DuPont and Ansell, world leaders in protection technologies, have collaborated on Ansell’s newest ultra-lightweight and highly cut-resistant gloves to protect workers. The gloves, which feature DuPont Kevlar yarns and Kevlar in combination with reinforced stainless steel, are part of Ansell’s ActivArmr portfolio.

Ansell’s range of new products include an 18-gauge lightweight cut-resistant glove, hybrid cut-resistant padded protection gloves and ergonomic durable general purpose gloves that will revolutionize the way gloves are viewed. Ansell’s new “Best In Class” gloves are available globally for construction workers and are specifically suited for specialty trade, such as the HVAC, plumbing, heavy labor sectors and general contractors. Other gloves in the portfolio are targeted specifically for use by the military.

“The uses of DuPont Kevlar continue to grow in new, innovative ways. Our collaboration with Ansell is a great example of how Kevlar® can be spun with other materials to make another series of superior products to better protect people around the world,” said Thomas G. Powell, president, DuPont Protection Technologies. “This collaboration combined DuPont’s fiber and yarn technology with Ansell’s innovative glove design, tailored for specific applications. In this case, we developed a new manufacturing process to specifically produce ultra-lightweight steel-containing yarn, used in concert with our decades of experience in nylon, spandex and Kevlar fibers.”

Leveraging Ansell’s more than 100 years of industry expertise and innovation in protective gloves, DuPont’s decades of experience in fiber and yarn technology and DuPont patents in cut protection, the Ansell ultra-lightweight gloves are made with the latest technologies. They enable increased dexterity, flexibility, a closer sense of touch, stretch recovery and comfort without compromising safety, which is critical for workers who depend on the cut-protection of Kevlar. Using combinations of Kevlar, stainless steel, spandex and nylon, the new ActivArmr gloves boast Intercept Technology® in a thin, 18-gauge design that is significantly lighter weight than the traditional 13-gauge version. Intercept Technology using DuPont Kevlar Stretch Armor was created using a unique combination of Kevlar fiber and Ansell technology to deliver comfort, dexterity and high cut-resistance.

“Innovation and superior protection are the hallmark of Ansell’s hand protection solutions, including our ActivArmr portfolio. We understand that workers in each sector face unique challenges to hand protection, and so each Ansell glove design is backed by months of end-user testing to determine the specific features workers need to protect their hands without compromising productivity,” said Thomas Draskovics, president and general manager, Ansell Specialty Markets. “With DuPont, we have developed a unique application of DuPont Kevlar for our ActivArmr gloves that workers across construction sectors can trust to deliver superior protection, comfort and dexterity.”

According to a recent U.S. Department of Labor study, injuries to fingers and hands rank highest in workplace accidents (at 27 percent), and hand and finger accidents rank No. 1 in preventable injuries. A recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) study stated that more than 70 percent of arm and hand injuries could have been prevented with personal protection equipment (PPE), specifically safety gloves. DuPont and Ansell estimate the global construction market for gloves at more than $800 million annually.