In conjunction with Orion Security Solutions Apollo Fire Detectors and Orion Security Solutions are helping to ensure the safety of John Lewis staff following the company’s purchase and refurbishment of The Bala Lake Hotel and Activity Base at Snowdonia National Park. John Lewis Partnership (JLP) purchased the North Wales hotel in 2008, making it the fifth holiday club which offers subsidised holidays for the 82,000 employees of JLP, known as Partners, designed especially for those seeking more active breaks and families with young teenagers. The Bala Hotel features 24 rooms and 70 acres of grounds which offer a wide range of outdoor activities, including nature trails, a watersports club and a five-hole “pitch and putt” golf course. JLP has also invested heavily to provide additional recreational facilities such as a swimming pool, gym and sauna. As part of its Partner benefits programme, JLP aims to ensure that its employees have a healthy work-life balance by providing leisure activities and running its subsidised holiday centres. The Partnership owns four other holiday clubs – the Odney Club near Cookham in Berkshire, Brownsea Castle, Ambleside Park in the Lake District and Leckford Estate in Hampshire. Playing a significant role in the Bala Hotel’s refurbishment programme, Orion Security Systems was awarded the contract by JLP to design, supply, install, commission and maintain the fire detection solution for the premises. The hotel is a large traditional looking building, situated on a hilltop location which has two additional detached buildings at the rear providing additional accommodation. The main hotel was already protected by Apollo Discovery protocol devices, but the two additional blocks had a conventional system with wiring between them which had suffered damage. JLP was keen to avoid re-cabling at the remote site which would have involved extensive, disruptive and costly works to the hotel’s walkways to dig new system ducts. In response to this, Orion SS worked with Apollo to design a wireless solution, thus avoiding expensive re-cabling and allowing the hotel to remain in operation during the installation. The resulting Level 1 system features Apollo’s XPander wireless intelligent detector range which interfaces via Xpander weatherproof external aerials. Smoke sounders are fitted to all bedrooms which, along with XPander Manual Call Points, communicate with multi-alarm control panels to trigger emergency lighting throughout the hotel if activated. The system design also incorporates a phased block by block evacuation sequence in an emergency situation. James Joyce, Director of Fire & Safety at Orion, explains: “By using Apollo’s wireless XPander range we were able to provide a solution to the cabling issue to the remote blocks. This prevented any additional redecoration and allowed JLP guests to carry on enjoying their holidays with minimum disruption at the premises. JLP is committed to ensuring the safety of all Partners staying at The Bala Hotel, and this new fire detection system reflects that commitment.” For more information regarding Apollo products visit www.apollo-fire.co.uk.

Greater Manchester is one of the largest Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Services in the UK Greater Manchester as one of the largest Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Services in the UK has embarked on the process of implementing a fully embedded coldcut™ cobra strategy as an essential part of its "future firefighting project". Greater Manchester is presently installing 44 Cobra units into all of its operational stations, making it the first Metropolitan Service in the UK to totally incorporate Cobra as an integral part of its front line firefighting capability. Greater Manchester has focused its approach on the application of new technologies and innovation as a means of achieving the challenging objectives of firefighter safety, public value and community protection, in an increasingly complex and hazardous world. The Cobra cutting extinguisher is a central tenet of Greater Manchester’s investment in new technologies and equipment, and its approach to the development of new operational processes and tactics. Cold Cut Systems highly values Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s approach to the development of its future firefighting project and its confirmation of the Cobra cutting extinguisher as part of this strategy. Cobra is an innovative, safe and efficient firefighting method, which beyond its present use in a wide range of municipal and industrial firefighting settings, is clearly highly applicable to the Metropolitan firefighting environment in the UK. Cold Cut Systems looks forward to supporting and working with Greater Manchester as it develops Cobra towards full implementation over the coming months. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is one of the largest Fire and Rescue Service in the UK with over 2,500 members of staff and 41 fire stations. It covers an area of approximately 1,300 square kilometres and a population of 2.5 million. coldcut™ cobra Cold Cut Systems AB is world-leader in the field of Cutting Extinguishing. At present there are about 750 Cobra systems installed in everything from small vans to rescue service vehicles in more than 30 countries. The Cobra Cutting Extinguisher method allows the fire fighter to safely combat the fire from the outside of a building or structure. The ultra-high pressure lance creates a small hole through all known building and construction materials, and injects a very fine water mist into the compartment. The water mist (created by the >250 bar pressure) will rapidly cool any hot fire gases and extinguish or suppress the fire. Following operations can be performed in a safe and relatively cool environment. Experience and many independent research projects confirm the effectiveness in a wide range of operations from domestic houses to large industrial properties.

Active negotiations are underway with an oil exploration company in Russia Nitin Fire Protection Ltd (NFPL), an end-to end solutions provider in production and installation of the segment, is entering the Russian market, to cater to oil exploration units. Rahul Shah, executive director, said: “Active negotiations are underway with an oil exploration company in Russia, to be finalised very soon.” He said the order could be in the range of Rs 150 crore. NFPL is exploring growth opportunities outside the traditional markets like India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It will shortly enter into an agreement with a power plant and a number of metro rail stations in Turkey, expected to fetch orders worth at least Rs 100 crore. Additionally, the company has stepped up penetration in the UAE. An Elara Capital report said the Middle East business, with around half of consolidated sales, has grown at a compound annual rate (CAGR) of 42 per cent over FY12-14 and was likely to do so at 22 per cent over FY14-16. After lower growth in FY12-13 due to economic slowdown, the region reported 75 per cent growth in financial year 2014, due to the low base effect and revival in the economy. The company has also won the bid to host EXPO 2020 in Dubai. This will add momentum to growth in regional operations, the report added. The current order book of the Middle East is Rs 5.5 billion, implementable until 2018. “We are planning to supply equipment from India to Russia and Turkey. We don’t have any plan to set up a manufacturing unit in these countries,” said Shah. The company has already secured safety equipment and installation orders worth Rs 300 crore from airports and refineries in the UAE. Also, orders received worth Rs 325 crore from various projects in India. With all these, the order book is set to swell to Rs 2,000 crore by the end of the current financial year and Rs 3,000 crore by 2015-16. The global fire and security market is estimated at $100 billion, with annual growth of 10 per cent. The company says it expects its top line and bottom line to grow by at least 20-25 per cent annually in the coming years.

Label: Offshore Title: The challenges facing fire protection in offshore wind farms Teaser: including financial investment and safety Label: Aviation Label: Interview Label: Data Centres Title: Selecting the appropriate suppression system for a data centre Teaser: for providing customer satisfaction Teaser: is crucial to avoid significant losses

 Modern data centres are characterised by spaces filled with ever-increasing numbers of server racks and various types of electronic equipment, and are regarded as mission-critical facilities that must maintain 24 x 365 business continuity. There was a time when temporary business interruptions were a minor and relatively inexpensive inconvenience to the operation of data centres. However, with the increasing reliance of society upon the interconnected global IT infrastructure for much of what we consider everyday life, the loss of data centre service often has a dramatic effect felt far beyond the affected business, impacting clients, suppliers, whole industries, and society at large. Data processing centres store data in the systems memory, and during an interruption only that data which has not yet been placed in permanent memory is lost – but there is much more than just data loss at stake. The uninterrupted use of computers and electronic equipment in modern data centres is critical. According to a 2013 Ponemon Institute report, the cost of data centre downtime is high – and getting higher. From 2010 to 2013, the average cost per minute of data centre downtime increased 41%, from $5617 (£3580) per minute in 2010 to $7908 (£5042) per minute in 2013. The total cost of downtime is not limited to revenue losses, but can ultimately also include : Productivity Losses: Numerous users across an organisation rely on IT-delivered services and applications and any downtime will greatly reduce their productivity, often resulting in work grinding to a halt Customer Disruption: Customers can suffer from disruptions in customer service and support systems, leading to dissatisfied customers who may take their business elsewhere Reputation Damage: Disruptions can negatively impact the reputation of the organisation, leading to a loss in future sales Isolation and Repair Costs: The cost of downtime also includes the costs to find and fix the problem Loss of Data and Records Lawsuits Costs in addition to the loss of revenue can be significant, as seen in Figure 1 below, which summarises the cost of a typical data centre outage. Fire protection options The high value and sensitivity of the electronic equipment found in modern data centres, combined with the consequences of system interruption, makes fire protection a critical component of any data centre risk assessment. Fires do occur in these types of facilities – as evidenced in Table 2, which includes a selection of data centre fires that have been reported within the last several years. Table 2. Data centre fires Date Location Data centre 2014 Thailand Cowboyminers 2014 South Korea Samsung 2014 Argentina Iron Mountain 2014 USA Iowa Legislative Building 2013 USA NSA Spy Centre 2012 Canada Shaw Data Centre A. Water-Based Fire Suppression Systems The primary objective of a sprinkler system is not fire extinguishment but fire control: Confining a fire to its point of origin (preventing fire spread) and controlling ceiling temperatures to prevent structural damage. Sprinkler systems use water, at a typical flow rate of 25 gallons per minute. Water has obvious disadvantages around electronics and electrical systems due to its electrical conductivity. In the event of activation, water damage to the facility and equipment can be substantial, often worse than the fire damage itself, and the cleanup required after sprinkler system activation can be extensive. Sprinkler standards such as NFPA 13 typically require a 30 minute supply of water, and it is common for the two heads nearest the fire to activate – this translates to 1500 gallons of water dumped on the facility’s electronic equipment. Sprinkler heads are activated by a thermally sensitive frangible bulb or fusible link which releases water only after the head reaches a preset minimum temperature, usually 135oF or higher. By this time fires are well-developed and considerable direct fire, smoke, and water related damage can be expected (See Figure 2). The extensive cleanup after a sprinkler system discharge, and resulting business interruption, will add to the business cost of a fire. Water is not a three dimensional agent, and cannot readily extinguish hidden or obstructed fires, such as an in-cabinet or in-rack fires. For these reasons, sprinkler systems are best suited for the protection of structures, not for the protection of mission-critical assets located within those structures. Water mist systems are a more recent entrant into the water-based fire suppression arena. Such systems generally require high pressure pumps and special nozzles to distribute a fine water mist into the protected space. Typical delivery rates for water mist systems are on the order of 8 gpm for high pressure water mist systems: A 30 minute discharge from the two closest heads would result in 480 gallons of water dumped on the facilities electronic equipment. Water mist primarily extinguishes via oxygen dilution: Steam produced from the mist near the fire displaces oxygen and puts out the fire. Water mist systems perform well on large energetic fires, but have exhibited poor performance on small fires. Water mist, like water, does not fully flood a space and as a result is not suitable for the extinguishment of hidden or obstructed fires, such as an in-cabinet or in-rack fires. While lesser in volume than sprinklers, these systems do leave residual water following system discharge, necessitating cleanup and added service interruption. Potential water damage to electronics and the incompatibility of water and electricity remain a concern. For these reasons water mist systems, like sprinkler systems, are not recommended for the protection of high value electronic assets and services located within a structure. Figure 2. Aftermath of pre-action sprinkler activation on an in-cabinet fire B. Clean Agents The primary objective of a gaseous clean agent system is to extinguish the fire quickly, limiting fire damage to the object(s) involved in the origin of the fire. Hence, the primary purpose of a gaseous clean agent system is to protect the valuable, sensitive and mission-critical assets within the enclosure. This is clearly fundamentally different from the primary objective of sprinkler systems, as illustrated in Figure 3. The primary advantages of total flooding clean agents are: Clean

Give us a quick history of Leader It’s a long story! I started by managing a company that was dealing with fire-fighting and safety equipment in France. This involved supplying and servicing the equipment. Both companies are based in the area around Le Havre, in Northern France. I then employed a manager to look after the other company, and I focused my attentions on Leader. For ten years we promoted fire-fighting equipment all over Europe, which we were not manufacturing at that time. In 1994 I hired an engineer so we could start designing and manufacturing our own equipment. Today, I can say that we are manufacturing 75% of the equipment we sell around the world. What I should say is that we distribute some third-party equipment, mainly in France and Germany, but we sell all of our own equipment worldwide. What benefits does having the entire design and manufacturing process in-house bring to the company? As soon as you work worldwide, it is essential to ensure your customers and distribution network benefit from a full capacity of improvements and customer service. As I said, in 1994 we started designing our own fans, after which we designed our fire trainers and then, since 2005, technical search equipment. When you design and manufacture your own products, you can check and validate the quality and performance you claim. That way you can be sure that your customers will be getting exactly what you promise. Having been a distributor for years, and still being one to some extent, we know that there is a limit to any insurance, shall we say, and as soon as we manufacture and design our own equipment we can really back up our distributors and customers. Sometimes we have to review a particular product, but we are proud that as a company we never leave a customer’s project unfinished if we couldn’t do it the first day – that is only possible if you design your own products. Tell us a bit more about the very first product that you, as a company, designed and really made Leader the company it is today. The very first one was the PPV fan, which we started to design in 1996, and was launched in 1997. This equipment is now well known; I would say we are the number one in Europe today, and are starting to become known across the world. These fans are renowned for their high performance. There will definitely be some improvements to our fans in the future. Also, together with improved performance, we have looked to focus on ease of use. Fire-fighters are looking for easy equipment – anything complicated is a nightmare for them to use in an emergency. Due to the training that is needed and the fact that they can be called out at any time of day or night, fire-fighters need to have very simple equipment to use, and that is what we have made. A lot of the features on our products are based on how easy they are to use. We combine high performance with ease of use. Again, it all boils down to ultimately what the customer requires and their needs. Well, one thing I can say about our design process is that we discuss a lot of ideas with our customers. We receive suggestions from them, take it to a committee and finally decide which features will be included on the upcoming product. It’s a long process to develop a new product here at Leader! It’s not a case of coming up with an idea one day and then making it the day after – it’s a lot more involved than that. We made our first fans in 1997, and the new generation came in 2007, with a completely new design that was really innovative at that time. It took several years to come up with the ideas, from speaking to our customers. For fire-fighting equipment, we have designed some new foam equipment. So, we can move air with our fans and now we are looking at making foam as well. We are already building foam generators, and will be launching a range of automatic foam proportioners for variable flow and pressures in 2015. We have also recently acquired the company Robwen in the US, about two months ago. What was the rationale behind that acquisition? For the past 25 years or so, Robwen have been making foam systems that have proven to be very simple, but also very practical and very useful. The two companies knew each other well and it made sense that, as we were about to launch our own foam proportioning system, it would be good for us to work together. We will gain expertise from them, but will also be able to bring our own knowledge as well. The fact that they are based in the US helps us to better enter that market, knowing that we intend to continue manufacturing our products in the US. On that note, while we manufacture in France, and we design and test all the products in our factory in Le Havre. We are very focused on developing markets as well as established ones. In France and Germany, we have two very well-established European markets, but we are looking to expanding markets in Latin America and China as well. We have subsidiaries in various parts of the world. Our oldest one, LEADER GmbH, is in Germany, and that is performing very well indeed. We have another base – LEADER North America – in the US, which started almost five years ago and is now doing well too. We have agencies in Latin America and China. I also think that siin we will have an agency in the rest of Asia as well. What is the company’s most popular product? To continue on our product lines, we have already covered the fire line of products – the PPV fans and the foam equipment. The second service we

 Effective fire detection and suppression is now top of the agenda for turbine manufacturers and wind farm operators, as they become acutely aware of the financial implications, safety issues and environmental impact of fire-damaged or destroyed turbines. With Governments across the globe becoming ever more aware of the environmental benefits of wind-generated power, the number of wind farms and the financial investment in constructing, erecting and maintaining wind turbines is increasing exponentially. Such a high level of investment, coupled with the increased dependence on wind power, has led turbine manufacturers and operators to become acutely aware of the financial implications, safety issues and environmental impact of fire-damaged or destroyed turbines. Indeed, fire safety has become such an issue that the USA’s NFPA [National Fire Protection Association], Germany’s VdS [Vertrauen durch Sicherheit] and Germanischer Lloyd have developed recommendations or codes of practice in the protection of wind turbines. The NFPA added wind turbine and out -building fire protection standards to NFPA 850 [Recommended Practice for Fire Protection for Electric Generating Plants and High Voltage Direct Current Converter Stations, 2010 Edition]. This document provides fire protection recommendations for the safety of construction and operating personnel, physical integrity of plant components and the continuity of plant operations. The revised 2010 edition includes detailed recommendations relating to wind turbine generating facilities. VdS 3523en [Wind turbines, Fire protection guideline] has also been used as the basis for the CFPA E [Confederation of Fire Protection Associations in Europe] Guideline No 21.2010 F, which addresses the same topic. VdS is a highly-regarded, independent, international, third-party accreditation and certification body for fire prevention and safety technology. Germanischer Lloyd, which specialises in classifications for the maritime and energy industries, has developed Renewables Certification Guidelines [GL Wind Technical Note Certification of Fire Protection Systems for Wind Turbines and the newest Revision will be released early 2015]. Turbine fire risk The almost inevitable consequence of these industry initiativeshas been that a number of detection and suppression systems have been put forward as suitable solutions. While many are effective for what might be regarded as “conventional” applications, they may not be suitable for the particular fire challenges found in wind turbines. The majority of turbine fires are started by a lightning strike, brought about by their exposed and often high-altitude location and the height of the structure; turbines are now being built that are up to 350 feet [100 meters] high. Mechanical failure or electrical malfunction are the second leading cause of fire in wind turbines. Capacitors, transformers, generators, electrical controls and transmission equipment, all have the potential to catch fire, as do SCADA [Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition] systems. There is also the risk of fire due to loose or broken electrical connections or the overloading of electrical circuits. Unique fire protection challenge What are the special challenges that an effective fire detection and suppression system for a wind turbine has to overcome? The core issue is, of course, remoteness. This is particularly the case with off-shore wind farms, but even on-shore farms are routinely in difficult to access or isolated locations. The essential characteristics of an effective wind turbine fire detection and suppression system are that it should: Deliver around-the-clock reliability and 24/7 unsupervised protection Ensure an absence of false alarms Contend with vibration, dust, debris and airflow through the nacelle Contend with extreme temperature variations Stop a fire precisely where it breaks out and before it takes hold Require no external power The options that are often considered can be generally categorised as: Air sampling detection Watermist suppression Compressed-air foam suppression Fusible link detection and suppression Total flooding CO2 [carbon dioxide] suppression Total flooding clean agent suppression Linear pneumatic detection and suppression Air sampling aims to offer early detection by collecting minute smoke particulates in the early stage of fire, but they do require a power source and control panel, which means that the system will fail if the external power or battery backup fails. These systems are also expensive, in part because they only detect a fire, and so need to be integrated with a suppression system. The major drawback to air sampling in wind turbines though is the ever-present risk of false alarms. These can be caused by tiny particles of dust and debris and atmospheric pollution that are propelled around the nacelle due to the turbine housing having a number of openings to allow air to circulate to reduce the internal temperature. While false alarms are the bane of any system owner’s life, a false alarm in a wind turbine inevitably involves extensive travel and possibly the hiring of expensive specialist access equipment. Suppression-only systems Water mist suppression systems convert water into a fine atomised mist, but they too have limitations when used to protect wind turbines. Due to the turbine’s remote location and the distance from the ground to the nacelle, water mist systems are often impractical, plus they call for considerable space to be devoted to water storage, which increases the weight in the nacelle. These systems are also a costly part-solution to the problem, as they need to be linked to a detection system. Water mist systems are total flooding solutions, which increase the potential for damage to electrical components and possible corrosion. Also, because in some locations the temperature can fall below freezing point, antifreeze has to be added to the water, and antifreeze is a combustible liquid that is itself a corrosive substance. Compressed air foam systems work on the principle that compressed air is injected into a foam solution to achieve a quicker fire knockdown when compared with conventional foam systems. While they need less water than conventional systems, the storage, weight and freeze-protection problems are similar to those of water mist systems. In addition, these systems require considerable extra space for the operating components. After discharge, clean-up can be extensive and, like water mist systems, the cost is increased by the need for a separate detection system. Fusible link systems do however combine detection and suppression into one

 On December 5, at Griffiss International Airport in New York State, Lockheed Martin and Kaman demonstrated the latest in unmanned fire-fighting vehicles. The K-MAX helicopter had already proved itself by supporting troops in Afghanistan, and the two companies demonstrated how the technology can be applied to other missions, such as fire-fighting. Here, International Fire Buyer speak to Dan Spoor, VP of Aviation and Unmanned Systems at Lockheed Martin, and Greg Steiner, President of Kaman’s Aerospace Group, about the K-MAX helicopter and the advantages it can bring to Fire Departments. Dan Spoor: “This is some ground-breaking work with our partners at Kaman that demonstrates our ability to use unmanned aircraft to support fire-fighting and other related missions. You may be aware that the same platform was used for 33 months in Afghanistan, which concluded earlier in 2014 after supporting about 2000 missions and transporting over four and a half million tonnes of cargo. “On the backdrop of that success, there was an effort underway to look at other civil applications to utilise that capability. We held a meeting with the Department of Interior to look at the possibility of using K-MAX for fire-fighting; with the help of our partners at Kaman, the Department of the Interior and the team here at Lockheed, we developed some test scenarios and held a demonstration on November 5. We hosted the demos at one of the six sites that have been designated by the FAA to be able to support the use of unmanned aircraft. This one was at Griffiss International Airport in Upstate New York. “The alignment of proven military aircraft from Afghanistan combined with the DoI’s need for a new mission and the site from the FAA, provided us with a very clear opportunity to demonstrate its capability. We had, going into the demo, two aircraft to support it. One was a five-pound quad copter, called Indago, which had an electro-optic gimbal on it. We put this in to essentially simulate what a ground fire-fighter would use to get a situational awareness to deploy it and fly it about 200-300 feet above the ground to detect fire and where there was a threat, and then providing information coming off the Indago, such as a geo-reference of the fire situation, to a ground controller. At this point, the ground controller can dispatch the K-MAX aircraft. “We did eight different scenarios that were all guided to us by our customer about what they would like to see to support the future use of aircraft like this in fire-fighting applications. Some of those included things like autonomously getting the K-MAX to fly over and retrieve water from a pond that was on the other side of the airfield, bringing it back using the geo-reference location of the fire and then dropping about 500 gallons of water on the fire accurately. We also demonstrated the abilities of something called line-building – sequentially dropping water in front of the fire to create a fire break. “Another interesting thing we demonstrated was the ability of the K-MAX to take a helibasket and bring in an ATV (all-terrain vehicle). This showed the ability of an unmanned aircraft to hover with the helibasket while the fire-fighters on the ground go and retrieve the ATV to use it in their fire-fighting efforts. “One of the features we demonstrated was the amount of water that can be dropped from a UAV in a certain amount of time. We dropped 24,000 lb – about 3,000 gallons – of water in an hour. We were very impressed with the abilities of the aircraft to be able to deal with this type of mission, and had some very productive conversations with the hundred or so people and organisations who attended – from the Forestry Department, the Department of Interior, service providers and local Fire and Police Departments. Overall, it really showed some of the many applications for the K-MAX aircraft.” Greg Steiner: “As Dan mentioned, the unmanned record in Afghanistan is very impressive. It started as a six-month demo and became a 33-month deployment. That consisted of about 2,000 sorties and four-and-a-half-million ponds of cargo moved. That equated to a superb dispatch rate of about 94%, and only 1.4 maintenance man hours per flight – in an environment like Afghanistan, that’s an impressive record of maintainability. Most importantly, from our standpoint, it meant we could take convoys off the road and keep soldiers out of harm’s way. “As we switch outside of Afghanistan, we can talk about this aircraft’s capability as a multi-mission, multi-role aircraft. We have seen the aircraft fulfilling the role of a cargo support vehicle in Afghanistan. The manned version has been used in construction, logging, humanitarian and disaster relief and, of course, fire-fighting. The fire-fighting missions have a long history, going back to the manned aircraft. “The unmanned version builds on this space, offering extra levels of versatility, flexibility and mission extension. For instance, the aircraft can be flown as a manned aircraft during the day and then unmanned during the night or in bad weather to support 24-hour, all-weather fire-fighting operations. It can fight fires directly as well as supporting ground-based crews by supplying food, water, medical supplies and equipment across four locations in one sortie. It can even perform rescues or extractions if required. There is so much potential for the aircraft – we’re really proud of our partnership with Lockheed Martin and look forward to working with them on deployments worldwide.” To find out more, we asked Greg and Dan some additional questions about the K-MAX. How is the aircraft controlled? How do you go about flying it? DS: The aircraft has the capability to operate unmanned via a ground controller providing the navigational movements for the aircraft. It also has the option of flying autonomously. We flew both types of missions at the demonstration, and we showed the capability of autonomously flying a route where we would go over a pond, dip down and hover to gather

Dellar brings over 30 years military and industry experience Gentex Corporation, a global leader in integrated helmet systems for defence and security personnel welcomes Richard Dellar as the new Managing Director of its UK subsidiary, Helmet Integrated Systems Ltd (HISL). Dellar brings over 30 years military and industry experience to the HISL leadership team. "We are excited to have a seasoned leader with the wealth of knowledge that Richard embodies join our executive team," said L.P. Frieder, President, Gentex Corporation. “Richard’s background and experience complement our enterprise objectives of achieving continued international growth and providing even better support to our growing global customer base,” added Frieder. Dellar succeeds retiring Managing Director, Jan Korny, who has been with the company for 23 years. Reporting to the President of Gentex Corporation, Dellar will lead the HISL team from their headquarters in Letchworth, UK. “It’s a very exciting time to join Gentex,” commented Dellar. “I’m confident in and look forward to working with the team of talented and dedicated employees at HISL.” Dellar’s career began as an Army Engineer in the U.K.’s military and over the years evolved into various management and leadership executive positions in the defence, security and aerospace industries with international companies such as BAE, EADS Space (Airbus) and most recently, Chemring. Headquartered in the UK, HISL is an established provider of helmets, communications equipment and respiratory protection for civil, defence, security and industrial personnel. Gentex acquired HISL in July of 2014 with plans to combine their world-class products, technologies and manufacturing resources to provide customers one of the most advanced, comprehensive lines of integrated helmet, respiratory and communications systems in the market.

The company will supply 3500 fire-fighters YDS, Europe’s largest manufacturer of military and police footwear, have been awarded the contract to supply all Welsh firefighters with YDS flame retardant leather CROSSTECH® fire boots. In another successful contract for YDS Boots, the company will supply 3500 firefighters throughout Wales (North Wales, South Wales, Mid & West Wales) over a 4 year period with the Talos and Pluto CROSSTECH® firefighter boots. YDS are one of only a few manufacturers in the World who specialise in injected Dual Density Rubber (DDR) sole construction using rubber compounds mixed in-house under a secret method and formula. The sole material is injected in liquid form then fused to the upper leather for a strong bond, and it is ideally suited to hazardous environments and in particular firefighting. ‘The chosen YDS firefighter boots are of a high standard and have scored strongly for durability in trials’ commented Lee Bunkham of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service. The contract will feature 2 boots both incorporating DDR technology and CROSSTECH® fabric to give an unprecedented level of protection to Welsh firefighters, against water, blood, body fluids and some chemicals. The Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) worked with the Welsh Fire procurement team to carry out a mini tender for this contract under their 000299 Structural PPE framework and ensured a compliant route for Fire and Rescue Services to suppliers. YPO’s Emergency Service Category Buyer Sarah Sesum advises ‘Purchasing in this way removes the requirement for an OJEU tendering process saving time and money.’ Protective footwear frameworks from YPO are currently available to all fire, police and ambulance services throughout the UK and Northern Ireland. Steve Hall, Sales Director at YDS Boots, commented ‘We are delighted to supply all regions of Wales with the YDS Pluto and Talos fire boots, and indicates we are positioned well for product quality and cost effectiveness.’ The boots selected for the Welsh Contract complied to the latest European Firefighter footwear EN 15090:2012 standards, with the Talos featuring a quick release front zip and the Pluto designed with pull on loops. Both boots include various additional and protective features including flex areas, a nail-proof protective textile midsole, a cut resistant strip, ankle protectors and a ridged bump cap for extra durability. YDS continues to develop new protective footwear designs with fire and rescue technical experts in response to the changing role of the fire officer. It is working with world leading technology brands including Tencate®, D30®, WL GORE® and Coolmax® in new footwear projects.