COVER STORY GET TO GRIPS
Polyco presents its latest innovation – the Grip It® MAX glove. Here, the hand-protection specialist explains why its new invention is set to take the industry by storm.
Most great products are deliberately designed but sometimes a particular application is developed by chance – a serendipitous side effect emerges that transforms the end result into a genius creation.
When a business has a proactive and curiosity-driven approach to research and development, such innovation is always possible. Penicillin, Play-Doh and Post-It notes – three of the best- known products in the world – were discovered as a result of work to create something else altogether. And now the Grip It® MAX from Polyco can be added to the list.
“WE SET OUT TO CREATE A BEST-IN- CLASS DRY-GRIP GLOVE BUT ENDED UP WITH A GLOVE THAT SURPASSES ALL OTHERS IN TERMS OF WET GRIP, TOO!”
This new glove from the UK-based hand-protection specialist provides extraordinary grip when it is needed most. And not just in dry conditions but in wet work too. It is the latter feature that emerged as the “fortunate happenstance” of more than two years of dedicated effort by Polyco’s experts to develop a glove with unrivalled gripping ability.
The company’s technology director, Bernard Garvey, explained: “Essentially, we set out to create a best-in-class dry-grip glove but ended up with a glove that surpasses all others in terms of wet grip, too!”
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This achievement is all the more impressive given that the glove is, to all intents and purposes, made from plastic – a material better known for its slipperiness than its sticking power when in contact with liquids.
Garvey said: “The Grip It® MAX has been constructed differently from other gloves of this type on the market. It is injection-moulded using TPE – thermoplastic elastomer – in a high-precision process. The particular compound of TPE we devised is injected into the glove mould in a liquid state and dries in a way that still allows amazing flexibility.
“This, combined with a unique and specially designed tread pattern on the palm and fingertips, results in a gripping ability that is truly exceptional.”
Safe and secure gripping ability is crucial in many work environments, particularly in construction. As many of the activities in this industry are undertaken outdoors, workers and their equipment have to be able to cope with changeable weather conditions. Therefore, a glove that can grip as well in a downpour as it can in a drought is undoubtedly useful.
Scaffolders, in particular, will benefit from this dual ability. Handling heavy and potentially slippery metal tubes and wooden boards often at height and in bad weather is fraught with risk. If such scaffolding items are mishandled and dropped through lack of grip, the consequences for workers and others can be significant.
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