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SHOWA responds to the medium-low cut risk glove market changes with a first-in-its-history consolidated series of 7 Cut C/A3 gloves. Launched across the globe, SHOWA’s new DURACoil glove range protects hands against medium-low level mechanical risks at a nominal price
THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF CUT PROTECTION GLOVES
Since the revision of the PPE regulations in 2016, there has been a significant shift in the landscape of gloves intended for cut protection. With improved access to norm information, users are more aware and take better responsibility for their cut protection needs, which has a large impact on the supply and demand of hand safety for medium-low mechanical risks.
UPGRADED PROTECTION FROM B/A2 TO C/A3
A major result of the revision is a market-wide downgrade in cut level scores for products re-certified under the new norms of EN 388:2016 and ANSI 105-16. PPE manufacturers across the globe saw their general purpose gloves for medium-low risks decreased from cut level 5-C/A3 to level 5-B/A2 and under. Unfortunately this is not always communicated. “We still see users performing medium-risk applications wearing general purpose hand protection with lower cut resistance levels,” confirms VP Sales Americas, Charles Miller, referring to the former ANSI 105 and EN 388 cut 5 being B/ A2. These gloves increase risks of injuries and jeopardize workers’ safety.
On the other hand, the easily-available information on the norm changes is enabling users to take better responsibility for their cut protection needs. For example, SHOWA’s recent Cut Protection Guide has proven to educate customers on the norm changes as well as on how to read and assess the suitability of their cut protection gloves. As a result of such education, there has been an increase in demand from customers for hand protection solutions that are more versatile, meeting their safety and comfort requirements at an attractive price.
SHOWA’s Research & Development team took this opportunity to review the composition and materials used in our most popular gloves, with the aim of creating a new series of products that are comfortable and have good mechanical risk performance without breaking the budget. By tightly wrapping tenacious multifilament polyester around a cut resistant fiber, then reinforcing it with the soft but sturdy High-Performance Polyethylene (HPPE), SHOWA engineered a yarn that successfully increases the protection against cut risks from B/A2 to C/A3, while maintaining the highest levels of quality and comfort that SHOWA customers expect. Thus, the new DURACoil series was born.
COMBINE AND CONQUER WITH THE NEW DURACOIL GLOVE SERIES
The DURACoil glove series is a complete 1-stop-shop solution that caters to a wide range of applications needs. Each of the seven gloves has a different flat-dipped coating, recognizable from our best-performing gloves:
546 and 546W: the polyurethane foam coating in these two gloves provides excellent breathability and finger tactility in dry environments like warehousing, construction, mechanical engineering and automotive repairs. The light-colouring of the 546W also helps identify soiling and contamination in sensitive environments like aerospace and whitegoods manufacturing.
346: the natural latex coating used in the 346 is waterproof and offers great resistance to liquids, abrasions and tearing. It is ideal for handling small parts and assembly in dry and humid environments like agriculture warehousing and construction.
386: an embossed finish to this microporous nitrile coating provides premium grip in dry, greasy and light-oily environments such as box handling, automotive repairs, shuttering and assembling small greasy parts in machines.
576 and 577: the familiar twin set of foamed nitrile over ¾-dipped and fully-dipped nitrile offers exceptional resistance against abrasions, slipping and liquids; the perfect companion in manufacturing, cementing and handling heavy equipment. The 577 is especially useful for plumbing and applications where the whole hand might get wet or oily.
546X: this uncoated version provides great freedom of movement and is also perfect for contamination-sensitive applications in cleanrooms and laboratories.
With these seven multi-purpose cut gloves, the new versatile DURACoil series consolidates our customers’ glove inventories, for optimized productivity and reduced costs.
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
All models within the series have the same liner, named after our latest technical innovation, DURACoil. It comprises of 2 words: DURABLE = the gloves are designed for maximum comfort, to be worn for extended periods of time for a wide range of medium-low risk applications. COIL = the wrapping technique where fibers are coiled around the other in layers, thereby increasing the level of resistance to snags and abrasions.
The wrapping technique is very important to user comfort; if not done correctly, the fibers will irritate the skin. This therefore creates a premium lightweight yarn that, combined with SHOWA’s renowned ergonomic fit, premium coatings and grip finishes, offers comfort, dexterity and an increased cut protection for multipurpose applications.
Whether performing tasks in dry, greasy, oily or wet environments, there are no more excuses to not wear gloves.
Learn more about the new series by watching this nifty video!
Ready for a trial? Request your free samples to see how DURACoil fits in with your workforce!
