The Beginning

The idea of the Ice Vest™ was conceived much like many of the other great ideas of our time: talking around a campfire.  A safety manager was airing grievances about how he had ordered $40,000 worth of cooling products and they were sitting on the floor in a pile in their facility breakroom. Good intentions aside, the employees he was responsible for would not wear them. Owner Mark Fuchs, who has had over 30 years of experience designing and developing products, agreed to help.  He took a “walk before you run” approach to designing by asking the safety manager why his employees would not wear the safety products.  After learning the key contributors to dis-satisfaction he set about designing the Ice Vest around them.  What was born was a cooling product that is both effective and people will wear. Beyond the initial creation, the crux of the design process – listening to the people that will be wearing them – has informed the development of the broader product line, as well as implementing cooling safety programs. We continue this thought process today as we develop innovative, yet practical solutions to help keep people who work in the heat safer.