Tom Votel Named Board Chair of International Safety Equipment Association
St. Paul, Minn. (December 2, 2022) – Tom Votel, Ergodyne President & CEO, was re-elected as Chair of the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) at the group’s annual fall meeting in Arlington, Virginia.
An ISEA board member since 2011, Votel returns for his second one-year term as Chair, having also been named to the seat in 2021. Nate Kogler, Vice President of Products & Engineering, Bradley Corporation and Kelly Kolb, Senior Business Development Manager, Kimberly-Clark Professional join Votel, returning for one-year terms as Vice Chair and Treasurer, respectively.
Votel became Ergodyne’s President & CEO in 1986 and went on to build the company into one of the most trusted and respected developers and innovators of specialized safety work gear. Now part of the Klein Tools Family of Companies, Votel and Ergodyne remain relentlessly focused on the mission of protecting workers and boosting productivity across a diverse array of industries and job sites.
"I am grateful to our members for the opportunity to serve ISEA and the safety community for another year," said Votel. "During tumultuous times, ISEA has accomplished many key initiatives and continues to thrive and grow."
"Together with our trustees, my plan will be to continue to drive our great dual mission: advancing the safety of workers and striving to bolster our value to members."
ABOUT ISEA
The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) is the association for safety equipment and technologies. It is a forum for information sharing and industry action, providing market insight and advocating for the use of safety equipment to help protect workers. Since 1933, ISEA has been the recognized leader in the development of performance standards for personal protective equipment (PPE), which protects more than 111.1 million workers across the U.S. Nationwide, the safety equipment industry supports 345,001 total jobs and generates more than $71.6 billion in economic activity. In 2020, the safety equipment industry paid $5 billion in federal taxes and nearly $4 billion in state taxes, for a total tax generation of $9 billion.
ABOUT ERGODYNE
Since 1983, Tenacious Holdings, Inc. (dba Ergodyne, a Klein Tools Company) has pioneered the development of products that Make The Workplace A Betterplace™. What started with just one product has grown into a line of top flight, battle-tested, Tenacious Work Gear®; all precision crafted to provide protection, promote prevention and manage the elements for workers on job sites the world over. The current lineup is extensive and constantly growing: ProFlex® Hand Protection, ProFlex® Knee Pads, ProFlex® Supports, Skullerz® Head & Face Protection, Skullerz® Eye Protection, Trex® Footwear Accessories, KREW'D® Skin Protection, Chill-Its® Cooling Products, N-Ferno® Warming Products, GloWear® Hi-Vis Apparel, Squids® Lanyards, Arsenal® Equipment Storage Systems, SHAX® Portable Work Shelters.