In this video blog we briefly show the best products for optimizing comfort in the summer heat.

Microfiber Short Sleeve T-Shirts

Class 2: Lime 9110 – Orange 9111 | Class 3: Lime 9118 – Orange 9119

You’d better not be expecting some wimpy cotton t-shirt here. This heavy duty work shirt is made out of high quality polyester microfiber just like what is used by the top brands in sportswear. The microfiber is exceptionally breathable and wicks away moisture which will keep you noticeably cooler than that old vest and t-shirt combo you’re used to wearing. As mentioned in the video it is available in Class 2 or Class 3 so you can stay compliant in any work environment.

Baseball Cap and Sun Shield

Cap: Lime 2854 – Orange 2855 | Shade: Lime 2811 – Orange 2812

The High-Vis Baseball Caps feature a classic and clean design, modified for maximum comfort and visibility. They include 360 degree reflectivity and mesh vented sides, with grey under the brim to reduce glare. Available as an option for our baseball caps we have the baseball cap Sun Shield which simply snaps into place on the sides, and uses velcro in the back to secure it to the strap. With this combination at least you have half of the farmers tan equation solved.

Safari Hat

S-M: Lime 2822 – Orange 2824 | L-XL: Lime 2823 – Orange 2825

For the adventurous types, or those that like to look like they are, we have the Full Brimmed Safari Hat. This option is cool, light, comfortable and will keep you well shaded. We should also point out that this hat has great low light visibility with reflective trim 360 degrees around the top, middle and brim. Now available in S-M or L-XL.

Hard Hat Shades

Hard Hat Sun Shield: Lime 2810 – Orange 2813

Hard Hat Nape Protector: Lime 2808 – Orange 2809

For those workers who are required to wear a hard hat we have sun protection for you as well! Choose from the Hard Hat Sun Shield that fits front brimmed hard hats with elastic that stretches around the brim, and hooks that anchor it on the back; or the Hard Hat Nape Protector which attaches to any hard hat with included self-adhesive velcro strips. Both style of shades feature reflective material to enhance nighttime visibility. So there is no excuse for a red-neck.

2011 Summer Promotion

Our Summer Protection products seen here are available now! We’ve offered some great summer product pricing to our distributors only through June 30th, so they’re going fast!

Contact your local sales representative to purchase and for more information on our entire line.

May 6, 2011 – Santa Ana, CA

John Ambrosio, has recently been named Vice President of Sales for ML Kishigo Manufacturing, a producer of high visibility apparel with its headquarters in Santa Ana, CA.

John comes to ML Kishigo with extensive sales management experience.  He was recently Vice President of Sales for the USA and Canadian markets for Moldex, a hearing and respiratory protection manufacturer.  Prior to Moldex, John was the National Sales Manager for DuPont with the responsibility of growing USA sales for the Kevlar, Nomex, Tyvek and Tychem product lines. John has also held key roles at West Chester, a glove manufacturer and Bata, a global footwear company.

John has been hired to lead ML Kishigo’s National Sales Team with a clear objective to support and grow sales. He will be headquartered in Southern California where he will have responsibilities for USA and Canada sales.

“John’s solid and extensive sales skills and knowledge of the industrial and safety apparel industries will be an invaluable asset to us as we continue to grow our sales and presence in the high visibility and industrial marketplace.” says President Greg Hayward.

ML Kishigo, an American company, founded over 30 years ago in California, specializes in high visibility, vest, pants, jackets, caps, and flags as well as industrial and clean room apparel. They are a full service custom and in-stock manufacturer that caters to the Construction, Public Safety, Government Municipality, Surveyor, FR and Clean Room sectors.

For more information, contact us at 800.338.9480 or www.mlkishigo.com

We credit this achievement to our great staff, friendly customer service and highly knowledgeable sales reps. Perhaps our amazing products have something to do with it too?

Construction
Made of a lightweight high-vis polyester, this jacket won’t slow you down. The durable black ripstop material under the arms, down the sides and inside the collar keep the garment looking clean in high wear areas. On the inside is a light and breathable white liner. In the torso area the liner has a soft hand, while the sleeves are smooth to allow for free motion when worn over a long sleeve or sweater.

Features
Hidden within the zip-closure slash pockets are elastic waist cinches. By simply pulling the cord inside the pocket you can adjust the waist without the hazard of cords dangling outside the jacket. On the left outer chest is vertical-zip pocket for convenient storage of your wallet or cell phone. This pocket is enhanced with the inclusion of a waterproof zipper which even has a cover to protect the zipper head when fully closed. The attention to detail is so high that even the zippers are finished with a quality zipper pull made of reflective parachute cord sporting the Kishigo signature.

On the back, this jacket features a distinct reflective tape configuration which not only helps distinguish the wearer from stationery reflective devices, but allows for a larger than average imprint of your company’s logo. To enhance breathability, we have created a unique vent that flexes along the contours of the shoulder blades. Lastly, the wrist cuffs are adjustable to keep this windbreaker, you guessed it, wind-tight.

Click images to enlarge

Spring Savings Promotion

Throughout the month of March the Black Series Windbreaker is featured in our Spring promotion. This special offer is only available to our distributors. So if you are interested in taking advantage of savings of up to 15% please contact your local sales representative, or our customer service at 800.338.9480.

Image courtesy of Inc. Magazine

How exciting! Out now, in this months issue of Inc. Magazine is an article where ML Kishigo is featured in an inside look into how our vests are used in the field. Go out and buy a copy then flip to page 24, or check it out online at Inc.com

Our line of summer shirts and accessories are perfect for beating the heat so you can get the job done. Staying cool, staying shaded and staying visible are all vital to you or your workers safety. While introducing our 2010 Summer Products, we are also introducing the addition of a new feature to our product spotlights: a video blog.

The video below goes over all the finer points of our summer line as narrated by “Mr. High-Vis” himself. The VP of ML Kishigo, Greg Hayward.

High Visibility Class 2 & 3, Short Sleeve &
Long Sleeve T-Shirts

Why would you wear layers of clothes such as a shirt and a vest on smoldering hot summer days? Our t-shirts are designed to be fully ANSI compliant and to keep you cool, all in one comfortable layer. We use only the highest quality moisture wicking Micro Fiber material seen on top name sportswear. Because these shirts are so effective at keeping you cool we recommend the use of our long sleeve Class 3 shirts (9106 – 9107) on brighter days. You will remain cool and comfortable while keeping your arms protected from the sun better than any sunscreen. Combine the comfort oriented performance with the breathable segmented reflective tape, which allows flex while reducing hot spots, and you have the most comfortable high-vis t-shirt on the market.

Segmented reflective tape allows for greater comfort through improved flexibility and reducing hot-spots.

Summer Headwear and Accessories

Farmer’s tans be darned. Now that you can prevent those lovely arm color variations with our ultra cool shirts, you need to address the other part of the equation. The neck. Whether you prefer to wear a baseball cap or a hard hat on the job we have you covered, literally. Each of our hats and neck shades add to the high visibility ensemble (and are ANSI Headeware Compliant), as they are available in Lime and Orange, and incorporate retro reflective trim.

The High-Vis Baseball Caps (2854 - 2855) are a classic and clean design, modified for maximum comfort and visibility. They include 360 degree reflectivity and mesh vented sides, with grey under the brim to reduce glare.

For the adventurous types, or those that like to look like they are, we have the Full Brimmed Safari Hat (2823 - 2822). This option is cool, light, comfortable and will keep you well shaded.

The hard hat sun shield (2810) fits front brimmed hard hats with elastic that stretches around the brim, and hooks that anchor it on the back.

The hard hat nape protectors (2808 – 2809) will fit any hard hat with simple velcro application.

Available as an option for our baseball caps we have the baseball cap Sun Shield (2811 - 2812) which simply snaps into place on the sides, and uses velcro in the back to secure it to the strap.

Well… Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman of Mythbusters do a rather good job of succinctly defining the difference in their episode debunking the staged moon landing myth.

Take it away boys…

We look forward to continuing this trend and with any luck improving upon the enormous progress we have made.

The full list all 30 companies can be viewed here, along with an article describing the optimistic trends seen among the ranking Orange County clothing companies.

Our friend, the EMS Guru who writes the ultra-informative blog “Every Day EMS Tips” was kind enough to review one of our favorite products. The 400 Series EMS Public Safety Vest is a top quality vest with features that no one else in the industry has. In the original article below Greg does a great job describing the many features which make this vest unique. Though we would like to emphasize one aspect that we feel makes this really outshine the competition (pun intended), and that is the reflective bias, or trim. Most vests just rely on the minimum required amount of reflective material to provide nighttime safety, but the ML Kishigo 400 Series EMS vests take it to a higher level with reflective trim contouring every edge of the garment. The result is a noticeably more visible retro-reflective silhouette. With the 400 Series vest, good luck NOT being seen, and when your colleagues ask “Why is my vest not nearly as visible as yours?” just say “Because this is an ML Kishigo”. And if you don’t work in the EMS field, don’t worry. The 400 Series is available for Police, Fire, Sheriff and Security too!

Greg’s Original Blog:
“Product Review: ML Kishigo High Vis Vest 400PSV Series”

This video discusses some of the features of the ML Kishigo High Visibility Vest from their 400PSV Series. (If you can’t see the video click here to play)

On December 16th 2009, the Federal Register Final Rule and the revised 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) were released. The ruling establishes the MUTCD as the primary regulatory document mandating the use of high-visibility apparel for all affected workers in the United States. The primary aspect of the ruling however, lies in the mandated class of garment and the environments in which affected workers are required to comply.

In October of 2008 the Federal Highway Administration, or FHWA, mandated the use of Class 2 and Class 3 high visibility garments on all Federal-Aid highways. The new MUTCD ruling solidifies the FHWA mandate, which took affect in 2008. Additionally, between the time of the October mandate and the publication of the MUTCD ruling, the FHWA expanded the mandate of the affected regulation areas from just Federal-aid highways to cover all roads which are open to public travel. Compliance to this amended regulation will be phased in until it takes full effect on December 31st, 2011. The one exclusion is private property in which you pass through a traffic control gate.

The regulation states that any and all workers within the right-of-way of vehicular traffic are required to wear high-visibility safety apparel that meets performance Class 2 or 3 of ANSI/ISEA 107-2004. Alternatively, the use of ANSI/ISEA 207-2006 compliant Public Safety Vests are included as an option for emergency/incident responders including law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS responders, and security. This allows emergency responders to meet requirements of this regulation in lieu of ANSI/ISEA 107-2004.

Due to added safety needs of firefighters, there is an optional “firefighters exemption” allowing them to wear specialized garments which may not necessarily meet ANSI/ISEA compliance points, as stated below:

“Firefighters or other emergency responders working within the right-of-way and engaged in emergency operations that directly expose them to flame, fire, heat, and/or hazardous materials may wear retroreflective turnout (Fire Resistant) gear that is specified and regulated by other organizations, such as the National Fire Protection Association.” (i.e. NFPA 1971 )

Meeting these compliance standards is not only vital for safety, it’s required. So if you work on the road, be sure you and your crew are wearing the proper, up-to-date gear. If you need help selecting the right gear for the job, or if you have any further questions regarding this new compliance mandate please leave a comment and we would be happy to help.

See the full text of 2009 MUTCD ruling.