VIDEO: TOOLING UP – Pyrad, Next-Level Arc Flash PPE

NARRATOR: This video is brought to you by MCR Safety, in the business of protecting people and sustainable stewardship. If you're looking for real world insights, tips from leading industry experts, the latest trends in products and technology, you've come to the right place. From MSC Industrial Supply, this is Tooling Up.

TONI NEARY: Hello and thank you so much for tuning into the MSC channel. If you are new here, make sure to hit that subscribe button as well as the like button. I'm your host, Toni Neary. And today, I'm honored to be joined by not one, but two members of the Mechanix Wear team. Two innovative minds from this extraordinary company are obviously greater than one. Please welcome the VP of Commercial Marketing for Mechanix Wear, Julie Trottier and John Merikoski, the VP of Production. Thank you both so much for being here with us today.

JOHN MERIKOSKI: Thank you.

JULIE TROTTIER: Thanks.

TONI NEARY: I have to say, John and Julie, that backdrop looks a little different than normal, and that looks like a pretty cool facility. Where are you guys today? 

JOHN MERIKOSKI:  We're actually currently at our facility in Chicago, just north of Chicago in Skokie, one of three manufacturing sites that Mechanix Wear owns. This is the site where we do most of our R&D and actually domestic production.

But it's the ideal spot to show you our new product, Pyrad. It was from this location that we built and designed the garments. 

TONI NEARY:  And I have to say from our other conversations, I never thought I'd be saying, Wow, we're really going to geek out about some cool technology with PPE today, but we're going to be looking at so much at like Mechanix Wear but it's more than just the history of the company and what you're making. It's really the culture and the purpose from the acquisition of Chicago Protective Apparel in 2021, the company's 30-year anniversary, and so much that you have going on. So the Pyrad Arc jacket that you've got on. But before we jump into that, let's talk a little bit about how you got where you are. I'd love to know people's stories and how they got into manufacturing.

TONI NEARY: So, Julie, tell us a little bit about your background. 

JULIE TROTTIER: Sure. So I have been working in marketing for safety companies, basically both brands, manufacturers and on the distribution side for almost 12 years. And I was fortunate enough to join the Mechanix Wear CPA Company about a year and a half ago and having a lot of fun. It's so great to be on site and see all the manufacturing happening.

It's one thing when you know intellectually that things are kind of hand-sewn and put together, but when you walk around, you see 100 people that are basically artisans in their craft, it's really cool. 

TONI NEARY: That's absolutely amazing. I really want to dive into this because this is so innovative. When we look at the protection industry as a whole.

Tell us a little bit about the Pyrad Arc Flash suit. 

JOHN MERIKOSKI:  If you're familiar with arc flash clothing, specifically in the United States, we've manufactured to comply with NFPA70E. NFPA70E will call out different levels of protection. For example, Category 1, 2, 3 or 4, and those different levels are, relate directly towards the hazard. So Category 4 would be a more severe hazard than a Category 2.

What we're bringing to market right now is a Category 4, it’s a garment that's for the most severe hazard, the most severe environment that that somebody is working in. But this garment now, it has the same comfort level as a Category 2 garment. That's something that's really unusual. In the past, a Category 1 garment or 2 garment is typically going to be a single layer of material.

So it's not a real heavy layer. That material is going to protect you from the hazard, an arc, a potential arc. But to get up into the 30 calorie, 40 calorie, 50 calorie marks, what we needed to do in the past was layer fabrics. So we came up with a system. Our legacy jacket is a three-layer jacket. The old jacket weighs about the same as our current bib and jacket.

If I take, if I take these off the bib off and just compare the two jackets, our old jacket was actually about twice as heavy. It's over three and a half pounds just for the jacket alone. And this new higher rating garment is actually 1.6 pounds. The two garments together, the bib overall and the jacket, actually weigh less than our legacy product jacket only.

That's the huge advancement here. And it's really big because when it's very warm out or you're in a warm environment and you're told to put on a three-, four-layer garment to protect you from a potential flash, it's very difficult to work in those kinds of temperatures. And the suits just don't allow the freedom that somebody needs when they're performing their tasks.

This new Pyrad system is just a single-layer garment, and it's allowing us to feel as if we're only in Level 2 protection, but we are in fact, Level 4. 

TONI NEARY:  So there's so much innovation when we look at this new Pyrad Arc Flash suit. And I think part of that, can you talk a little bit about the core of that technology?

JOHN MERIKOSKI:  Pyrad was actually brought to us by Gore-Tex Labs. You know, we rely heavily on people like DuPont and Celanese for these wonder fabrics that keep people safe. We’re the tailors cutting and sewing these garments and we were very fortunate that Gore has made this technological development. What Gore has done is they've taken basically three layers, three systems and laminated or combined the three into a single layer.

And the technology is such that if the hazard were to happen, the outer shell of that fabric, even though it's a single layer, the outer face of the fabric is charred and it becomes almost a sacrificial layer that is absorbing energy, and keeping the heat from going through the garment to the wearer. The secondary layer within that fabric system would be the Gore’s vapor barrier. And that vapor barrier is really the stopper for a lot of the energy coming through. 

TONI NEARY:  All right. Talk about benefits beyond the technology. I think what you've done is just innovative, cutting edge. And like I said, who thought we'd be geeking out about technology for personal protective equipment? You put so much thought and consideration into all of this.

John, can you tell us a little bit more about the thoughtful design of this new suit? 

JOHN MERIKOSKI:  We've designed a unique and different from our legacy products that the garment has pre-curved arms. So when your arms are in a relaxed resting position, they’re comfortable and it fits correctly. We have an action back on the back of the jacket. This is giving you the whole free range of motion. We don't want any skin exposed in this. So the garment is, the action back is designed so that I can put my arms just about any position and nothing is riding up. Again, as you said, everything was designed with comfort in mind. 

TONI NEARY: John and Julie, I just want to thank you again for taking this time out of your day to meet with me today and chat about this really cool technology.

JOHN MERIKOSKI: Thank you. 

JULIE TROTTIER:  Thanks for having us. 

TONI NEARY:  I'm so glad we had a chance to catch up and talk with Julie and John on the shop floor today about how mechanics, where is innovating in safety products. If you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did and want to make sure you don't miss out and go ahead and subscribe to our channel to see all of the innovation in the Pyrad Arc Flash line, check out the PPE online at www.mscdirect.com/pyrad.

Thanks so much for joining us and we'll see you next time on Tooling Up. 

NARRATOR: Want more insights and ideas to improve the efficiency and productivity of your operations? Check out the MSC Tooling Up video playlist to hear tips that can take your company to the next level. And subscribe to our channel so you won't miss out.