Established in 1914, MSA Safety Incorporated is the global leader in the development, manufacture and supply of safety products that protect people and facility infrastructures. Many MSA products integrate a combination of electronics, mechanical systems and advanced materials to protect users against hazardous or life-threatening situations. The company's comprehensive product line is used by workers around the world in a broad range of markets, including the oil, gas and petrochemical industry, the fire service, the construction industry, mining and the military. MSA’s core products include self-contained breathing apparatus, fixed gas and flame detection systems, portable gas detection instruments, industrial head protection products, fire and rescue helmets, and fall protection devices.

Our Mission

That men and women may work in safety and that they, their families, and their communities may live in health throughout the world.

A Defining Moment

It was a horrific workplace tragedy that led to the creation of MSA, the worldwide leader in worker protection and safety product innovation. On the morning of March 26, 1912, the Jed Mine in West Virginia exploded. In a flash, methane gas ignited and more than 80 miners lost their lives. From this tragedy, mine engineer John T. Ryan Sr. had an epiphany: “If I could spend my life doing what I can to lessen the likelihood of the occurrence of such terrible disasters, I shall feel in the end that my life had been well spent.”

Ryan recruited colleague George H. Deike to help realize his vision for a new company. Recognizing the critical importance of dependable, safe mining equipment, they went straight to one of the country’s great thinkers: Thomas Edison. The brilliant inventor helped Ryan and Deike create the electric cap lamp which, over the next 25 years, reduced mine explosions by an astounding 75 percent. Of all his inventions, this was the one that did the most for humanity, Edison would later say in life.

In the decades that have come and gone, MSA has continued to lead the charge for workplace safety. We’ve led the way with small first-aid kits and portable methane detectors, and harnessed new technologies to produce state-of-the-art thermal imaging cameras, ballistic helmets, and leading edge systems for gas and flame detection.

But we’ve never forgotten where we came from, or why we’re here. We’re called The Safety Company for a reason – a very important reason: Our goal, every single day, is to provide our customers with dependable, high-quality products, instruments, and service to help ensure a safe return home at the end of each work day.

Our Quality

There's a reason MSA is known worldwide as "The Safety Company." It's because we harness precision engineering to craft the highest-quality safety products possible so people across the world are able to work in the safest environments possible.

Business Ethics

Integrity has been the foundation of MSA since 1914, when John T. Ryan and George Deike insisted there was a better way to protect workers. While the Company has evolved and changed greatly over the years, our commitment to integrity has only gotten stronger. In fact, it is one of the fundamental reasons for our continued prosperity and, importantly, is formally represented as the Company’s foundational value. Few companies have a longer, more successful history than MSA, and we owe much of that success to our commitment to always succeed “the MSA way.”

Rigorous Research and Development Drives Unmatched Quality

MSA introduced the revolutionary Edison Electric Cap Lamp in 1914. And in the decades since, we’ve been at the forefront of hundreds of safety innovations that protect workers, consistently pushing the envelope in ways that provide the highest levels of safety for workers across the world.

When we create our products, we’re guided by a single question: how do we meet and exceed our customers’ safety needs? We solicit feedback from customers worldwide, we listen closely, and we make sure we incorporate their ideas into our product lines.

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