TST Sweden – Safety first since 1990
At TST Sweden we have built our reputation in water jetting safety through a strong commitment to innovation and quality. For decades, we have focused on improving safety in demanding work environments, consistently striving to set higher standards for water jet safety. With over 30 years of experience, the company’s success is deeply rooted in their extensive textile knowledge and great dedication to creating safety solutions tailored to industry needs.
Our PPE ranges from the grey ProOperator for pressures up to 500 bar / 7 500 psi, also available in hi-vis, to the iconic red EliteOperator for pressures up to 3 000 bar / 43 500 psi.
As you can tell from our name, TST is from Sweden, a country that values safety and has a long history of safety consciousness. This cultural backdrop has provided TST Sweden with a sturdy foundation for developing protective clothing and equipment for extreme environments.
– Safety has been a top priority at TST since the beginning, and it will always be the core of the company. Ever since we visited a worksite with water jetting all those years ago and witnessed its safety challenges, we’ve been committed to our cause – saving lives, says Peder Lindström, Market & Sales Director at TST Sweden.
Today, we are a front-runner in PPE for water jetting. One of our biggest strengths is our years of experience creating protective clothing and equipment for water jetting and our extensive textile knowledge. Which allows us to create new innovative products to help protect individuals working with high water pressure. After years of testing out new products, we know what works and what doesn’t.
“PROTECTIVE CLOTHING THAT ISN’T USED IS A FAILURE FROM OUR SIDE”
– Peder Lindström, Market & Sales Director at TST Sweden.
– We can make the safest protective clothing out there, but if it’s not comfortable to wear and work in, operators won’t use it. Protective clothing that isn’t used is a failure from our side. Therefore, we create PPE that is both safe and flexible so operators will feel inclined to wear it no matter how big or small a job is, says Peder Lindström.
In recent years, this insight has led us to update our protective clothing with Athletic Design, a design concept with a focus on comfort and compliance. EliteOperator, our PPE for 3 000 bar / 43 500 psi, was updated with Athletic Design in 2022, and ProOperator, our PPE for 500 bar / 7 500 psi, was updated in 2024. Through innovative use of textiles, ergonomic tailoring, and strategically placed seams, we made our already compliant protective clothing even more balanced, flexible, and comfortable while keeping the same high level of protection.
The revolutionary Athletic Design makes it easier for operators to move freely and perform all tasks they face during a work shift.
Our headquarters are situated in Sjuhäradsbygden, in the southwest of Sweden, an area recognized as the textile capital of the country. The strategic location has in many ways contributed to our position as a front-runner in the industry. With both research institutes and testing centers nearby, we are well-equipped to continue advancing our products with new textile innovations. Along with Sweden’s largest fashion and textile companies and Borås University of Textile located in the area, we have effectively been able to recruit talent with great textile expertise.
Since the beginning, we have had our own Research and Development team. With the increasing complexity of category 3 PPE product regulations – which apply to equipment designed to protect against serious risks such as irreversible harm or life-threatening hazards – the department has, in recent years, expanded, ensuring they remain ahead of industry requirements.
– Having this kind of expertise within the company is truly invaluable, as it allows us to be ahead of the game while also ensuring that the products we offer meet every regulation. Our R&D team also prioritizes sustainability, working systematically to enhance product performance while also working towards reducing our climate and environmental impact. We have one very knowledgeable and experienced person in our R&D team solely dedicated to certification and environment, health, safety, and quality (EHSQ) matters, says Peder Lindström.
To guarantee safe products, there’s a great need to test products throughout the developing process. Today, there is no international testing of protection levels for water jetting and industry standards are hard to set. This means that the testing can differ significantly between companies and the lack of uniformity requires careful attention from consumers when comparing products to factors like pressure, nozzle, and water flow.
Operators can confidently wear PPE with our distinctive red badge, knowing they are fully protected.
At TST Sweden, we have chosen the most common working conditions when performing our testing.
– We want to make sure that our customers are wearing protective clothing that is certain to keep them safe. Therefore, we test our clothing based on the maximum parameters operators might use. By testing products under these stringent conditions, we ensure that when we certify a product for 3 000 bar, operators can trust its performance in the most demanding scenarios. When working in an industry where fatal accidents occur, there is no room for misinterpretations, says Peder Lindström.
For years our product range has consisted not only of protection for high-pressure water jetting but also heat protection. Recently we have narrowed down our focus to only be on water jetting onwards.
– This was quite an easy decision for us. We are experts in water jet protection and therefore, we want to give that our full attention. We recently started to hone down our product range to have a 100 % focus on Water jet protection for both people and the worksite. This is where we know we can make the greatest difference and, with our expertise, continue to create products that save lives, concludes Peder Lindström.
TST Sweden article published in WJTA Jet News, reprinted with permission.