, specially designed to fit the female body and provide greater comfort and protection.

MB Workwear sales and marketing director Bruce Glenday notes, that since the launch of the specialised garment, there has been great interest from local and international customers, including smelters in Dubai. It is considered unique, as it is comfortable for the wearer, offers better protection and is locally produced at a competitive price, he adds.

He says research for safety wear is done with customers on site and with international testing houses in the UK and Europe. Many of the fabrics are developed and produced at textile manufacturer and fabric engineering company Gelvenor Textiles, in Hammersdale, in KwaZulu-Natal.

MB Workwear innovates by producing customisable safety-wear solutions outside of its existing product range, developing unique garment solutions for various businesses. Such projects can vary from a completely new garment to slight alterations that can make all the difference in the workplace.

For example, MB Workwear was commissioned in 2014 to develop a specialist garment for diamond mining group De Beers that would not be detected when the wearer walks through X-ray machines. The company developed a safety-wear solution that was metal-free, with all the zips and studs manufactured from alternative materials. This enabled workers to pass through the X-ray machines without having to remove their clothing, which ensured productivity was not compromised.

Glenday states that, since this development, platinum mines have also shown interest.

He explains that a complete garment overhaul, as was done with De Beers, is often unnecessary and altering one component of an existing item can achieve the desired outcome, which is what MB Workwear did when designing specialised Nomex coveralls for large petrochemicals refineries Chevron, Natref, Sapref and Engen.

“These coveralls included a simple, but ingenious, design to accommodate radio and gas monitors, used for personal protective equipment requirements, enabling the wearer to access them with ease. This addition to the coveralls undoubtedly boosted radio communication among workers and increased safety in the refineries,” Glenday explains.

Evolving industries need a protective workwear manufacturer willing to develop new solutions for the daily challenges on the factory floor, he concludes.