Protective Apparel, Fall Protection Abound at NSC 2013
The vast expo hall in Chicago's McCormick Place was crowded during expo-only hours on Sept. 30 as the biggest U.S. safety trade show of the year got under way in earnest
CHICAGO - The full spectrum of PPE products is on display inside McCormick Place this week, wtih protective footwear, gloves, respirators, eyewear, and many more categories found throughout the vast expo hall. Walking through it gave the impression that protective apparel (including high-visibility apparel and protective) is by far the leading category represented this year, followed by fall protection, gloves, vision protection, and ergonomic products.
DuPont introduced Nomex(R) MHP fabrics, which offer inherent, multi-hazard protection from heat and flame, arc flash, and small molten metal splashes in hazardous industrial areas. DuPont's Joel DeNardis, North American industrial technical sales manager, said the MHP fabrics are engineered to meet or exceed international standards -- NFPA, ENISO, and IEC -- for heat and flame protection, arc flash, and small molten metal splash protection.
Capital Safety's newest introductions include the Nano-Lok(TM) edge self-retracting lanyard engineered for foot-level tie-off. Stephen Oswald, the company's president, joined product managers to introduce it to the media on Sept. 30, calling it "really groundbreaking" and the first personal SRL to protect workers whose fall lanyards can be exposed to sharp edges, such as I-beam edges, while working at heights. Capital Safety invested 20 months in the product's development and conducted more than 500 drop tests that tested more than 200 materials in coming up with the galvanized cable that serves as the retractable lifeline, Oswald said.
Ansell's latest offerings include an array of gloves for specific vertical markets, such as food production, oil and gas, industry, and the military. The company's HyFlex(R) 11-518 won the hand protection category in the 2013 OH&S New Product of the Year contest. OH&S staffers presented trophies to the contest's winners on Sept. 30 in the expo hall.