Sioen Ireland (Garméidí Teo.), working in partnership with James Boylan Safety (JBS) Ltd, Monaghan, will supply a key component of the new An Garda Síochána uniform, namely its protective waterproof jackets and trousers, Softshells and Hi-Vis jackets.

It follows a long line of orders from a wide range of organisations, including Telecom Eireann, Eircom, An Post, the Irish coastguard, the Ambulance service, the Donegal Fire brigade, Kerry Fire brigade, the Irish prison service, the PSNI, Board Gas, Irish water, the Irish Army, the Aircorp, the Irish Navy, OGP (Office of Government Procurement) contracts and the majority of County Councils.

Mr Gaetan Frys, Director, Sioen Ireland, said they were delighted to receive the order from An Garda Síochána.

Established in 1982, Sioen Ireland originally manufactured PVC waterproof clothing for professional markets.

When Mr Frys first came to work there in 1984, 27 people were employed but the workforce grew to 125 people, with two factories, one in Gweedore and the other in Falcarragh.

However, increased competition in this market, and the increased costs of manufacturing in Ireland, led to the acquisition of factories in Tunisia, Romania and Indonesia.

“This ultimately led to redundancies at the Irish end of our manufacturing and we had to diversify and remodel our business in Ireland,” Mr Frys explained.

Sioen Industries, the parent company of Sioen Ireland, has 48 companies across the globe. It is a family-owned technical textile company, which is based in the north-west of Belgium.

“Sioen Ireland now employs around 12 people who sell and process orders and develop new styles, or work on projects with end users. Our parent company organises the planning and manufacturing of the garments in the various production sites owned by Sioen,” Mr Frys explained.

The Gweedore site is now, mostly, a sales distribution site for the Irish market. However, it also services life jackets, does some re-packing for the farming industry, where it would be leader in the field, and deals with safety distributors who supply their customers with safety equipment.

“Sioen holds adequate stock here for the day-to-day business and we work on tender business with partners who would be more specialised than us to issue full uniforms,” he added.

The new look uniform is being rolled out for all gardaí, sergeants and inspectors over the coming weeks.