Portwest expansion will create 55 jobs at its Westport base

EXPANSION Pictured outside the Portwest headquarters in Westport on a visit by United States Ambassador Mr Kevin O’Malley in 2015 are, from left: Tony Kirby, Owen Hughes, Karen Hughes, Cathal Hughes, US Ambassador to Ireland, Kevin O’Malley; Deena O’Malley, Henry Hughes, Deirdre Hughes, Harry Hughes and Ray Carney. Pic: Michael McLaughlin


Neill O'Neill

PORTWEST, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of personal protective clothing and equipment has announced the creation of 55 new jobs. Over the next four years, staff levels will increase from 75 to 130 at their head office in Westport.
The family-run business has been based in Westport for over a century where the now global company is run by a trio of brothers, Cathal, Owen and Harry Hughes. The Portwest brand is sold in over 100 countries worldwide and turnover is also expected to rise from the current level of €125 million to €250 million over the next five years.
In order to cater for the continued worldwide expansion, an investment of €4 million to double the size of the company’s base will take place and once the expansion to the offices are complete, recruitment will commence in areas of product development and design, finance, sales, supply chain, marketing and HR.
“We are very confident we will achieve these ambitious plans,” said Cathal Hughes, Group Chairman of Portwest.
“Although the Portwest brand is sold in over 100 countries, we are also cautious that we have a long way to go to achieve maturity in a lot of these markets. We have heavily invested in staff over the last five years and are now at the planning stages to ensure we achieve further rapid growth. Part of this means we are actively looking for suitable acquisitions in both Australia and the USA.”

TAKEOVER
Owen Hughes, Group Secretary and Director in Charge of Acquisitions with Portwest is currently overseeing a deal to acquire an Australian workwear company, with the deal expected to close by the end of August.
“Our loyal customer base which we have built up over the years both at home and abroad will continue to play an integral part of our future,” he said.
“A lot of work has gone into finding the right acquisitions and then negotiating a deal. We are excited about our Australian venture as each future acquisition will result in more jobs for our Westport head office.”
CEO of Portwest, Harry Hughes, confirmed that Portwest will also expand their manufacturing division, from current employment levels of 1,600 staff to 4,500 staff over the next four years. The company’s own factory in Bangladesh will double in size to over 3,000 staff and a new factory in Myanmar will start taking on staff this Autumn.
“Our growth philosophy is very simple,” says Harry, “more countries, more sales representatives, more customers and more products.”

FAMILY
Cathal, Harry and Owen Hughes are third generation helmsmen of Portwest, which was founded by their grand-uncle Charles Hughes in 1904 and subsequently managed by their Father Padraig. In 2014, the company welcomed the fourth generation of the Hughes family as Harry’s son Henry joined the business. This Autumn, Cathal Jnr, son of Group Chairman Cathal, will step into his apprenticeship.
“Whilst it’s very important that we have family in the business, there is also a senior management team in place that will assist manage the business into the future,” said Cathal Snr. Recent non-family appointments to the company’s board include Mr Ray Carney, Head of Purchasing and Mr Tony Kirby, Head of Finance.
“We have been very lucky with the quality and loyalty of our management over the years and the current success could not have been achieved without the efforts of all our staff who have made Portwest what it is today,” added Cathal Hughes
The office expansion project in Westport will be managed by Cox Power Architects of Westport. Additional jobs will also be created during the construction period which is expected to start by November 2016 and last for a six-month period.
Portwest recently won the Deloitte best managed companies award. The group also owns and runs Hotel Westport, a four star, 130-bedroom Hotel located in the centre of Westport which employs 80 people along with two outdoor shops in Westport and Galway.