Honeywell Expands Global Life Safety Products Portfolio With Acquisition Of King’s Safetywear Limited

KSW, headquartered in Singapore, employs approximately 1,500 employees across Southeast Asia, Australia and Europe. The company is majority owned by Navis Capital Partners, a Southeast Asian private equity firm, and has estimated 2011 sales of approximately $138 million.

The company’s product portfolio mainly consists of leather-based and polyurethane (PU) soled safety footwear and other personal protective equipment used in the manufacturing, logistics, oil & gas, mining and construction segments. These products are sold under the KING’S, OTTER, and OLIVER brands, each with market-leading positions in their respective regions and industries. KSW will be integrated into Honeywell Life Safety, part of Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions (ACS), and creates significant opportunities for channel synergies.

In 2008, Honeywell acquired Norcross Safety Products and just two years later, acquired Sperian Protection to establish Honeywell Safety Products, a global leader in the PPE market with a product portfolio designed to protect workers from “head to toe” in a variety of hazardous environments.

"The addition of KSW further builds on our leadership position in the safety products segment worldwide by substantially enhancing our position within the safety footwear category,” said Mark Levy, president and CEO of Honeywell Life Safety. “KSW brands are highly valued, as is reflected by their strong sales growth and terrific profitability. Their presence in important vertical end-markets makes them a logical extension of our business, and should enable more opportunities for Honeywell in the higher growth Southeast Asia, Australia and Europe regions. With their terrific leadership team and expansive distribution network globally, we also see strong cross-selling opportunities worldwide.”

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that each year about 2.3 million people die through work-related accidents and diseases, including close to 360,000 fatal accidents and an estimated 1.95 million fatal work-related diseases1. Honeywell Safety Products’ goal is to improve safety in the workplace for as many workers worldwide, with effective and comfortable personal protective equipment and advanced safety solutions for the workplace. Honeywell Safety Products is focused on delivering innovative safety solutions for high-risk environments, allowing workers in the manufacturing and services industries to perform their jobs with greater confidence. With its focus on innovation and continuous product evolution, it also helps businesses comply with emerging safety legislation and standards.