Ames Copper Group Keeps Temperatures Down with StaCool Vests

The average temperatures in Shelby, NC are generally quite pleasant- ranging from 47 degrees in January to near 90 degrees F in July. But inside the Ames Copper Group facility it's a different story, as temps stay in triple digits throughout the year. The smelting and refining furnaces used to recycle scrap copper into anodes that are 99.7% pure copper, produce molten metal...and lots of heat.  Working in this environment would be a challenge, especially for those working inside the casting perimeter who wear aluminized PPE. Thanks to the innovative StaCool technology, the casting crew and refactory technicians can literally---keep their cool.

"Our casting process usually lasts five-an-a-half to six hours, and during that, these guys are face-to-face with molten copper," says Brian Scott, the EHS Manager. Brian is responsible for the safety of the crew he oversees and needed a tool to help them mitigate the 100-degree heat on the production floor.  Otherwise, his crew ran the risk of contracting heat illness or worse.  He found it in the form of StaCool Vests.  "All of my guys here alone, they say it's a game changer for what we do," says Scott.  The workers found that they weren't completely drained after working in the heat, so "at that point, I got our site management here to agree to go ahead and make the purchase of all our operators," says Scott. " The StaCool team was great and the vests were simple to work with and very user friendly."

Finally, he'd found a tool that could protect his workers without sacrificing productivity.  In fact , since integrating the vests into the workplace, Scott's noticed that productivity has been on the rise.