Werner Opens Height Safety Innovation Center in Austin
Werner has opened a new Height Safety Center in Austin, Texas, a facility built for hands-on training, product testing, and direct collaboration between fall protection users and company engineers, ISHN reports.
What the Center Offers
The Center, part of ProDriven Global Brands’ broader innovation hub strategy, is positioned as a space where customers, distributors, and safety professionals can test equipment firsthand, participate in immersive training, and give feedback that shapes future product development. Gary Scott, CEO of ProDriven Global Brands, called the expansion “a key strategic initiative,” saying innovation hubs bring “talent, customers and expertise together to respond to evolving market needs.”
Brian Kagen, President of North America for ProDriven Global Brands, said the Center is meant to grow Werner’s Height Safety platform across three areas: construction safety, post-construction safety, and industrial engineered applications. Eric Miller, Vice President and General Manager of Werner Fall Protection, said the goal is to speed up product development by putting engineering, manufacturing, and distribution teams in direct contact with the people using the equipment on jobsites. According to Werner’s Don Freeman, President of Sales, Professional, the Center is meant to complement, not replace, the company’s existing field-based training programs delivered directly on jobsites across North America.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Fall protection and access equipment crews (roofing, scaffolding, industrial maintenance) now have a dedicated Austin facility to test Werner ladders and fall protection gear before specifying products for a job, rather than relying only on catalog specs.
- Safety managers at subcontractor firms working construction, post-construction, or industrial sites can request hands-on training sessions at the Center to standardize crew certification on height safety equipment, a useful option ahead of OSHA fall protection audits.
- Distributors and field service companies that already use Werner’s on-site training programs should confirm with their Werner rep whether the Austin Center adds new session formats or scheduling options, since the company says the facility is meant to supplement, not replace, existing field training.
- Firms bidding on industrial engineered applications, a category Kagen specifically named as a growth focus, should watch for new Werner product releases coming out of this facility, since customer feedback gathered there is intended to directly shape future height safety solutions.
The announcement does not include a public tour schedule, training calendar, or specific new product line tied to the Center’s opening. Subcontractors interested in access should contact Werner or ProDriven Global Brands directly for scheduling details, per the companies’ websites, wernerco.com and prodrivenbrands.com.
