A British subsidiary of PerSys Medical, a Houston-based medical device company,
wins one of the UK’s top industrial honors:
TheQueen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2009
to be presented in person by Her Majesty the Queen.
The award has been granted to Blizzard Protection Systems, in which PerSys Medical took a controlling interest in 2007, providing investment and entry into fast growing North American and world markets.
Based in Snowdonia, North Wales, Blizzard works around the clock to meet demand for its Blizzard Survival Blankets™ and new Blizzard Heat™
(a special military version of the blanket, fitted with self-heating pads) products, which are being issued to all United States Army and Special Forces units as the most effective way to keep casualties alive on the battlefield. The survival devices are included in several military medical kits and are placed on the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) armoured vehicles.
Blizzard Survival products have taken off worldwide as the new standard in lightweight thermal devices for users including mountaineers, search and rescue, disaster response and civilian medical practitioners. The company has seen sustained growth for over 4 years, but most dramatically in the last 12 months where sales have doubled and over 90% of products are exported from the UK worldwide.
The products are made from Blizzard’s unique Reflexcell™ material (see pictures below) – a triple layer of metalized polymer foil that expands to form insulating air pockets and reflect heat. Reflexcell™ is as warm as a 2-3 season sleeping bag, with a fraction of the weight and bulk. The products are also totally windproof, waterproof, tough and reusable.
Blizzard inventor and managing director Derek Ryden said,
Derek Ryden
“The Queen’s Award is a great honor for Blizzard, but we could not have achieved it without the support of PerSys Medical, who has made a tremendous contribution to our commercial success. They introduced and advanced us in the US military market and helped us expand worldwide. We developed the Blizzard Heat™ specifically to meet the US military medical authorities’ requirement for a system that provides an answer to shock induced hypothermia and is easily deployed in combat situations. It has proven fantastically successful and there is nothing else like it on the market.”
“The Blizzard Survival Jacket™, for example, is now used by the Australian army as personal survival devices. The Blizzard Survival Bag™ is used everywhere from new RAF fighter survival packs to air sea rescue helicopters.”
“In the outdoor sports world, Blizzard Survival products are increasingly used by mountain rescue teams and many more people are carrying it in their packs in case of emergency.”
“We are also breaking into many types of new markets across the world, including civilian medicine, emergency preparedness and disaster relief. For example, a single aircraft could deliver thousands of our bags or blankets within hours to the site of an earthquake. Blizzard products are exceptionally light weight and have small packed sizes.”
Derek and members of the workforce will be invited to Buckingham Palace to receive the award in person from Her Majesty the Queen later this year.
Blizzard’s Reflexcell™ is the key to the products’ ultra light weight and thermal performance:
• The self-warming Blizzard Heat™ is designed to meet US military specifications for a product which will prevent and treat hypothermia in trauma casualties on the battlefield. It is issued to medics in all theatres of conflict.
•The Blizzard Survival Bag™ packs as small as a video cassette yet is as warm as a 2-3 season fabric bag and is 100% water and wind proof.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~24~RS~)
