MJ Scannell Safety — Our Story

Founded in 1981, RG Ireland | MJ Scannell Safety has grown from a modest Irish business into one of Ireland’s leading providers of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and safety solutions, trusted by Government bodies, Semi-State organisations, and companies across Construction and Engineering, Utilities, Food, Manufacturing, and Services industries.

A New Chapter: Joining Groupe RG

In October 2022, MJ Scannell Safety became part of Groupe RG, a major European PPE group headquartered in France. That acquisition marked the next phase of our evolution. While we now benefit from Groupe RG’s scale, resources, and breadth, we remain rooted in Ireland. The company continues to be managed locally by an Irish management team, ensuring that our customers receive the same deep market insight, responsiveness, and continuity that they have come to expect.

Since joining Groupe RG, we have aligned our operations with the broader group and begun leveraging expertise across all disciplines, from product development and supply-chain optimisation to advanced digital systems, technical compliance, and operational excellence. This integration enables us to deliver even more robust, innovative, and compliant safety solutions, while maintaining our hallmark personal service.

Our Capabilities and Assets

With strategic warehousing and distribution facilities in Stillorgan Industrial Park, Dublin, and Little Island, Cork, RG Ireland | MJ Scannell Safety maintains stockholdings in excess of €4 million, with capacity for up to 2,500 pallets stored securely on-site. Our operations are certified to BRCGS AA Standard, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, and ISO 14001:2015, reflecting our commitment to quality, safety, and compliance.

Since 2002, we have also developed proprietary PPE under our in-house brands, REDBACK, ELK, and BOA, building on over four decades of industry knowledge. These brands have become widely recognised benchmarks across Ireland for reliability, quality, and standards compliance. All RG Ireland | MJ Scannell-branded products are fully EN-certified.

Why This Matters: The Value We Bring

By combining our long-established Irish heritage and commitment to customer-first service with Groupe RG’s European reach, technical expertise, and supply-chain strength, RG Ireland | MJ Scannell Safety is uniquely positioned to offer end-to-end PPE and safety solutions across all sectors. Whether you need bespoke PPE, large-scale supply, digital procurement and support systems, or customised safety-management programmes, you benefit from both local responsiveness and global standards.

We remain deeply committed to the principles that built our reputation: partnership, integrity, quality, and putting the customer first, now strengthened by the capabilities, resources, and vision of a leading European PPE group.

Groupe RG – International

Groupe RG is a leading European specialist in personal protective equipment (PPE), dedicated to protecting people at work through high-performance, compliant, and innovative safety solutions. Headquartered in France, the group operates across 12 countries in Europe and Africa, with a presence in 18 countries worldwide. Today, Groupe RG employs approximately 1,850 people and generates annual turnover exceeding €650 million.

The group brings together a network of expert safety companies, combining deep technical knowledge with long-standing partnerships with the world’s leading PPE manufacturers. This breadth enables Groupe RG to offer comprehensive protection across all major categories, including head, eye, respiratory, hand, body, foot, and fall protection, serving a wide range of industries from construction and manufacturing to energy, logistics, and high-risk industrial environments.

Groupe RG operates through a decentralised model that empowers strong local management teams, ensuring close customer relationships, market expertise, and responsive service in every region. At the same time, the group works collaboratively as one integrated team of experts, sharing knowledge and best practices across borders. Expertise is combined across product development, technical compliance, supply-chain optimisation, digital systems, and operational excellence, allowing the group to continuously raise standards and deliver consistent quality at scale.

Supported by advanced logistics capabilities and ongoing investment in digitalisation, innovation, and sustainability, Groupe RG enables customers to improve safety performance while meeting evolving regulatory and environmental requirements. This balance of local agility and collective strength is central to the group’s approach and underpins its role as a trusted long-term safety partner across international markets.