Our Story

Born in Japan.
Built for the
Canadian shift.

Twenty years of engineering. Four million pairs a year. Now on jobsites across Canada.

Chapter 01

A sock company that started on the factory floor.

WorkAssist began in a small Japanese knitting mill in the early 2000s. Its founder, a former textile engineer, spent months on real factory floors watching how workers moved, where their socks failed, and what they threw out first.

He built the first WorkAssist sock around one insight: it isn’t the boot that punishes a working foot most — it’s the ten hours of standing that come after.

Twenty years of iteration

A timeline, not a launch.

2003
First WorkAssist prototype tested in a Nagoya auto plant. Feedback: too thick, but the arch idea works.
2007
Arch Power Support patented. Rollout across Japanese construction and logistics sectors.
2012
Introduction of the 5-Toe line. Adoption by Japanese hospitals and nursing homes.
2016
Deodorizing silver-ion yarn added across the range. Merino wool line launched for cold-storage workers.
2020
Four million pairs sold annually. Distribution in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand.
2026
Canadian launch. Same engineering. Adapted for the winter shift.
Why Canada

A country that stands.

Long shifts

Canadian construction, warehouse and healthcare shifts routinely run 10 to 12 hours. Feet take the full weight of that.

Real winters

From frozen sites to over-heated interiors, feet swing 30°C in a shift. Our merino line was built for that.

Safety-first culture

PPE is a serious purchase. WorkAssist earns its place next to steel-toe boots, not next to fashion socks.