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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
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Safety apparel outfit’s goals heat up New markets, recent expansion foster firm’s acquisition plans By GINGER CHRIST gchrist@crain.com
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Seeing teams of electrical workers climbing utility poles is a welcome sight to National Safety Apparel Inc. in Cleveland. The neon yellow and orange safety jackets worn by the utility workers are a visual reminder of the success the company has experienced in the last decade. And that success could breed acquisitions in the future. National Safety, which makes safety clothing such as those fire-resistant safety jackets, 10 years ago began selling to utility, oil and gas companies. Through that diversification, National Safety now has doubled its annual revenue from 2005 levels, said Chuck “Chas� Grossman, president and owner of National Safety, though he declined to disclose specific revenue figures. The 150-person company last October moved from a 35,000square-foot plant on West 150th
Street to a 90,000-square-foot site at 15825 Industrial Parkway in Cleveland and has hired 50 people in the last 18 months, Mr. Grossman said. “I was looking to make my own mark,� said Mr. Grossman, who in 2000 became president of the familyowned company. In 2000, the National Fire Protection Agency rolled out new safety standards requiring electrical workers to wear fire-resistant materials. In that requirement, Mr. Grossman saw a new market opportunity for his company, which for years primarily served the steel and auto industries. The new markets now represent 50% of National Safety’s business. Mr. Grossman now has his sights on a handful of small safety clothing manufacturers in the United States for potential acquisition, although he declined to reveal specifics. Acquisitions would be a new forte for National Safety, which hasn’t bought any companies in the time Mr. Grossman has held the reins. However, that wasn’t for lack of interest. Rather, the company was limited by the square footage at its site on West 150th, where it operated for about 30 years. “I had the bridle on the horse,� Mr.
Grossman said. “Now I’m going to be more aggressive with acquisitions.â€? The new building is at 75% production capacity, leaving room for expansion. And continued equipment upgrades will allow for greater output as well, Mr. Grossman said. National Safety competes against companies such as Carhartt and Vanity Fair, both of which have flame-resistant divisions. While those companies can compete on price, sometimes being as much as 20% lower than National Safety, the local company’s advantage is in operating a U.S. manufacturing plant, Mr. Grossman said. “We’re selling safety clothing; there’s confidence in knowing where it’s coming from,â€? he said. “I’m devoted to Made in the USA and made in Cleveland.â€? One of the company’s biggest problems is in finding sources in the United States for the material it uses because the domestic apparel industry is shrinking, Mr. Grossman said. Industry statistics bear him out. About 85% of the clothes sold in the United States are imported because of cheaper labor costs abroad, according to an Aug. 27 report on the apparel industry by First Research, a division of Hoover’s. â–
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