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Inflatable life jacket
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| SECUMAR - unique through consistent research and innovation |
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Many
companies have made safety at sea their area of work. However, hardly
any of them have approached the subject with such high requirements and
with such sound scientific knowledge as Bernhardt Apparatebau GmbH
& Co from Holm, near Hamburg, Germany which for over 50 years
now has manufactured the most innovative lifesaving equipment under the
brand name of SECUMAR. Logically consistent research and demand for top
quality has helped Bernhardt Apparatebau attain a world leading
position in this field.
The starting point for this unique development was the foundation
research carried out by the company’s founder, Jost
Bernhardt. His father Karl Bernhardt had been manufacturing diving
equipment since 1926, so Jost Bernhardt decided to turn to the area of
emergency sea rescue equipment after the war.
The tragic loss of the training sailing ship "Pamir", with the loss of
80 men, even though some were wearing lifejackets, had left its mark on
him, so in 1957 Jost Bernhardt intensified his research into the
physics of the principle of floating. His publications "Zur Problematik
der Schwimmweste" and "Der Mensch im Medium Wasser" (1958/1959)
analyzed the techniques known at that time, uncovered their weaknesses
and formed the basis for the construction of far more effective
lifesaving equipment. The first milestone came in 1958 with the
introduction of a lifejacket that could protect its wearer from
drowning even when unconscious.
There followed a period of research and development which was just as
consistent as it was continuous and led to constantly improved and
innovative products. In 1964 there was a significant thrust forward
when the German Navy decided on the SECUMAR MRS 3 as their standard
lifejacket. The German Army and Naval Forces of many other nations have
shown confidence in SECUMAR lifejackets ever since.
Likewise the research efforts brought a further outstanding event, the
licensing of the SECUMAR BS 8, a compact, fully automatically inflated
lifejacket that was activated through contact with water. Initially
developed for inland waterway navigation, this concept also lead to a
breakthrough in leisure boating use.
As a result, the technology of the lifejackets has become more and more
refined: the construction of the automatic release mechanisms, already
in their fifth generation, has become more robust and by means of a
‘traffic-light system’ increasingly fool-proof. The
buoyancy chambers have become more durable due to new materials and
processes and their airtight properties more reliable and the complete
lifejackets have become more efficient because of shape, design and
additional components such as emergency beacons and spray hoods.
The Company, which has ISO certification, a team of 100 specialists and
an annual turnover of over 15 million Euros, has through its
cooperation with international sea rescue services and many industrial,
commercial and leisure users, not only an intensely thorough view of
present practice, but also places great demands for the future on
research, development and design of all product components.
The company's philosophy is to continuously develop tailor-made
solutions in lifesaving equipment to meet existing and future customer
requirements for equipment to protect them from drowning in any given
situation.
There is never a 100 percent guarantee when one is exposed to the
powers of nature. However, Bernhardt Apparatebau strives constantly to
obtain the closest possible proximity to this 100 percent target.
Visit
www.secumar.com
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