Whether you want a ladder that you can find in the garage at night, firefighting tools that can be seen through thick smoke or white walls that light up in the dark without batteries, GlowZone in Brea has developed the technology to make them.
Firefighters with glow fabric, tools and air tanks, photo provided by GlowZone
Many consumers are familiar with glow-in-the-dark toys or tape and the cyclists’ clothing that reflects headlights. But GlowZone is a research and manufacturing firm that specializes in ways to infuse photoluminescence – glow in the dark compounds – into products and fabrics, not merely sit on top or reflect light.
Founder Joe Bloomfield didn’t invent the compounds, but he and his 9 employees have spent the past 9 years on research and development of ways to make photoluminescence brighter, in a variety of colors other than green and to apply it to various products. (Click on images for a larger view):
GlowZone might use powder coating (spray-on paint and bake it) on a ladder. Or put the glow material into liquid plastic and make objects through injection molding. Or put photoluminescent compounds into fabric that is sewn on to firefighters’ jackets. Or use vinyl dip molding to coat an air tank (like dipping an ice cream cone in liquid chocolate).
GlowZone has a patent on making different colors but will keep other processes as trade secrets to prevent copying, Bloomfield says.
“Most of our effort goes into manufacturing and R&D; we private manufacture for other companies that already have sales units set up,” he explains.
The photos below show the same tank in the light, left, and the dark:
Bloomfield’s current push is in the fire safety market. Fire officials recently allowed him to walk into a training fire so he could experience the darkness, smoke and heat that firefighters experience.
“I found a couple more huge hazards that I’ll develop applications for,” he said, mentioning the water hoses that can easily trip a firefighter who can’t see them.
“I like the safety side because it can save people’s lives,” Bloomfield says.
GlowZone's bread and butter are exit signs. Many cities and 20 states have passed laws requiring buildings over 75 feet tall to have glow-in-the-dark exit signs that don’t require electricity or reflected light.
“New York City passed a law after the 1993 terrorist attack (underground parking garage),” he says. “Evacuation took hours. Then when 9/11 happened people said two things got them out (of the World Trade Center): humanity and ‘that funny glowing green stuff we followed.’”
Bloomfield’s background isn’t in the lab in property management and custom landscaping.
“When I found this material, I got hooked on it. I never saw anything like it; it glowed all night,” he says. “I had another business in Newport Beach for 12 years, and I let it go to start this one. Six years ago we moved to Brea.”
Brea-based GlowZone, Inc. showroom is a rarity. It's best visited in the dark.
