We were delighted to host the P&G Fire Protection Leaders Group at our Auburn, Maine plant.
We sell our hot work safety fabrics all over the world, but it’s always great to visit with safety professionals in our own backyard! That’s why we were thrilled to be invited to present to the Fire Protection Leaders Group at P&G’s Tambrands facility right here in Auburn, Maine, last month. We talked fire safety with more than two dozen professionals visiting from plants located all over the United States.
Our presentation focused on the last two editions of NFPA 51B, which include guidance on the use of “Listed or Approved” hot work fabrics. Until FM Approvals developed a performance-based standard for hot work fabrics in 2003, such guidance was not available.
Auburn Manufacturing was the first company to receive FM 4950 Approval and today has the most FM-rated fabrics available – 21 and counting.
The P&G group was interested to learn just how rigorous the testing and approval process is, and how that assures their facilities of adequate fire protection.
We explained the difference in performance rating of Curtains, Blankets, and Pads, and why temperature ratings aren’t as important as performance ratings when choosing fabrics.
P&G Fire Safety Leaders get a look at how well our hot work fabrics stand up to extreme heat.
After the presentation, we hosted the P&G Fire Protection leaders at the AMI facility to see the FM Approved fabrics being made. But no visit would be complete without a little show-and-tell: we invited the P&G team into our lab to demonstrate just how much protection our fabrics provide. We placed fabric samples into a protected area and blasted them with a blowtorch to show the difference in varying levels of performance.
Thank you to P&G for inviting us to meet with your fire protection team. We were glad to learn more about your processes and challenges. We also learned a lot more about Bounty paper towels and Dawn dish detergent – two of our favorite products!
Auburn Manufacturing CEO Kathie Leonard gives a facility tour to the Fire Protection Leaders from P&G.
AMI’s Kathie Leonard and Matt Lampron address the Fire Protection Leaders at the P&G facility in Auburn, Maine.