HB Protective Wear

What HB Protective Wear does

HB Protective Wear GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of specialized personal protective equipment (PPE) clothing, headquartered and operating from Thalhausen, Germany. Founded in 1952 and organized as a privately held GmbH & Co. KG (a common German family-ownership legal form), the company develops and manufactures workwear designed to protect wearers against defined workplace hazards, and self-describes as the only German manufacturer that has been exclusively producing protective clothing for nearly 70 years. Headcount is reported at 51-100 employees, with no disclosed parent company, institutional investor, or external funding.

The company's product portfolio spans eight distinct hazard categories: Arc & Energy (IEC 61482-2 certified arc flash protection), Heat, Splashes & Welding, Chemical Protection (EN 13034 Type 6), HIVIS & Weather, TEMPEX Cold Protection (down to -49°C), Fire & Rescue Services (Flammgard), ESD protection for electronics manufacturing, and Cleanroom & Dust garments for automotive paint shops. Underlying capability is concentrated in standards compliance and specialized material selection and garment processing rather than in digital or AI-enabled features. An online Ready-to-Wear configurator on a separate domain (hb-ready-to-wear.com) allows customers to specify customized garments, but this is a standard product configuration tool, not an AI system.

HB's business model is a direct B2B hardware-sales motion: a personal sales support team (reachable at a dedicated sales phone number) handles inquiries and quote-based orders from industrial customers, supplemented by catalogues (including a refreshed 2026 edition), a corporate website, an email newsletter, and brand presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube (HB PSA World), XING and LinkedIn. Markets served are recorded as Germany only, with no stated global footprint. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is assumed to be quote-based for enterprise industrial buyers across electrical utilities, welding, fire & rescue, chemical, cold storage, electronics, and construction end markets.

Name

HB Protective Wear

Legal name

HB Protective Wear GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://hb-online.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1952

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

HB Protective Wear is a privately held German manufacturer of specialized protective clothing, founded in 1952 and based in Thalhausen. It produces PPE garments across eight hazard categories — arc flash, heat/welding, chemical, weather, cold, fire/rescue, ESD, and cleanroom — selling directly to industrial B2B customers via a personal sales team and catalogues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Personal Protective Equipment / Protective Workwear

NAICS

Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (3159)

SIC

Men's & Boys' Furnishgs, Work Clothg, & Allied Garments (2320)

akta.pro primary industry

Workwear, Uniform & Protective Apparel Manufacturers (CRAAAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fire-Resistant (FR) & Arc-Rated Apparel (CRAAALAD), Cold-Weather & Thermal Protective Workwear (CRAAALAJ), High-Visibility (Hi-Vis) Safety Apparel (CRAAALAE), Chemical-Resistant & Hazardous Materials Protective Clothing (CRAAALAI), Flame & Heat Protective Foundry/Welding Apparel (CRAAALAL), Protective & Work Accessories Manufacturing (Safety Gloves/Hi-Vis Accessories) (IMAOAFAH)

Keywords

• Protective clothing
• Personal protective equipment
• Industrial workwear
• Safety garments
• Flame resistant apparel

Headquarters

HQ city

Thalhausen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Protective Clothing Sales: Manufacture and sale of protective workwear and PPE clothing to industrial customers, featuring specialized protection against various workplace hazards including arc flash, heat, chemicals, cold, and fire.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HB Protective Wear GmbH & Co. KG manufactures and sells multi-risk protective clothing for industrial, energy, and public-sector workplaces. The portfolio addresses arc flash and electrical hazards, heat and welding exposure, chemical splash, high-visibility and weather, cold environments (TEMPEX line), fire and rescue operations, electrostatic discharge (ESD), and cleanroom/dust contamination, with garments engineered to applicable EN, IEC, and ISO PPE standards.

Product overview

HB Protective Wear is a German manufacturer of high-quality personal protective equipment (PPE) solutions. The company operates a portfolio of eight distinct product categories: Arc & Energy (IEC 61482-2 certified arc flash protection), Heat, Splashes & Welding (flame and molten metal protection), Chemical Protection (EN 13034 Type 6), HIVIS & Weather (high-visibility and weather protection), TEMPEX Cold Protection (extreme cold storage up to -49°C), Fire & Rescue Services (Flammgard for firefighters), ESD protection (for electronics manufacturing), and Cleanroom & Dust (for cleanrooms and automotive paint shops). The company also offers an online Ready-to-Wear configurator for custom protective clothing design. HB is the only manufacturer in Germany exclusively producing protective clothing for almost 70 years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arc & Energy Protection Arc-rated and flame-resistant protective clothing for utility, electrical contracting, and energy-sector field workers exposed to arc-flash and electrical hazards. Built to IEC 61482 and related arc-protection standards.
• Heat, Splashes & Welding Protection Heat-resistant and welding-protective garments for metal fabrication, steel mills, and welding shops. Includes flame-resistant workwear engineered to EN ISO 11612 for thermal hazards, sparks, and molten metal exposure.
• Chemical Protection Chemical-protective garments certified to EN 13034 Type 6 (limited spray) for industrial and laboratory workers handling liquid chemicals, plus particulate protection per EN 13982.
• HIVIS & Weather Protection High-visibility and weatherproof garments for construction, roadwork, and outdoor industrial sites, providing both visibility enhancement and protection against rain and wind.
• TEMPEX Cold Protection Insulated cold-weather clothing systems rated to EN 342 for outdoor workers in cold storage, logistics, utility, and extreme-temperature operations.
• Fire & Rescue Services Protection Protective ensembles for fire brigades and rescue services, engineered for the thermal, mechanical, and visibility hazards encountered in structural firefighting and technical rescue.
• ESD Protection Electrostatic-dissipative protective garments certified to EN 1149-5 for electronics assembly, semiconductor manufacturing, and other ESD-sensitive environments.
• Cleanroom & Dust Protection Type 5/6 particulate and limited-spray protective garments for pharmaceutical, biotech, semiconductor, and other cleanroom operations where contamination control is required.

Named customers1 record

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lakeland Industries: Lakeland Industries is a US-listed manufacturer of protective clothing for chemical, FR, arc, and cleanroom applications. Directly comparable to HB as a specialized multi-hazard PPE apparel manufacturer serving industrial end-markets.
• Bulwark Protection: Bulwark is a leading FR and arc-rated workwear brand owned by VF Corporation. Comparable to HB's Arc & Energy and welding/heat lines as a specialist in flame- and arc-resistant protective apparel for industrial workers.
• Sioen Industries: Sioen is a Belgian manufacturer of technical textiles and protective clothing covering FR, chemical, hi-vis, and waterproof segments. Closely comparable to HB as a European multi-category technical apparel specialist.
• JSP Safety: JSP designs and manufactures head-to-toe PPE including respiratory, head, and protective apparel. Comparable to HB as a European multi-category PPE manufacturer serving construction, industrial, and emergency services.

Broad incumbents

• DuPont: DuPont's Nomex and Tyvek brands dominate FR and chemical protective apparel globally. A broad incumbent competing with HB across arc-rated and chemical protection categories, with materially larger R&D and global distribution.
• Ansell: Ansell is a global PPE leader in hand and body protection, including chemical and FR apparel. Comparable to HB across chemical and multi-hazard protective clothing, with broader product depth and worldwide reach.
• Honeywell Safety: Honeywell offers a broad PPE portfolio including protective clothing, gloves, and respiratory protection. Comparable to HB across multi-hazard industrial PPE, with substantially greater scale and global distribution.
• 3M Personal Safety: 3M's Personal Safety Division covers respiratory, hearing, and protective apparel. Overlaps with HB on chemical and multi-hazard protective clothing, with global enterprise procurement leverage HB cannot match.

Regional players

• Drägerwerk: Dräger is a German-based manufacturer of safety and medical technology, including protective equipment for fire and rescue. Comparable to HB as a regional German safety specialist, with overlap on fire & rescue garments.
• Helmut Feldhoff / Elten GmbH: Elten is a German safety footwear and PPE specialist serving industrial customers in Germany and neighboring markets. Adjacent to HB as a German-based workwear/PPE manufacturer with overlapping direct B2B sales channels.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHOniZ8gFsla-dooqK2I-CQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/hb-schutzbekleidung-gmbh-&-co-kg
• Instagraminstagram.com/hb_protective_wear

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HB Protective Wear