The frustration of searching for a torch in the dark gave two British entrepreneurs the idea to improve on existing phosphorescent technologies to develop the GloTorch - a glow-in-the dark torch.
The unique product was jointly developed by DualGlo, a technology company based in Hereford, western England, and Innovation-Direct, a free consultancy service for small-to-medium sized companies established by the Universities of Warwick and Wolverhampton in the English Midlands.
The partnership has also led to the development of new products, new materials and processes that has enabled the company to market an innovative generation of coloured luminous technology.
The idea behind the GloTorch is that it glows in the dark, therefore making it easy to find when a torch is most required, such as power cuts and other emergencies. What makes it stand out, literally, from other torches is the special yellow plastic that can glow in the dark for more than eight hours, after just 10 minutes exposure to a light source.
The GloTorch is made from unique DualGlo plastic that naturally absorbs light (artificial or sunlight) and then glows brightly in the dark. The torch is useful for travelling, camping, or participating in outdoor sports such as night fishing.
The new colours glow up to seven times brighter than old style materials, and unlike previous technology, the luminous DualGlo materials are added to the manufactured goods during production, so are part of the product, rather than a surface coating.
DualGlo materials can now be used in a wide variety of materials, from plastics to printing inks, providing bright daylight colours (yellow, green, blue, pink and white) all of which glow in the dark for up to 20 hours after each exposure to a few minutes of light.
The technology is currently being added to machine washable textiles that will be used in a wide variety of fashion, safety, sporting and military applications. Chubb Fire, the UK's leading fire protection company, has recently launched a product using DualGlo material. The Pinpoint is a photolumniscent fire extinguisher pin and OK indicator that can be fitted to all the handles of its fire extinguishers.
Chubb's fire product manager explained that the technology has helped the firm to overcome the problem of locating fire extinguishers in poorly lit venues such as restaurants and nightclubs and other venues where minutes lost in finding the equipment could be critical for survival.
Stephen Lambert, managing director of DualGlo said: "Input by Innovation-Direct has expanded the potential of our product - market and product advice led to the development of the DualGlo masterbatch that can be added to any type of plastics material and makes our products unique."
He added: "The potential market for DualGlo is now massive. Light switches that glow all night, signs that glow in the dark, scuba diving regulators and zips on outdoor and designer clothing are just some of the products that are currently being developed."
The GloTorch is currently exported to China, New Zealand, the United States and throughout Europe.
For more information contact Craig Baillie, DualGlo, 0944 1432 820999, fax: 0944 1432 820514, [email protected], www.dualglo.co.uk
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