Oliver Footwear has been innovating safety footwear for nearly 140 years.
Back in 1887, one Englishman’s quest for gold in Ballarat didn’t pan out as he’d hoped.
Like so many young men and women at the time, James Oliver traversed an entire ocean to reach Australian shores in search of fortune. But while many daring miners struck success, Oliver was not one of them.
A shoemaker by trade, he fell back on what he knew best and began making boots for local farmers and miners instead. What was borne out of one failure would soon become one of Australia’s longest-running success stories.
As the company grew and expanded across the country, Oliver Bootmakers became a name associated with high-quality, reliable work boots for busy feet.
Not only known for its quality, Oliver Footwear has always aimed to be on the forefront of delivering the latest research and developments in protective footwear to miners.
The company is now looking to the future.
Oliver Footwear’s product development manager Brett Huggins is confident the bootmaker will continue its legacy of setting new trends of innovation.
“Oliver Footwear is very much a source of, and an adapter to, new technologies that can improve certain features of our footwear,” Huggins told Safe to Work.
“Miners are in their boots for 12 hours a day in some of the worst conditions that you can imagine, so it’s essential their boots offer protection to the highest Australian workplace safety standards with the latest technologies on offer.”
Built to last
The AT 55 Series and AT 65 Series are Oliver Footwear’s premium mining-focused work boot range, highly specialised with a range of in-built features developed specifically for Australian miners.
Boasting resistance to heat, cuts, slips, sole penetration, static, abrasion, oil, fat and acid, these boots mean serious business.
The AT 65 Series was specifically created in consultation with the coal mining industry to offer even more targeted protection underground.
“A high-leg mining boot, the AT 65-791 is built for the harsh, changeable conditions faced by coal miners,” Huggins said.
“It has a completely waterproof lining that doesn’t allow any water to go through, even if the if the leather outer gets wet.”
Huggins said the boot’s abrasion-resistance works to protect the whole foot, thanks to a special Oliver technology.
“It’s what we call the SAFETYcell,” he said. “It covers the toe, around the heel and the sides of the foot.
“In addition, we have features like our METprotect metatarsal guard, which provides an additional layer of shock-absorbing material to create a unique protective shield for the foot.”
While steel caps protect the toes, METprotect extends protection from the back of the toe cap to where the foot raises from the ankle. It offers protection from any rolling objects like rocks or debris that get past the toe.
“Traditionally, metatarsal guards were very rigid and stiff and made from metal or hard plastic plates sewn into leather pockets along the boot,” Huggins said. “They were very cumbersome and uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time.”
Oliver Footwear’s engineers were able to develop the METprotect technology using a soft, high-impact foam called ‘Poron’ that deadens the blow from impacts.
“It’s a soft pad of foam that sits over the top of the foot and absorbs about 95 per cent of all impact,” Huggins said. “It’s very lightweight and flexible, so when you’re wearing it, it feels unrestrictive; however, under impact, it hardens to protect the foot.”
Another innovation to come out of the Oliver workshop is the company’s nitrile rubber soles, which are resistant to surface temperatures of up to 300°C. Because they’re designed to endure harsh conditions, the soles feature high abrasion resistance and penetration protection that stops nails or any sharp objects coming up through the sole of the foot.
Not only does Oliver Footwear work to meet rigorous Australian workplace safety standards, the company is also actively involved in creating them. It is heavily involved in consultation with the mining industry at large, as well as with Australian and international workplace safety standard bodies.
Huggins himself was the chair of the Australian Standards Committee for safety footwear for 15 years.
“These committees are structured to include various user groups that wear different safety boots and report on their effectiveness,” Huggins said. “By being involved in the process, we can stay abreast of international trends and work collaboratively with those user groups to determine what’s best for the industry.”
But while safety is always central to Oliver Footwear’s practices, it’s not the only priority in which the company strives to excel.
“When it comes to mining boots, it’s all about toughness on the outside and comfort on the inside,” Huggins said. “That means keeping your feet dry, which our boots achieve by not only being 100 per cent waterproof, but also through our moisture-wicking lining, which absorbs moisture from the foot directly, keeping feet fresh and dry all day.
“But one of the biggest comfort features that we have within the Oliver footwear ranges is our COMFORTcushion impact absorption system, which provides superior cushioning, helping to reduce foot, leg and back fatigue.”
The AT 55 Series and AT 65 Series are equipped with the NANOlite footbed, comprising multiple layers of urethane foam that massage your feet as you walk, promoting greater blood flow and helping to reduce fatigue. A perforated foam air control layer also enhances air circulation, reducing odour.
“We have spent a lot of time on creating what we think is a very comfortable boot, while not neglecting the physical environment and making sure that it protects the wearer,” Huggins said. “Feedback we get regularly is that the boots don’t need to be worn in; they can be worn straight out of the box, and customers are confident they will be comfortable from day one.”
Oliver Footwear has a national network of distributors the company works with to determine the specific needs of each site at which its boots are deployed.
By taking into consideration the mine’s location, its workforce, the resources it mines and the processes it uses, Oliver Footwear is able to recommend specific boots that will be the best fit for the mine. From there, the company offers mines a trial of the boots so they can assess the wear and make a decision with confidence.
A step forward
Almost 140 years after James Oliver traded gold for leather, the company has continued to evolve alongside Australia’s mining industry.
“We’ve been around for a long time, and we’re tried and tested – over the years we’ve proven time and time again we’re a brand people can trust,” Huggins said. “We want to support the industry by being a solutions provider for the footwear needs of Australia’s mines.”
One of those solutions is set to be launched next year in the form of expanding the company’s range of women’s work boots.
“We already have a comprehensive women’s safety footwear range, but we’re looking to offer a female counterpart to our AT 55 Series to offer female miners the very best in on-site foot protection,” Huggins said. “As more women enter the industry, we see the need to offer safety footwear designed for female feet, not just a scaled-down version of men’s boots.”
As the industry evolves, Huggins said Oliver Footwear will continue to make these kinds of strides.
“We’re always prepared to look into the specific needs of a site and innovate new developments and technologies,” he said.
“Our promise to the industry is to offer comfort, durability and performance – it’s the foundation of everything we do at Oliver Footwear and will continue to be, as the mining industry enters this new chapter.”
This feature also appears in the January-February issue of Safe to Work.