2012 - A Year in Review

2012 has been a busy year here at P2i and with 2013 only a few weeks away, we take a look back at some of our more exciting highlights.

January:

The first month of 2012 saw us attend two very different tradeshows. For the second year in a row, we exhibited at International CES in Las Vegas which was also a milestone for P2i, as we announced that over 8 million consumer electronics devices had been protected from water damage with our nano-coating technology. You can find out more about how we got on at CES here.

In addition, we also attended ISPO in Munich, Germany to promote our ion-mask™ technology to lifestyle brands, where we were delighted to announce that the technology had been applied to over 3 million pairs of shoes.

February:

Did you know that more than half of all mobile phone users expect devices to be water-repellent? In research carried out by P2i, mobile phone users from the UK, France, Germany, Spain and the US also admitted to using their devices in the rain, shower and sauna. Read all about the findings here.

February also saw our return to Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona where we were also interviewed by The Fonecast. In preparation for MWC, we also produced a brand new video to explain how our coating is applied to electronic devices. You can watch this video below:

March:

At AudiologyNow2012! we were delighted to be crowned Best of Show for the second year running, an award that was made all the more special as P2i was the first company to win this award in consecutive years. You can see our award and booth here.

Ever wondered what the difference between waterproof and water repellent electronics is? In our post from the 21st March, we look at the differences in more detail.

April:

In April, we attended two tradeshows for the first time, World Filtration Congress in Graz, Austria and NEPCON in Shanghai, China ,as well as featuring on NewsWatch TV hosted by Scott Steinberg.

Finally, we were delighted to announce our partnership with leading headwear brand Kangol, who have applied ion-mask™ to a range of their iconic hats. You can watch our technology in action on Kangol hats below:

May:

Our busiest month so far!

With the London Olympics just around the corner, P2i teamed up with UK Sport to protect equipment and accessories in cycling and sailing, two of Britain's leading sports. We also attended CTIA Wireless in New Orleans, USA and started our series of blogs entitled: A Brief History of Nanotechnology, which charts the early beginnings of nanotechnology through to the present day (you can find the series by searching our blog).

Do you know what happens if you apply our coating to normally water absorbent items? Well in May we created The Repellent Files to find out. You can see all our experiments so far which include Mentos & Diet Coke, sponges and coffee granules on P2i.TV.

To top off an excellent month, we were crowned Most Innovative Company of the Year 2012 by the Best in Biz Awards 2012 EMEA.

July:

While June went by a little more quietly, July was certainly a month to shout about, winning not one but two industry awards! At OutDoor 2012 in Friedrichshafen, Germany our collaboration with Trekmates was recognized as the DRY Mountain Lite Mitt featuring ion-mask™ was awarded the Industry Award in the Accessories category.

And at the same time, the Global Business Excellence (GBE) Awards were being held in London where we were acknowledged by winning the Outstanding New Product/Service award.

August/September:

Both August and September continued where July left off with more awards coming our way. In August, we were again awarded the title of Most Innovative Company in Europe by the International Business Awards (Stevies) and in September we were listed in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 list. The list highlights the top-performing private companies and we came 27th!

October:

How waterproof are consumer electronics? That was the main topic of our blog in October. We also announced our exclusive partnership with Plantronics to protect cutting-edge Bluetooth devices, including the Voyager Legend headset.

November:

Did you catch Richard Hammond's Miracles of Nature on BBC One? If you did, you will have seen that we were featured! In the first episode entitled 'Super Bodies', Richard Hammond explored how nature has inspired human technological developments and how the wings of the Morpho butterfly produce the same water-repellent effect as our technology. The series will be on DVD from next year but images and more information from the show can be seen here.

November also saw the official launch of our partnership with Alcatel Mobile (TCL), where our coating has been applied to Alcatel's flagship model, the ONE TOUCH 997 Ultra. Watch the video below:

Last but not least, it was time to answer another frequently asked question: How small is our coating?

December:

There are exciting projects in the pipeline but you will have to wait to find out what. We also have a host of activity planned for 2013, so watch this space...

If you would like to know more about our technology, visit www.p2i.com or alternatively you can ask us a question in the comment box below.

Changing the Game: P2i presents at Nano4Sport

Delwyn Evans

On Wednesday 21st September, I presented at the Nano4Sport conference in London. The event which consisted of designers, scientists as well as established and start-up technology companies, aimed to explore the potential uses of nanotechnologies within sports clothing and equipment.

My presentation entitled: Changing the Game: Using Water Repellent Nano-Technology for Sport Shoes; highlighted how our ion-mask™ technology for lifestyle products (footwear and textiles) can lead to improvements in performance, such as reduced water uptake and improved appearance.

P2i's success in applying the technology on a commercial scale to a range of 3D objects was a key point of the presentation and I demonstrated the technology first hand on a pair of KSwiss's California running shoes which are currently available on the market featuring ion-mask™. For the demonstration the right shoe had been treated with ion-mask™ while the left shoe remained uncoated. Water was then dropped on the front of each shoe with the treated shoe repelling the water while on the left; the material instantly absorbed any water that came into contact with it.

KSwiss California

The demonstration proved popular, as the treated shoe was passed around the audience so they could feel for themselves that there was no difference in weight, look or texture.

Overall, Nano4Sport proved an interesting event, offering an opportunity to showcase ion-mask™ technology to individuals and businesses in the industry as well as witnessing new and emerging technologies.

You can read more about the event here and if you would like to know more about how ion-mask™ works and the benefits it offers visit: www.p2i.com/ion-mask

Splash the P2i Duck

In a previous post we talked about the launch of the Splash Challenge competition at the OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen. The competition was open to all delegates and those that visited our booth where able to take part in the competition by adopting Splash the P2i Duck, and taking him on adventures around the world.
 

Splash

Many Splashes were picked up by attendees at our booth and we are now receiving a steady stream of Splash images from all over the world, below are just a few:


Collection of Splashes at our booth



Splash entering another duck's territory in Wales



Splash taking in the sights at the Snaefellsjökull volcano, Iceland



Splash the risk taker in Oxfordshire, England 

As you can see there have been some great images sent in and with the competition running until the end of September we expect to receive many more.

In addition to this we have put a short video together of Splash at the OutDoor show and some of the entries we have received thus far:


 
If you would like to keep up with Splash or have any images still to send in, you can upload them here www.p2i.com/splash and why not follow him on Twitter.

We will send another update on how Splash is getting on next month...

ion-mask™ - Then and Now

Where did it all begin?

P2i originated as a project within the UK Governments' DSTL division to make soldier's clothing more effective against chemical attack. In 2004 P2i became the first DSTL technology transfer company to commercialize the technologies developed by the UK Government. 

Where are we now?

Today we operate within five key market sectors: Lifestyle (ion-mask™), Electronics (Aridion™), Filtration & Energy, Life Sciences and Military & Institutional. In this post we will focus on ion-mask™ and where it has been optimized for the footwear industry.

ion-mask™ has been available commercially since 2008, when outdoor footwear company Hi-Tec became the first brand to bring the technology to consumers by applying ion-mask™ to a new style of hiking boot; the V-Lite Altitude Ultra WPi:



Hi-Tec V-Lite Altitude Ultra WPi - First ever walking boot to feature ion-mask™

 Since then the ion-mask™ - Hi-Tec range has expanded significantly including the development of the Infinity trail runner which spawned the YouTube viral sensation 'Liquid Mountaineering':



Today, ion-mask™ has been applied to eleven separate footwear brands including Timberland, Van Dal and K∙Swiss to name but a few. You can read more about ion-mask™ and these brands in our case studies as well as seeing some of the styles below:



K∙Swiss Kwicky Blade Light



Hi-Tec Infinity HPI





Timberland City 6in Boot



Van Dal Cannes



ion-mask™ has also branched out from footwear and in 2011 we have seen the technology being applied to lifestyle accessories including gloves (Fox) and hats.

From previous post you will also have read that we have just returned from OutDoor 2011 in Friedrichshafen, Germany where we were demonstrated ion-mask™ to leading outdoor brands. The show was a great success with many companies enquiring about the adoption of ion-mask™ for apparel, a similar question we receive through our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts. This is an area that we are extensively researching so watch this space...

The range of products featuring ion-mask™ continues to grow and if you have your own footwear featuring the technology we would love to hear your reviews and comments. There are also a host of reviews online you can read if you would like to know more or thinking of purchasing a new pair of shoes, here is a brief selection:

- Hi-Tec:

   ∙ Outdoors Magic 

    ∙ Outdoor Enthusiasts

    ∙ Gear We Are

- K∙Swiss:

   ∙ Sport (SBlog)

    ∙ Ironman

 

Making a Splash at EU OutDoor 2011 - Friedrichshafen

So that was EU OutDoor 2011 in Friedrichshafen!

We have just returned to the office from a very successful show in Germany where we exhibited our ion-mask™ technology for the first time. EU OutDoor 2011 was also where we launched our Splash Challenge competition (more on that later).

The show which ran from the 14th-17th July, is host to leading outdoor brands from around the world.

Over the four days, those that stopped by our booth were introduced to ion-mask™ via videos, a custom designed holographic kiosk and through hands-on demonstrations of ion-mask™ treated footwear, tissues and fabrics - we even had Hannibal our own corporate magician!

ion-mask™ footwear demonstration

ion-mask™ tissue demonstration

Hannibal

We also put a short video together of our booth that you can watch below:



Overall the show was a great success and it was exciting to have many leading outdoor brands visit our booth, keen to see for themselves how ion-mask™ could benefit their products.

Already working with leading footwear brands, we are excited to see who will next adopt P2i's ion-mask™ technology.

What is the Splash Challenge?

At the start of the post we mention the Splash Challenge, so what is it? Launched at the EU OutDoor show, we gave all attendees the chance to take away with them their very own Splash the P2i Duck.

Splash is searching for water-filled adventures and attendees that picked up Splash from the show are now taking images and videos of him from around the world. A multi-lense SuperSampler camera awaits for the person who sends in the best image of Splash. If you would like to keep up to date with Splash and see how he is getting on, you can here www.p2i.com/splash - or why not follow him on Twitter.

You can see all our images from the show on our Flickr page here.

Gearing up for Outdoor 2011

Starting tomorrow until the 17th July, the outdoor world gathers in Friedrichshafen, Germany for the largest European tradeshow of its kind - OutDoor 2011. Now in its 18th year, 2010 saw the show amass 868 exhibitors and over 20,400 trade visitors, this year it is set to be even bigger and better.

OutDoor 2011 will be unique for us as it is the first time P2i will be showcasing ion-mask™ technology to a mass audience and we are pretty excited!

The show is also a milestone for us and ion-mask™, as now more than 1.5 million pairs of shoes have been treated with the technology. Offering consumers breathable, lighter, stay-dry and stain resistant footwear.

Come and check us out!

Visitors to our booth (Hall B4, Stand 302) will be able to watch - get involved with live demonstrations, interact with an ion-mask™ specific holographic display as well as watch our very own corporate magician in action.

Applied to a host of materials including mesh, light-colored canvas and suede, ion-mask™ has been adopted by eleven brands including: Timberland, KSwiss, Hi-Tec, Nike, Adidas and Teva, samples of which will be on the booth. Visitors will be able to see for themselves the levels of liquid repellency and breathability that previous generations of membranes simply cannot match.

This is what David Bond, Vice President of Product at KSwiss had to say:

 "ion-mask™ is the most innovative moisture

management technology available on the market"

If you are attending, come and find as at Stand 302 in Hall B4. In the meantime, you can watch our Lifestyle video below to get a taster of what is to come:

We look forward to seeing you there!