ROCK FALL PROTECTIVE FOOTWEAR IS FINALLY IN NORWAY!

The good quality of Rock Fall’s protective footwear has given the company a solid spot in the market. The journey that started with sales of slippers and jogging shoes from stands in Britain has resulted in Rock Fall being one of the leading suppliers of protective footwear.

The family business was founded by Stephen Noon in 1997, and today Rock Fall is operated by Richard and Matthew Noon. Their adaptability and competitive products has made Rock Fall acknowledged internationally, and the company has won multiple prizes. Tranemo Workwear is now launching a limited collection of electrically insulating (EH- Electrical Hazard) protective footwear from Rock Fall, and we have talked to the director Matthew Noon about the collaboration with Tranemo Workwear in Norway, as well as their focus on EH protective footwear.


New requirements creates new needs in the market

The requirements for electric arc protection are continually becoming more comprehensive within the electric market. Rock fall has therefore taken one of their EH-models through the testing method IEC 61482-1-1: 2019, which has reached 109,4 kcal/cm2. These results goes above the capacity of testing laboratories, which has never happened before. This testifies to how the protective footwear has a very good electric arc protection.

«This ensures that the customer can trust the quality of protection in the product, as they can see the actual results and how much the protective shoes can endure. This model is also available through Tranemo Workwear AS, and it is the perfect supplement to their electric arc protective workwear,” Matthew Noon details.


A market expert with a long history of experience

Even though Rock Fall continues to launch new products to match new requirements, needs and trends in the market, they can proudly look back at many years in business and the reassurance of having made the right choices. This is clearly demonstrated through how the customers continues to choose Rock Fall as their supplier of protective footwear.

“It was first in 1997 that we started selling protective footwear under the brand Rock Fall. Up until this point, we produced fashion footwear under our brand name. When we saw the development in the market, we decided to change our approach by starting to design and import protective footwear instead, and we have been doing so ever since,” says Matthew Noon.

Rock Fall used to work with Western Power Distribution (WPD), the market leader within their field in Britain when it comes to the development of EH-products. After some time WPD realized that their workers could be exposed to substantial risk in their daily work, and by equipping them with footwear in accordance with EN and ASTM EH-standards, the workers were able to have 18 000 kV protection. As the development and production of this type of protective footwear entailed a good amount of research, development and investment, several suppliers of protective footwear decided to decline the offer. However, this was a challenge Rock Fall was more than ready to take on.

«As a company we pride ourselves on innovation and development of advanced protective gear for our customers. We are also open to develop protective footwear that is not yet available in the market, in collaboration with our customers, and we take their work environment very seriously,” says Matthew noon.

Ability to adapt has fostered prize winning products

Rock Fall is invested in continuing to offer products that are in line with the needs they see in the market, and the owner himself thinks that safety should be a priority for all businesses that operates in this market.

«In our company we have a saying that describes our attitude to improving protection, and it goes ‘why not?’ If there is a product in the market that can give better protection for workers than what they are currently using, then why not start using it? If an EHS director can offer their employees shoes that gives better protection, and that is the difference between the workers being able to return home after work or not, then why not start using it? We have a product line of EH-products that can increase the protection for these workers in Norway, so why not use them?” Matthew Noon asks.

This mindset has led to the company winning several awards for their products within protective footwear, something they are very proud of. Their ability to adapt, along with products of high quality, is something Rock Fall will continue to focus on moving forward. With the development the market is seeing, EH-protective footwear will be particularly important.

The majority of both Norwegian and British industries will demand increased EH-protection in the future, something Matthew Noon as a member of the PEL/078 committee, working for a IEC Electrical Hazard standard for footwear, will be working with.

«This is very exciting, and exactly what is needed within the protective footwear industry to increase the protection for our customers,” Matthew Noon says. “Our plans moving forward is to increase the EH-product line. The market within for example electric cars is growing, which will result in an increasing demand for more flexible EH-models. We are going to drive the EH-standard forward through learning from our customers about the protection EH-protective footwear can provide them.”