Over the past 124 years, Bullard has manufactured head gear and safety equipment. The company, which invented the first hard hat, has evolved and redesigned its products to address safety concerns for workers in various industries.
To protect construction workers, the company has launched new products designed to provide quick relief from heat. For instance, it has launched a vest that can cool the body for up to four hours by maintaining a constant temperature of 55° F. It works by using a material called Isotherm, which maintains low temperatures without creating condensation. To use it, workers must submerge the vest in a cooler with ice water for 20 minutes.
Over the past two years, Bullard had to consider how it could support workers who might be exposed to COVID-19 virus particles. After all, scientists believe that climate change is going to increase the frequency of pandemics. The company had already been making respirators for workers who might inhale fumes or toxic particles, but it quickly decided to pivot to create new products that could work in settings where COVID-19 exposure was inevitable, including healthcare settings. When the pandemic struck, the company began work on a range of new devices, including a lightweight hood with a clear face shield that covers the entire head and comes with a tube for air supply. The company claims it offers a hundred times the protection of an N-95 mask, while making it easier to breathe. Bullard released the hood in the thick of global health crisis, and it was adopted by doctors and nurses in COVID-19 wards around the world, including Harrison Memorial Hospital in Kentucky and Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell, New Jersey. “We went from zero to having a product in 12 months,” Bullard says. “We’ve been in business for a long time, but the new threats are coming at us quickly, and we need to work fast.”
