Co Mayo-headquartered Portwest invests €6m in its Australian business

Portwest, the speciality clothing company with headquarters in Co Mayo, has announced a further Aus$10 million (€6.24 million) investment in its Australian operations.

The move follows the company’s acquisition of two major Australian companies, Prime Mover in 2017 and Huski Explorer earlier this year. It also comes as it opened a new warehousing facility in Melbourne.

Portwest said the new investment would allow it to further expand its operations down under as it looks to double turnover in Australia.

Founded in Westport in 1904, Portwest is one of the world’s fastest-growing speciality clothing companies, manufacturing and distributing safety products in more than 130 countries. The group has achieved 20 per cent compound growth every year for the past 40 years.

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It has about 3,000 staff and is expecting to reach 5,000 by June 2019. The company is targeting €1 billion turnover and more than 10,000 jobs in developing countries within seven years.

"Our vision for the company is clear, by selling more products, in more countries, through more salespeople selling to more customers, Portwest will continue its strong growth," said chief executive Harry Hughes, who last year was EY Ireland's Entrepreneur of the Year.

“Our sights are firmly fixed on our new markets of Australia and the US where further investments in warehousing, staff and an outstanding pipeline of new designs and innovations will drive this growth,” he added.