News Article

Survivair signs licensing agreement with summit safety
Date: Jul 09, 2004
Source: Company Data ( click here to go to the source)

Featured firm in this article: Summit Safety Inc of Devens, MA



Officials at one of the industry's leading respiratory protection equipment companies, Survivair (Santa Ana, CA), announced today that they have concluded an agreement with Summit Safety, Inc. (Devens, MA) to develop and market a firefighter locating system based on Summit's patented Pulse(tm) technology. Under the terms of the agreement, Survivair is granted exclusive rights to design, manufacture, distribute and sell Pulse-based systems to firefighters, emergency medical responders, police and related personnel throughout the world.

"We are delighted to be able to incorporate this leading-edge technology into our respiratory protective equipment," said Richard Sustello, VP Strategic Marketing for Survivair's parent company Bacou-Dalloz. "The emergency response industry has long been in need of better systems to track firefighters and others in smoke-filled environments. Initial field tests show that our Pulse-based Survivair Pathfinder(tm) system can help reduce the time required to locate and rescue a downed firefighter by as much as 80%."

"We, too, are delighted to partner with a world-class manufacturer such as Survivair," said Summit Safety President, Wayne Haase. "Summit was founded in the wake of the tragic 1999 Worcester, MA, warehouse fire with the express purpose of developing a system for firefighters to use in tracking their way in and out of a fire scene and to locate one another inside when necessary. This agreement with Survivair moves us much closer to our goal of making these systems available to firefighters everywhere."

The Pulse technology (which stands for personnel ultrasonic locating safety equipment) developed by Summit consists of an omni-directional transmitter (the Beacon) and a narrowly focused receiver (the Tracker). The Survivair Pathfinder system, integrated into a Survivair Panther SCBA, will allow rescuers to locate a downed firefighter regardless of the smoke concentration. Because the system utilizes ultrasonic signals that are reflected by walls, disabled firefighters can be located around corners or when hidden by obstacles. Rescue personnel can be led directly to the individuals while avoiding blind alleys and other obstacles, as can happen with Radio Frequency (RF) technology.

According to Sustello, development of the Pathfinder system incorporating Pulse technology is already well underway, and product is expected to be available by the end of the year.

Survivair, a division of Bacou-Dalloz, Inc., is a leading manufacturer of world-class respiratory protection equipment, protecting firefighters and offering respiratory protection from airborne workplace hazards since 1961. For more than four decades, Survivair has manufactured air purifying respirators (APR), supplied air respirators (SAR), powered air purifying respirators (PAPR) and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). In 1997, Survivair was acquired by Bacou USA, Inc.

In 2001 Dalloz joined with Bacou to form the Bacou-Dalloz Group, the world leader in the design, manufacturing and sale of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The company employs about 6,700 people and operates 48 production facilities. Bacou-Dalloz provides unmatched head-to-toe protection through three strategic business segments: head protection (eye, hearing and respiratory), body protection (gloves, clothes and shoes) and fall protection. Bacou-Dalloz offers a full product range aimed at the manufacturing, construction, telecommunications, medical, public services and other sectors. Its products are available from its distributor partners worldwide.