Great interest, good discussions

„It felt like we had twice as many visitors to our stand as in 2015,“ enthuses Klaus Hawerkamp about the trade fair, which has just come to an end. „In addition to general protective workwear, we also noticed a significant increase in interest in protective clothing for firefighters this year.“

Hawerkamp is Sales Manager of S-GARD®, the protective clothing from Hubert Schmitz GmbH in Heinsberg. The family business is one of the market-leading manufacturers of workwear and protective clothing for firefighters in Europe.

S-GARD presented itself at A+A 2017 with a completely new, bright and friendly exhibition stand. The new stand-alone workwear catalogue was completed shortly before the trade fair. In it and on the corresponding website, the company now summarises the entire workwear range at a glance. The special feature: S-GARD manufactures the protective clothing according to its customers‘ specifications. They can produce the protective clothing for their team according to individual colour specifications and have it equipped with specific functional extras. „We not only offer our customers the opportunity to individually optimise the protective clothing and tailor it to their own requirements. We can also take into account the requirements of the company’s corporate identity, insofar as this is permitted by law,“ explains Hawerkamp. The new workwear website shows which customisations are possible and how customers can find their personal protective clothing.

S-GARD stands for technical innovation and works closely with leading material manufacturers in product development. S-GARD is currently one of the few manufacturers to offer firefighter protective clothing with the GORE® PARALLON™ system. The material with the double membrane is considered one of the best performing materials for firefighter protective clothing on the market. It combines outstanding heat protection with effective moisture protection and high breathability. The decisive advantage in an emergency: the inside of the protective clothing remains dry so that heat cannot penetrate the body as quickly.

For the first time, visitors were also able to scrutinise the new Dynamate protective clothing from S-GARD with Nomex® Nano (Flex) technology. In this new protective suit for firefighters, all openings – at the neck, sleeves, waistband and trouser legs – are sealed particle-tight with elasticated cuffs or an apron made of Nomex® Nano Flex material from DuPont™. The very light and dense functional material is extremely heat and flame resistant, highly elastic and breathable. The cuffs prevent smoke gas particles from penetrating the suit and reaching the skin. Some of these substances are suspected of causing cancer if they are absorbed through the skin. This is thought to be one reason why long-serving firefighters have a lower average life expectancy than other people and are more likely to develop cancer. At any rate, this has been suggested by various studies in recent years. S-GARD received the DuPont™ Nomex® Innovation Award 2017 at the trade fair for the successful integration of the material into protective clothing for firefighters.

S-GARD also gave an insight into its current research and development work at the trade fair with the prototype of a streamlined firefighting suit for combating hazards on seagoing vessels. The suit is the current result of a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to provide operational support for fire brigades to combat hazards on board seagoing vessels (EFAS). As part of this project, S-GARD is working with several research institutes and companies to develop a rescue system that optimises the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of firefighters during such operations.

Sea-going vessels pose particular challenges for emergency services: Access to the source of the fire is usually only possible from above, i.e. virtually through the funnel. Thick steel walls obstruct radio communication, making it difficult or even impossible to locate and communicate with the emergency services. It is therefore difficult for the command centre to gain an overview of the situation inside the ship. Narrow bulkheads and corridors also hinder the progress of the rescue teams. A dedicated radio system will ensure communication inside the ship in future. The necessary sensors are built into the firefighters‘ protective clothing. It records the temperature, detects harmful gases and the exact location of the emergency services. S-GARD is the realisation partner in this research project for the integration of the technology into the firefighters‘ protective clothing.

Klaus Hawerkamp from S-GARD summarises the trade fair positively: „A+A was very worthwhile for us. We were able to make numerous valuable contacts and our protective clothing met with great interest. Due to the pleasingly large response and the growing importance of the firefighter protective clothing sector, we are considering further expanding our presence at the next A+A trade fair in two years‘ time.“