Movers and shakers

Recent acquisitions, mergers, rebranding and other developments in the health and safety supplies sector.

Glove specialist BM Polyco Ltd has acquired Bodyguards Industrial, formerly a division of Medisavers Ltd based in Peterborough, in a move that will see the company almost double in size and strengthen its position in the UK industrial hand-protection market.€� €�Polyco says that with an extensive disposable hand-protection range, Bodyguards complements its existing range of gloves. Commented Sarah Bridge, deputy MD of Polyco: “With the acquisition of Bodyguards, Polyco is now able to offer its customers not only the most complete product range, but this will be supported by the outstanding service, technical support and bespoke delivery options already available from Polyco. Customers will have access to an unparalleled combination of cost effective, high quality solutions and technical expertise.”

Cleveland, Yorkshire-based machinery safety compliance group Laidler has been acquired by TÜV Product Service Ltd, a UK subsidiary of the TÜV SÜD group. According to the companies, Laidler has been growing at more than 20 per cent a year over the last two years, and its staff have been focusing on helping businesses find the most cost-effective and practical route to compliance with the EU Machinery Directive, and associated health and safety legislation.

€�Jean-Louis Evans, MD of TÜV Product Service Ltd, said: “The acquisition of Laidler brings a wealth of experience in machinery safety to our UK organisation and a position in the UK that is second to none. We feel that there are considerable synergies between our two organisations and that bringing the two organisations together will establish a much stronger machinery safety business for TÜV SÜD in the UK.”

Access specialist SGB is now known by the name of its parent company, Harsco, but the global industrial giant insists that this is more than a simple name change: by combining SGB and its US-equivalent Patent and German formwork specialist Hünnebeck to form Harsco Infrastructure, the company believes it has created a unique business capable of delivering a huge range of access, formwork and industrial service solutions for major clients all over the world.€� €�

Paul O’Kelly, who was recently appointed MD with responsibility for all Harsco Infrastructure’s European operations, explained: “Our vision for the next five years is to partner with major construction contractors and industrial process operators and to support our customers to grow in existing and emerging markets.”