Local Workwear Manufacturer Provides Trusted Thermal Protection with Nomex®

Based in KwaZulu-Natal’s coastal town of Port Shepstone and boasting over 60 years of experience and expertise in producing specialised workwear for specific applications, MB Workwear is a certified manufacturer of Nomex® flame retardant garments.

Developed by global chemical conglomerate, DuPont, Nomex® fabric has been providing workers with protection from flames and flash fires for over 50 years. Popular in the oil, gas and petrochemical industry, this inherently flame retardant fabric is used in a variety of MB Workwear’s flame retardant coveralls, all of which are manufactured in an ISO and SABS accredited factory, to provide OGP workers with superior protection.

Delving into the complex makeup of the fabric, Bruce Glenday, Business Development & Marketing Executive for MB Workwear, explains how Nomex® is inherently flame retardant. He says, “The inherent flame-resistant materials in Nomex® comprise of heat-resistant synthetic fibres. These fibres, called aromatic polyamide or aramid fibres, do not melt or ignite in normal oxygen levels”.

The synthetic fibres in Nomex® are poor conductors of heat. Therefore, heat takes longer to travel through these fibres, so the garment takes longer to burn and will not melt or drip. This unique synthetic structure ensures that once the source of the flame is removed from direct contact with the garment it will cease to burn and the flame will be extinguished.

“With our Nomex® garments, the aramid fibre swells to form a protective barrier between the flame and the wearer,” explains Glenday. “This barrier remains flexible until it cools, enabling the wearer to escape when necessary”.

This meta-aramid fabric is not as durable as its para-aramid cousin, Kevlar®, but Nomex® is still three times stronger and boasts twice the heat performance when compared to similar products in the market. While it may have originally been developed for applications at the extreme edge of human performance, such as F1 racing suits, fighter jet flight suits, firefighting garments and military wear, MB Workwear’s fire retardant workwear range brings Nomex® safety to workers on a daily basis.

For MB Workwear, the wearer always has been and will always be the most important consideration when manufacturing workwear garments. Furthermore, MB Workwear’s mantra and manufacturing philosophy – “Safety Obsessed, Quality Driven” – dictates that in order to provide superior protection, their workwear needs to be manufactured from innovative, market leading fabrics. With that in mind, it’s no wonder MB Workwear have chosen to work with Nomex®. It is, after all, the world’s leading fire retardant fabric.