The company’s wearable ICEPLATE®-enabled vests, sleeves, and backpacks have nearly eliminated heat stroke and other heat-related health and safety issues while increasing productivity.
Knoxville, TN — With the World Meteorological Organization declaring earth just experienced the hottest three months on record, and with extreme heat still here in September, Qore Performance, Inc. www.qoreperformance.com, offers a solution to beating the heat with its wearable hydration and thermoregulation technologies. As summers continue to get longer, as previously recorded in 2021 and 2022, Qore Performance’s products offer a multi-purpose hydration and cooling solution for your body, designed for those who face extreme weather-related work conditions, as well as those who participate in outdoor sport activities.
“Our products harness a concept we refer to as ‘consumable thermoregulation’ which is a completely unique approach to thermoregulation,” says Justin Li, Co-Founder and CEO of Qore Performance. “From wearable safety vests and plate carriers, to sleeves, backpacks and wearable flasks, we’re improving and changing how people function in harsh environments.”
Invented out of necessity by Justin Li, Co-Founder and CEO of Qore Performance, who was a former law enforcement officer in Southern California, he needed a solution to maintain an ideal body temperature so he could function at his best ability in harsh climates. Fast forward to today, Qore Performance provides products, such as the ICEPLATE® Curve, a hard cell water bottle that carries your drinking water while simultaneously using it as a cooling element for your body. Fill the ICEPLATE® Curve with water and freeze it overnight before placing it within a variety of Qore Performance’s ICEPLATE EXO® Military Plate Carriers or Safety Vests for a multi-purpose cooling and hydration solution. For cold weather applications like skiing, snowboarding, and hunting, ICEPLATE® Curve can be filled with hot water.
Those who wear personal protective equipment (PPE), such as hazmat and CBRNE suits, safety vests, fire-resistant clothing, body armor, and helmets worn by soldiers can experience restricted airflow as PPE traps heat, making it difficult for the body to regulate its temperature. This can lead to overheating, dehydration, and even heat exhaustion or heat stroke. According to a report from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, there were over 1,800 heat-related illnesses among US military personnel in 2019 alone. The total cost of these injuries in terms of medical expenses, lost productivity, and disability payments is estimated to be over $1 billion annually.
In civilian settings, heat injuries are also a major concern for workers who wear safety vests in hot and humid environments. According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the estimated annual cost of heat-related worker injuries and illnesses in the US is around $2 billion, with most of these costs due to lost productivity and wages rather than medical expenses.
“Since 2017, our commercial customers have worked more than 5,000,000 hours without a single heat incident, preventing hundreds of hospitalizations,” says Li. “Our products are designed to keep those facing extreme conditions safe while maximizing comfort and productivity.”
For instance, one of Qore Performance’s top customers is Dutch Bros Coffee Arizona. The summer before Dutch Bros Coffee Arizona purchased and implemented the use of Qore Performance ICEVESTS, they had over 30 heat-related incidents. Some team members required more advanced medical treatment, not only creating a labor shortage, but also affecting productivity and long-term employee health. After using Qore Performance’s vests, they had zero heat-related issues. Work capacity increased by 15-25% with less rotation of outdoor staff required.
Qore Performance’s commercial clients include Boeing, FedEx, and Gopher Resources as well as fast food workers at Raising Cane’s, Shake Shack, HTeaO, and 7Brew Coffee, among others. For more information and to view the company’s full product offerings, visit www.qoreperformance.com.
