Bacou-Dalloz Hearing Safety Group Partners With LightSPEED Aviation To Develop New Generation Of Industrial Communication Hearing Protection Headsets

Smithfield, RI — The Hearing Safety Group of Bacou-Dalloz has partnered with LightSPEED Aviation of Portland, OR, to develop a new generation of industrial communication hearing protection headsets, officials at Bacou-Dalloz have announced. Under the terms of the strategic alliance, LightSPEED will manufacture the new line utilizing the Hearing Safety Group’s platform and aspects of their proprietary communications technology. The products will be marketed jointly by Bacou-Dalloz and LightSPEED.

Bacou-Dalloz is the world’s largest supplier of personal protective equipment. Their Hearing Safety Group includes leading brands Howard Leight and Bilsom. LightSPEED Aviation is the leading supplier of active noise reduction headsets for private pilots.

“This relationship is a very natural one for us,” said Bill Sokol, VP of Strategic Marketing for the Hearing Safety Group. “While we have always excelled at blocking noise and protecting workers’ hearing, LightSPEED has extensive experience in state-of-the-art electronics and two-way communications. They have been using our components for their aviation headsets and have already successfully married our high quality Bilsom components with their communications electronics.

“As a result of our research, we’ve come to realize that a communication headset device–which most hearing safety companies view as simply a hearing protector–is actually a communications device first and a hearing protection device second,” Sokol continued. “In those applications where it is needed, it is as critical to the worker’s job and safety to have that communication function as it is to have hearing protection. The Bilsom/LightSPEED combination will offer our customers a superior solution.”

According to LightSPEED president, Allan Schrader, the new Precision Series of industrial communication hearing headsets will be developed and marketed under the corporate banner of LightSPEED Industrial, Inc. “We believe our partnership with Bacou-Dalloz, along with our aviation experience, will allow us to offer reasonably priced, high quality communication headsets to the industrial market with a number of unique benefits,” he said.

The most important of these, according to Schrader, is flexible communications capability. All Precision Series headsets will offer the ability to interconnect with communications devices such as two-way radios and cell phones to facilitate two-way communication, as well as AM/FM radios, CD players and other devices. “This will enable a heavy equipment operator to communicate clearly via radio while still listening to background entertainment on the job. A busy manager can make and receive cell phone calls while out on the shop floor, exactly as if he were in a quiet office,” Schrader said.

The products will also offer active noise attenuation. “Most hearing protection devices utilize passive attenuation, which simply blocks noise,” Schrader said. “In addition to this technology, LightSPEED’s Active Noise Reduction (ANR) headsets utilize sophisticated electronics to acoustically eliminate 10-14 dB of lower frequency noise.” When added to a passive headset, this capability improves the overall Noise Reduction by 3-4 dB while reducing user fatigue and improving intelligibility of the communications. “We believe this will be of great benefit in applications where persistent low frequency noise is of concern, and that our product will deliver the industry’s highest NRR for a communications headset,” Schrader said.

Pricing for the new line of LightSPEED Industrial communication hearing headsets is expected to start at $229. The line will debut at the National Safety Conference in September, at the LightSPEED Industrial Booth (1763) and the Bacou-Dalloz booth(s) 2001/2201.

Bilsom was founded in Sweden in 1968 and leads the industry in developing innovative sound management technologies that are used in some of the most challenging environments in the world.

Since its beginnings as a one-man operation more than 30 years ago, Howard Leight Industries has grown into one of the largest manufacturers of in-ear hearing protection in the industrial market and is widely recognized as an innovator in protection and fit. Since 2001 Howard Leight has been a part of the Bacou-Dalloz(tm) Hearing Safety Group.

Combining the innovation and expertise of Howard Leight(r) Earplugs and Bilsom(r) Earmuffs, the Bacou-Dalloz Hearing Safety Group is a world leader in hearing safety.

In 2001 Dalloz joined with Bacou to form the Bacou-Dalloz Group, the world leader in the design, manufacturing and sale of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The company employs about 6,700 people and operates 48 production facilities. Bacou-Dalloz provides unmatched head-to-toe protection through three strategic business segments: head protection (eye, hearing and respiratory), body protection (gloves, clothes and shoes) and fall protection. Bacou-Dalloz offers a full product range aimed at the manufacturing, construction, telecommunications, medical, public services and other sectors. Their products are available through authorized distributors worldwide.

For additional product information, contact:

LightSPEED Industrial, Inc.
15954 SW 72nd Ave.
Portland, OR 97034
Tel: 888-989-4581
Fax: 503-968-7664
http://www.lightspeedindustrial.com

Bacou-Dalloz Hearing Safety Group
7828 Waterville Road
San Diego, CA 92154
Tel: 800-430-5490
Fax: 401-232-3110
http://www.howardleight.com
http://www.bilsom.com