Trade Talk Today A+A Day 3

00:00:03: Welcome to Trade Talk Today,

00:00:05: your daily

00:00:06: insight.

00:00:09: This show is brought

00:00:10: to you by ATG.

00:00:29: Because I didn't know too much about the trade fair beforehand, I thought it's a trade fair about safety on the workplace at the workplace, and that may not be too exciting, maybe a little bit dull.

00:00:39: And I can tell you I was completely wrong.

00:00:42: I am completely wrong.

00:00:43: I would say the A in the A plus A stands for amazing and it is absolutely amazing what is happening here in the halls.

00:00:49: There's so much innovation.

00:00:50: There is so much to see and there's also so much fun.

00:00:54: People are in a good mood.

00:00:56: People are talking to each other and people are finding out what is happening in the industry.

00:00:59: And I'm really happy to be here today because we have wonderful guests on the show later on.

00:01:03: Julie Roberts, marketing manager from ATG Handcare is going to be joining me and right now.

00:01:09: Happy to have you on the show.

00:01:10: Rachel Hausman, you are known as Allie Safety.

00:01:13: You are a certified safety professional and certified industrial hygienist.

00:01:18: It is great to have you here.

00:01:19: You have an amazing... influence your status on all the different kind of social media platforms there are.

00:01:27: Your name is Ally Safety, and I hope you're happy to be here this morning too.

00:01:31: Yes, I

00:01:32: am.

00:01:32: I'm so glad.

00:01:32: Thanks so much for

00:01:33: having me here, and it's been so fun to meet the team and just get to see a little bit of behind the scenes and everything that it takes to put this A plus A conference and trade show together.

00:01:41: It's been amazing.

00:01:43: Amazing, as I said, the name, the word of the week, and I just love that.

00:01:48: What exactly you do?

00:01:49: We're going to talk about in a second, but I do want to get warmed up a little bit with some quick fire questions.

00:01:54: Oh,

00:01:54: let's do it.

00:01:55: Let's start.

00:01:56: Fire drill or first aid training?

00:01:58: Fire drill for sure.

00:02:00: Jazz or rock?

00:02:01: Rock.

00:02:02: Coffee or tea?

00:02:03: Coffee, coffee.

00:02:05: Plan ahead or improvise?

00:02:07: Plan ahead.

00:02:08: I mean, safety.

00:02:09: Oh, really?

00:02:09: Okay.

00:02:10: Well, I thought as an influencer, you might want to improvise more, but you're right.

00:02:14: You have to plan ahead.

00:02:14: Otherwise, you're not safe.

00:02:16: Okay.

00:02:16: You either fail to plan or plan to fail is what we say

00:02:21: oh very good um youtube or instagram?

00:02:24: uh

00:02:24: probably youtube.

00:02:26: okay

00:02:26: yeah um wrist assessment or gut feeling Risk assessment.

00:02:30: Oh, same thing.

00:02:31: OK.

00:02:32: Early bird or night

00:02:33: owl?

00:02:33: Early bird.

00:02:34: Really?

00:02:34: Yeah.

00:02:34: OK.

00:02:35: So this whole time change thing coming from Oregon is probably difficult right now.

00:02:38: It was, but I was still up at like five AM.

00:02:41: I don't know why.

00:02:41: That's just how I work.

00:02:43: I'm glad you're awake and happy right now.

00:02:45: Yeah.

00:02:46: Onsite demo or augmented reality presentation?

00:02:50: Onsite demo.

00:02:50: OK.

00:02:51: Generating new followers or communicating with your local community?

00:02:55: Communicating

00:02:56: with the loyal community.

00:02:57: That's

00:02:57: cool.

00:02:57: I think you probably generate new followers.

00:02:59: by doing that as well.

00:03:00: I think so.

00:03:00: Because they talk to each other.

00:03:01: Yeah.

00:03:02: Mountain or beach?

00:03:03: Mountain.

00:03:03: Mountain.

00:03:04: Really?

00:03:04: Yeah.

00:03:04: Oh, of course, yeah, Oregon.

00:03:05: Yeah.

00:03:05: Especially in Portland.

00:03:07: It's not that close to the ocean, so.

00:03:08: Yeah, and I'm from Montana too, so I was born in the mountains.

00:03:11: Okay.

00:03:11: Yeah.

00:03:12: Anyway, it's great to have you here.

00:03:13: Thank you for the quick, quiet questions.

00:03:14: We get to know you a little bit that way, but we want to know more about you.

00:03:17: First of all, can you tell us exactly what you do as an influencer in this area?

00:03:22: Yeah, so it's kind of a unique niche to be a workplace safety and health influencer, but what I'm trying to do is make safety engaging and entertaining to the masses and keep those lessons fun and short and entertaining.

00:03:33: So how do you do that?

00:03:35: It's tricky with some of the more dry topics,

00:03:38: but overall

00:03:39: safety is actually really fun and fascinating.

00:03:41: industry to be in.

00:03:42: And I think we don't always show how much that we can do in this industry.

00:03:47: So what I love to do is I say, I don't tell people how to be safe, I show.

00:03:52: So I love to do real life demonstrations.

00:03:54: One thing people say a lot about my channel and about my safety videos is it's kind of like safety meets myth busters.

00:03:59: So I love testing things out and doing things like testing PPE to failure.

00:04:04: Those types of videos are my most fun for sure.

00:04:07: How did you get into this?

00:04:09: So I actually started in college and engineering, but I came from a background where my family owns a logging and construction business.

00:04:16: So I grew up around heavy machinery, knowing how to run heavy machinery and also logging is one of the most dangerous industries there is.

00:04:22: So I saw a lot of what can go wrong.

00:04:25: And then when I went to college and engineering, it was just very dry for me and I wanted to interact with people more.

00:04:30: So I ended up in safety.

00:04:31: I've been in safety for fourteen years now and I love it.

00:04:34: I think you get this really awesome combination.

00:04:37: where you get to work with people in the field and you also get to work with management and so you're kind of the go-between for all these different things and trying to bring everything together and make the workplace better and I love feeling like I'm improving things all along.

00:04:49: I love your channel.

00:04:50: It's a lot of fun even for someone who's not in the safety industry.

00:04:52: It's just fun to watch you do such a great job and it is fascinating.

00:04:56: Let's talk about the first post you did.

00:04:58: And how that evolved from there?

00:05:01: Well, it's funny because the first post I did, it was like back in my old apartment in Bozeman, Montana.

00:05:06: And I was filming with this backdrop and my phone and just on a shoestring budget.

00:05:11: And it was on something like fire extinguisher safety, just really basic, something that everybody can use.

00:05:17: And I had no idea at the time, but that's gotten over half a million views now.

00:05:21: Amazing.

00:05:22: But did that take a couple of months till that happened?

00:05:25: Or was it like he went to bed in the next morning and were like, oh, wow, there are already.

00:05:28: thousand people on this.

00:05:29: You know, it's built over time.

00:05:30: I think safety tends not to be as viral as some of the other topics, but it does build.

00:05:35: And I think once you kind of develop the trust of the audience, then it grows from there.

00:05:40: Has anything ever gone wrong while you were filming the videos?

00:05:43: Oh

00:05:43: my gosh, yeah.

00:05:45: Okay.

00:05:46: We have started several fires and we have had fires started not by us while we were on job sites.

00:05:52: So as an example, one time I was demonstrating flammable gases.

00:05:57: And as you would expect, there's the potential for flammability there.

00:06:02: So I was pouring one gas into a beaker and it started on fire.

00:06:05: And luckily my crew knows how to use all the safety equipment.

00:06:08: But we actually have video of the set being burned and then the fire extinguisher putting it out.

00:06:13: Oh my

00:06:14: goodness.

00:06:14: Yeah.

00:06:15: But that doesn't put you off and you're still going to keep doing it, right?

00:06:18: Yeah, but I think that there were some important lessons learned that day.

00:06:21: Like none of us are immune to making mistakes when it comes to safety.

00:06:25: And that one was a good learning event for all of us.

00:06:28: Is there one thing you would like to film that still has to be figured out because it is actually too dangerous to film?

00:06:34: Yeah,

00:06:34: I would really like to talk about fires with lithium ion batteries, but that one's a dangerous one.

00:06:39: And then also we don't.

00:06:40: we've never filmed a grease fires in kitchen one.

00:06:43: And that one is dangerous.

00:06:44: to do we would want to coordinate with a fire department.

00:06:46: but grease fires once you pour water on them it splatters everywhere and it's just very very dangerous.

00:06:52: and so that's when we'd like to demonstrate as well.

00:06:54: and that's

00:06:54: also very important also for people who are not in this industry.

00:06:57: it's just if you're cooking don't throw water on the the pan.

00:07:00: yeah totally

00:07:00: it's very applicable but it's a hard one to demonstrate because you would never want to demonstrate it in a kitchen.

00:07:05: you would burn the kitchen down.

00:07:07: you got a lot of feedback from your community.

00:07:09: you just said you like to be in contact with them.

00:07:11: what is the feedback been and what do you learn from them?

00:07:14: Yeah, I think I learn a lot from people coming from my industry, but I think overall the feedback that I get the most, people do say a lot, it's like mythbusters meets safety, and then they also say that I made the safety engaging and entertaining, which is such a nice compliment because I think this is such a critical area for us to all be aware of.

00:07:34: And if I can make anybody's day a little bit better by making their safety training fun rather than boring, I think then we're really able to engage people and make a difference.

00:07:43: Absolutely.

00:07:44: So do you get remarks sometimes saying that it is too fun and people are worried that you're taking away?

00:07:52: The danger is because you're making it too something too light.

00:07:56: I haven't

00:07:57: heard that one, but I think I am serious when it requires me to be serious.

00:08:02: But there's times where you can have fun.

00:08:05: So I try to I try to capitalize on the fun ones when I can.

00:08:08: Do you have a lot of international followers or are you working on that?

00:08:12: or do you see especially now?

00:08:13: you've been at the A plus A for two days already?

00:08:15: Have you noticed that there are international people following you more than they did before?

00:08:19: Yeah, it's been really interesting actually.

00:08:21: So I have had international followers for a while just because English is so widely spoken.

00:08:26: But we also did this huge project this year where we have translated all our content into a variety of languages.

00:08:32: So that's opened a lot of doors and also being at A plus A as the first real international event I've been to has been so interesting and so fun.

00:08:40: And how do you decide which platform to really focus on?

00:08:43: or where can everybody find you on which platform?

00:08:45: The top two you find me on are YouTube, which is where I actually put some of my training videos for people to use.

00:08:52: And then the other one that I'm really working on is Instagram, but third is LinkedIn.

00:08:57: So I connect with a lot of safety professionals on LinkedIn, which is great.

00:09:00: I love it.

00:09:01: It's so fascinating.

00:09:01: It's so much fun.

00:09:02: And even someone, as I just said, is not in the industry.

00:09:05: It is really just entertaining to see what you're doing and you're teaching people so much.

00:09:09: So thank you for doing this.

00:09:11: Thank you for being on the air with us today on our Show Trade Talk today.

00:09:14: And you should all make sure that you follow her on Alley Safety, on all the channels that you just mentioned.

00:09:20: I'm sure you're happy to have new followers.

00:09:22: And hopefully, you'll get them now from even more places all around the world.

00:09:25: Oh, yeah, a hundred percent.

00:09:27: That would be great.

00:09:27: Let's

00:09:28: talk about... Just quickly, if you know about what's happening in the fashion world regarding safety.

00:09:34: Oh, of course.

00:09:35: Have you been in Hall of Fifteen yet?

00:09:36: That is my goal today.

00:09:37: That's like the number one thing I want to go do is see the fashion show because I saw them practicing for it on the first day.

00:09:43: And I realized the fashion show at A plus A is on another level from the safety fashion shows I've seen before.

00:09:49: Oh, really?

00:09:50: Let's take a look at what they look like.

00:09:52: And if you want to see more, then you go into Hall of Fifteen.

00:09:54: But right now we're going to take a look at the fashion show in Hall of Fifteen, a couple of pictures.

00:09:58: And thank you again for being here today.

00:10:40: Yeah, thank you.

00:10:45: Fashion at A plus A, two thousand and twenty five.

00:11:10: Make sure you check out more in hall fifteen.

00:11:13: It's a lot to see.

00:11:14: And there's also more to see.

00:11:15: And I wanted to tell you one thing that I'm out of safety left with us.

00:11:19: It is a video that she did in German slip trips and fall.

00:11:22: in case you want to check it out in a different language.

00:11:25: We are now headed on to our next guest on the show.

00:11:28: And I'm very happy to have you here as well.

00:11:29: Do the Roberts marketing manager ATG hand care.

00:11:33: It's great to have you.

00:11:33: I hope you're doing well.

00:11:34: I'm doing really well.

00:11:35: I'm nervous about following your previous guest though.

00:11:37: She was amazing.

00:11:38: Amazing.

00:11:39: Amazing.

00:11:39: That is the word of the week and you're going to be amazing too.

00:11:43: We'll start with quick fire questions to get a little bit, yeah, to get to know you a little bit.

00:11:48: All right.

00:11:49: Trade for a handshake or LinkedIn contact?

00:11:52: I'll trade for a handshake.

00:11:53: Okay.

00:11:54: Suit or sneakers?

00:11:56: Can you do both?

00:11:58: Yeah, you can.

00:11:59: Yeah, but sneakers.

00:12:00: Okay.

00:12:01: Paper or digital?

00:12:02: Oh, paper.

00:12:03: I'm old school.

00:12:04: I like her.

00:12:04: Pad and pen and notes and physical.

00:12:06: Yeah, definitely.

00:12:08: Innovation or tradition?

00:12:10: Oh, a balance of both.

00:12:12: I think innovation comes from tradition in some respects, but definitely for as far as ATG goes, innovation.

00:12:18: Me, I'm a traditional girl at home.

00:12:19: Well, that probably makes you a really good person to work for the company because you bring both together.

00:12:23: Yeah,

00:12:24: me.

00:12:24: Absolutely.

00:12:25: Mountain retreat or city trip?

00:12:26: Oh, mountain retreat.

00:12:27: Definitely.

00:12:28: Yeah.

00:12:28: I would agree.

00:12:29: Risk assessment or gut feeling?

00:12:32: risk assessment, but gut feeling in case anything feels wrong in the follow-up.

00:12:37: Okay.

00:12:38: On-site demo or augmented reality presentation.

00:12:41: On-site

00:12:41: demo.

00:12:42: Email or phone call?

00:12:44: Phone call.

00:12:45: Really?

00:12:45: Too many people just divert to email and you lose the personal contact.

00:12:49: Absolutely.

00:12:49: Relationships are vital.

00:12:51: People

00:12:51: don't read the email sometimes.

00:12:53: No, they don't.

00:12:53: They

00:12:53: read the first couple of... Yeah,

00:12:55: a lot of people don't read emails.

00:12:56: That's true.

00:12:57: How many people?

00:12:59: Quiet workspace or open office?

00:13:02: Oh, there's a time and a place for both focus work, quiet workspace, collaboration is really important.

00:13:09: So that will be, I'm going half and half on both of these.

00:13:12: That's fine.

00:13:13: We can

00:13:13: tell

00:13:14: you this way.

00:13:14: That's absolutely fine.

00:13:16: And hard hat or party hat?

00:13:18: I

00:13:19: hate to say, I've got to say hard hard.

00:13:21: Yeah,

00:13:21: you do, but you like to party too, I hope.

00:13:23: A little bit.

00:13:23: Yeah, the kids' party's mainline.

00:13:25: That's my go-to at the moment, but yeah.

00:13:27: Well,

00:13:28: I hope you get to party a little bit and just sit up while you're here.

00:13:30: We will see how that goes in the next couple of days.

00:13:33: Okay, you were here as marketing manager for ATG Handcare.

00:13:37: Your gloves are known for combining performance and skin friendliness and technology.

00:13:42: What is the idea behind ATG and what did you bring to show us?

00:13:46: So, ATG is The idea behind.

00:13:49: it is comfort is key to compliance.

00:13:51: So everything we do is regarding comfort because if someone is wearing a glove which is uncomfortable, they're going to take it off and they're not going to be protected.

00:13:59: So as much as you can go for high levels of protection and the risk is that health and safety individuals think there's a cost risk, we're going to go for the highest level of protection.

00:14:09: Ultimately, if the glove isn't comfortable, people aren't going to wear it.

00:14:12: So ATG was founded in two on the basis of.

00:14:15: generating gloves that people are going to want to wear and therefore they're going to be be protected for the long term.

00:14:22: And so everything is based around comfort and protection and skin health as well.

00:14:26: So we make sure that everything is there.

00:14:30: To do that, the company realized very early on that they were going to have to do everything in-house.

00:14:35: So ATG are quite unique in the glove manufacturing industry.

00:14:38: A lot of people outsource lots of different elements.

00:14:41: ATG are very different.

00:14:42: So we have our own manufacturing plant in Sri Lanka, lots of different factories out there doing all the different processes.

00:14:48: So everything from the fiber to Well, every single thing to actually the packaging of the gloves and it being delivered out is done in-house.

00:14:57: It's not a single part of that.

00:14:58: So all the testing, all the knitting, all of the dipping, every single thing is done in-house.

00:15:03: And that way we can have complete control and make sure that we are producing the best glove possible for the market.

00:15:09: So the glove that I have here in front of me is the Maxiflex.

00:15:12: This is the one that really puts ATG on the glove.

00:15:16: So really focusing on manual dexterity and we have lots of different technologies which is how the company has grown.

00:15:24: but really it's come from the Maxiflex and that focus on keeping the hands in a easy, relaxed state.

00:15:33: So we have a technology that has been developed called Urgatech, which is based on when you hold your hand in a natural position, it's quite a curved position.

00:15:43: So when the gloves are actually formed, then they're formed with this relaxed position.

00:15:47: So there's no strain on the hand and there's less hand fatigue.

00:15:50: So

00:15:50: is this the product from two?

00:15:52: This is one of the originals.

00:15:53: There are a few different iterations, but this is the one that really puts everyone on the map.

00:15:57: So when people talk about ATG, realistically, the product that comes to first mind is Maxiflex.

00:16:03: Because

00:16:04: it's the original

00:16:05: one.

00:16:06: And it has extra technologies in there for the breathability and for the grip so that the palm, you'll find that the grip is sensational in there.

00:16:15: And the Maxiflex is all about the precision handling in dry environments.

00:16:20: So Maxiflex put the company on the map.

00:16:23: But what we want to do is keep it simple.

00:16:26: Lots of people have lots and lots of different iterations of different gloves.

00:16:29: We actually have five.

00:16:30: So we have the Maxiflex as the original.

00:16:33: And then we have ground to have the MaxiCut, the MaxiDry, the Maxidex and the Maxikem.

00:16:39: So all for different environments and for different uses, but very focused.

00:16:44: those are the five core products that we have.

00:16:47: And what is

00:16:47: the innovation that you're presenting here at Aplus A this year?

00:16:49: So

00:16:50: the new product that we are presenting here is MaxiDry Elite.

00:16:54: So MaxiDry Elite is a new product for oil and liquid environments.

00:17:00: It came from talking to people, we're all about innovation and talking and feedback.

00:17:05: So people were asking for something that had the greater dexterity, a bit more like the MaxiFlex, but in the MaxiDry in that wet environment.

00:17:14: it is only um not point seven millimeters thick on the palm.

00:17:18: so it's the thinnest lightest coolest glove that we've ever done.

00:17:21: it's only twenty six grams and it has the first ever iteration of our adapt technology within that for the dry glove as well.

00:17:30: The adapt technology is basically a coating which goes inside the glove and it works with the hand movement.

00:17:36: So every time you're moving your hand it's generating heat and it releases cooling agents into the glove to keep your hand nice and cool.

00:17:43: So dry environment.

00:17:46: Our dry gloves are for wet environments.

00:17:49: So forgive me for dry and wet.

00:17:51: But gloves that you use in wet environments tend to not be very breathable.

00:17:54: And then for your hands get very hot and sweaty, whereas that technology keeps you nice and cool.

00:17:58: You just said that you talk to your clients and customers about what they need.

00:18:03: Yeah.

00:18:03: How does that work?

00:18:04: Do you actually actually go to them or do you wait for them to come to you and say, this is what we actually, this is what we need to do change?

00:18:11: It's a little bit of both.

00:18:12: It's very difficult to always be ahead of the curve.

00:18:14: So there's always going to be some of those feedbacks where it where it comes back.

00:18:18: but we have in all of our geographical areas we have an preferred sales partners and we have channel partners and we work with them to actually have these conversations and really vital flow of information from those end users where we have the conversations of how are things working, what is going on, what is the next thing that you're seeing?

00:18:36: that's going to be happening in your environment because it is changing so much.

00:18:39: There's new materials, there's new technologies that are coming out.

00:18:42: So we have those conversations as soon as we possibly can.

00:18:46: Every sales meeting is how are things going, what's different, is there anything else?

00:18:50: that you would like to see.

00:18:52: what would be your ideal so that we can take it back up to the research and developing people in Sri Lanka.

00:18:57: and they can start working on those.

00:18:59: So the MaxiFlex Elite that is just released now, that has come from conversations where, like I say, people have said, we really love the flexibility and the dexterity of the MaxiFlex.

00:19:10: How can we get this into the MaxiFlex?

00:19:13: And that's where it's come from.

00:19:15: The addition of touchscreen technology came from people saying, we love the MaxiFlex, but we now have an work environment where we have touchscreen.

00:19:24: Is it possible to put it in there?

00:19:25: And then, of course, we've adapted the technology to put that into the product.

00:19:29: To

00:19:29: adapt to also the developments in the industry, just spoke of digitization.

00:19:33: Of course, they didn't have such things before and now you do.

00:19:36: What about the topic of sustainability?

00:19:38: and regarding the life cycles of the gloves?

00:19:40: I mean, it's important that people could buy gloves, but it's also important that you remain sustainable in a world that needs it is sustainable.

00:19:48: So ATG have had sustainability ingrained in their DNA from the word go which is one of the reasons why they decided to be a fully vertical manufacturer because it allows them to make the decisions of how we actually buy the materials, where we buy the materials from, how we process.

00:20:04: So even down to things like every single drop of water we have our own water treatment plant for the factories, every single drop of water that goes through the factories is actually and cleaned and recycled.

00:20:16: Anything which is a clean water that can go back into the process does.

00:20:18: Anything which is a waste product such as the sludge at the bottom that is then.

00:20:24: into our ethos of circularity.

00:20:27: The paint that is used in the local area is actually generated from that sludge, so it's actually made into another product.

00:20:34: The waste rubber, so the coating that we have on the gloss, anything which is waste, goes through and we actually, if you come onto our stand, you can see that we have flip flops, we have plant pots, we have the rubber pellets that would be in a children's playground.

00:20:49: Those are products which are made from the waste, so we've much working towards this ethos of a circular economy and zero waste.

00:20:58: We need to be pushed further, but it's a hundred percent ingrained.

00:21:02: I could say that's absolutely amazing.

00:21:03: It's going

00:21:05: to try our flip flops on.

00:21:08: Thank you so much.

00:21:08: And it's been a pleasure talking to you today.

00:21:10: Thank you so much for being here.

00:21:11: We'll have everybody come visit you at the stand.

00:21:13: That's for sure.

00:21:15: And I wish you all the best with all the new developments that are going on in the industry and of course for you as a company.

00:21:21: Thank you so much.

00:21:23: Have you checked out hall ten yet?

00:21:25: You should and you should too.

00:21:28: We have something really special going on there.

00:21:30: Blue lights for charity.

00:21:32: They are looking for donations for a good cause for children and they are the people in uniform who are cycling.

00:21:39: They're actually cycling their butts off for a good cause.

00:21:43: It is so much fun, so much energy, and you definitely should check it out.

00:21:46: And you should also check out Hall One.

00:21:48: We have live demonstrations on fire protection and emergency management at different times of the day, all the times are on our website, of course, on the A plus A website.

00:22:01: And if you are scrolling on the internet tomorrow, make sure you end up right where you are right now on the Trade Talk Today page.

00:22:09: because we have another show for you tomorrow and it is absolutely amazing and fun.

00:22:14: We'll have a Stefan Brück, chairman of the advisory board A plus A on the show as well as Marquis Thun, managing director of Everglow and we have a surprise guest on the show so make sure you don't miss it.

00:22:29: And until then, stay safe and stay healthy.

00:22:33: This show was brought to you by ATG.