Bulwark FR is an American company that manufactures and distributes

flame-resistant The term flame retardants subsumes a diverse group of chemicals that are added to manufactured materials, such as plastics and textiles, and surface finishes and coatings. Flame retardants are activated by the presence of an ignition source and ...

protective

apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natura ...

to the North American industrial market, primarily serving the

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described b ...

utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosoph ...

and

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable ...

segments. The company is headquartered in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

and currently owned by Workwear Outfitters. It was previously owned by

VF Corporation VF Corporation (formerly Vanity Fair Mills until 1969) is an American global apparel and footwear company founded in 1899 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The company's 13 brands are organized into three categories: Outdoor, Active and Wor ...

(NYSE: VFC), the world's largest apparel company, until 2021. It was ranked among the top industrial protective clothing industry players in 2017.

History

Bulwark was started in the fall of 1990 in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

, Canada by Dan Starko. The company's original name was Protective Apparel, but it was quickly deemed too generic and a local ad agency was hired to develop a new name; Bulwark – "to fortify and protect" – was chosen. Dan was joined by his brothers Dave and Tom shortly after the start up and funding was raised through Vencap Equities to fund a very aggressive business plan. In 1993, Bulwark became the first apparel manufacturing company in the world to have achieved ISO 9000 status. Bulwark grew to annual sales of almost 50 million with a staff of 400 employees. In 1996, the company was acquired by Red Kap, a manufacturer and distributor of work-related clothing. Red Kap had paved the way for flame-resistant garments in the industrial laundry market in 1971 and continued to evolve in the market for the next 25 years. The acquisition of Bulwark enabled this division of VF Corporation, to become the largest manufacturer and distributor of protective clothing in the world. In 2021, Bulwark was sold to Redwood Capital Investments, LLC, and later became part of a standalone company known as ''Workwear Outfitters''.

References

{{Reflist *Rodengen, Jeffrey L., The Legend of VF Corporation, Write Stuff Enterprises, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 1998 *2008 VF Corporation Annual Report *2003 Red Kap calendar

External links

Bulwark official page
VF Corporation Clothing companies established in 1990 Clothing companies of the United States 1990 establishments in Alberta