Aquila gloves –trends in industrial impact and cut protection PPE

July 9, 2019 2:58 pm

On site visits around the world, we often see wrong gloves in the wrong working environment, cotton/nylon coated gloves in construction sites, for example where moving heavy objects is required. These gloves are not the best barrier for protection.

We have observed that even in quarries and mines workers are using basic nylon coated gloves where it is clear that cut gloves should be used as a more robust glove on abrasion and for protection from sharp objects. Often this is results from a company cutting cost at the expense of workers, or simply that workers may not know better, as they are not properly educated by the safety managers, and because gloves are frequently not seen as the most important protective wear compared to say; hard hats and shoes.

A good example is the impact protection glove market where Aquila have considered using many different materials but choose to use TPE (thermal plastic elastomer) or otherwise known as TPR (thermal plastic rubber) for their impact pads for its comfort and wear ability, so ensuring that users keep their gloves on and keep working longer, better and safer.

Aquila has also found how the impact protection pads are adhered to the gloves can determine the quality and longevity of impact gloves. Aquila’s primary care is the workers’ safety, and so have also developed a new approach to cut glove manufacturing with its pioneering spiral wrap (or yarn wrapping) technology, which is both more effective and cheaper over their lifetime than other methods.

The unique Alkimos yarn technology used in Aquila cut resistant gloves employs a spiral fibre winding of ultra-high- density polyethylene as a protective and structural support outer layer to the core fibre. The yarn is consequently extremely tough with the core fibre protected from mechanical damage such as breakage or fraying in the wash process. Also, if glass fibre is used in the mix of the yarn, the spiral wrapping supports core fibres in the flexing of day to day wear so ensuring a soft comfortable fit without the itchiness associated with release of glass micro-fibres.This is why gloves manufactured with Alkimos yarn are able to maintain their extremely high performance for an exceptional number of wash cycles. Repeated washing saves a considerable replacement cost, and with up to 14 washes without degradation of cut test performance Alkimos yarn means gloves can frequently exhibit double the working life compared with other mainstream products. Ultimately, a better cut yarn means a better glove, better cut resistance, better working and lower costs.