Hultafors Group completes the acquisition of Fristads, Kansas and Leijona

Hultafors Group today announces that the acquisition of Fristads, Kansas and Leijona is completed. The transaction has been approved by the competition authorities and all other conditions to closing have been fulfilled.

Fristads, Kansas and Leijona are well-known brands in professional workwear for a variety of end-users and have considerable footholds in their respective key markets Sweden, Denmark and Finland. As of 1 March, the brands are part of Hultafors Group’s market leading portfolio in the Personal Protection Equipment segment.

“We are very pleased to welcome Fristads, Kansas and Leijona to Hultafors Group. The combined companies now represent the strongest Personal Protection Equipment offering in Europe and North America. Together, we have access to leading workwear industry expertise and will continue to drive the development of our industry with a focus on customer value, product innovation and sustainability”, says Camilla Monefeldt Kirstein, EVP Business Unit Workwear at Hultafors Group.

Fristads, Kansas and Leijona will operate as a separate stand-alone unit with their own sales force under the leadership of Anders Hülse, currently CEO of Fristads, within Business Unit Workwear at Hultafors Group. The intention is to further develop the brands with innovation and sustainability as guiding stars.

“Fristads, Kansas and Leijona are on a positive journey where we have made significant investments in product assortment, marketing, IT, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and logistics/warehouse management. We will continue focusing on the ongoing improvement program. As part of Hultafors Group and strongly supported by our new long-term owner Latour, the aim is to provide an even better service offer to our customers, reaching the same high standard as the rest of the brands in Hultafors Group”, says Anders Hülse CEO of Fristads.

The acquisition of Fristads, Kansas and Leijona is part of Hultafors Group's strategy to grow and develop leading brands in the Personal Protection Equipment segment in Europe and North America. Following a number of successful acquisitions, the brand portfolio today consists of several well-known brands such as Snickers Workwear, EMMA Safety Footwear and Hellberg Safety that make the workday safer, easier and more productive for professional users.

For further information or questions, please contact:

Camilla Monefeldt Kirstein

Executive Vice President Business Unit Workwear Hultafors Group

+46 734 33 36 34

Jens Eriksson

Vice President M&A and Business Development, Hultafors Group

+46 702 114 601

About Hultafors Group

Hultafors Group is one of Europe’s largest companies to supply workwear, footwear, head protection, hand tools, tool carriers and ladders for professional users. The products are developed, manufactured and marketed as their own brands, which are available through leading distributors in about 40 markets, with emphasis on Europe and North America. Hultafors Group has more than 1,000 employees and net sales in 2020 amounted to SEK 3.6 billion.

About Fristads, Kansas, Leijona

Fristads, Kansas and Leijona are leading brands in workwear for building & construction, industry and service in their respective home markets Sweden, Denmark and Finland. In addition, they have extensive export sales in Europe and own production in Eastern Europe. They have over 600 employees and combined annual sales amount to c:a SEK 1.2 billion. The workwear from Fristads, Kansas and Leijona is developed with a focus on innovation and sustainability, it is functional, durable and well adapted to its users.