Our Story

ProDec is owned by Rodo Ltd, a fourth-generation family business based in Manchester, UK that has been owned by the same family for a century. Rodo is and has always been independent: family values go right to the very heart of the business and drive everything we do.

1926

Rodo was formed by Joseph Brierley as a supplier of brooms to northern England’s textile industry, with just three employees and a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Just a few years after its formation, Joseph’s son - the second generation of Brierley - joined the company that now became a family business.

Post-war decades

The second half of the 1940s brought a renaissance in interior design, and Rodo’s brush making expertise put it in a good position to move into paint brushes for professional decorators, marking the beginning of its long history with applicators. The rise of latex paints saw demand continue to grow and throughout the 1950s and 1960s Rodo constantly added products to its catalogue, supplying more and more of the trade’s needs with a range that now included roller covers, tools and drop cloths.

1970s

The third generation of Brierleys joined the business, and painters’ clothing was notably added to the range, a development that would ultimately lead in later decades to the formation of a separate division of Rodo supplying high visibility clothing, safety footwear and PPE.

1980s

The ProDec brand was created in the 1980s, becoming the company’s flagship trade applicator brand and leading the business into the new millennium. New manufacturing partnerships were formed - many of which are still going strong today - enabling more products to be added to the range.

Into a new millennium

ProDec’s distribution continued to gather pace as Rodo passed 75 years, becoming the UK and Ireland’s largest brand of trade applicators and sundries and a complete solution for painters from preparation to application to clean-up. The fourth generation of the family joined in 2012 and with the founder’s entrepreneurial flame still burning brightly, new technologies were developed, bringing unique products that have become market leaders.

2026 - New horizons

The ProDec range we’ve brought to North America draws from the very best of two decades of product development. Proud to be British, with a logo that has our flag front and centre (yes we spell the British way too), our products feature unique technologies that make them different. Tested with painters across North America, you can be confident when you choose a ProDec tool that it will help you do your job better, faster or both.

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100

years in business

25

countries served across 4 continents

1,000+

products

10M

paint brushes sold annually

A century of craftsmanship in every tool

A century of craftsmanship in every tool

ProDec traces its roots back to the 1920s and is part of a business that is independently owned and run by the same family who started it in the industrial city of Manchester, UK. Drawing on a century of heritage in creating quality tools for professional painters, the North American ProDec range represents the very best of our product development over the last two decades, using innovative technologies to create unique products.

Designed in Great Britain, tested in North America

Designed in Great Britain, tested in North America

Proudly British by design, ProDec products have been tested with painters across North America using local paints in local conditions, so you can be confident when you choose a ProDec product it will help you do your job better, faster or both.

Bring the best of British engineering into your business

We are introducing our premium applicator products to the US and Canadian markets and if you are interested in working in partnership with us to sell our range, please get in touch.

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