ISSUETWENTY-EIGHT

June/July 2015

Stay Connected Where Safety Products Inc employees come together

Good day and what a busy couple of months it’s been.Looking at year to date comparisons our overall companywide sales are trending up by 13.5% and margins are up 17.5%. We’ve seen a nice start to the year and I’m ready to see us continue this momentum throughout the year. There’s more construction in Lakeland happening with new equipment coming in for our screen printing & embroidery business. And, we’ve added more personnel in the area of inside customer service, sales, and IT to support existing sales and growth for years to come. Needless to say, we have a lot of irons in the fire and there’s more to come. The Florida and Carolina sales team just completed 16 hours of Flame Resistant and ARC Flash training along with daily work wear & corporate apparel. So, I know we’re guaranteed to see a lot more attention, focus and sales around this growing category. Globally, experts forecast the FR & ARC Flash market to expand from a 2.5 billion today to almost 5 billion by 2020.

Our SPI Exchange Rewards program has exceeded expectations with almost 500 customer joining Exchange and each week we continue to add 7 to 10 new customers. We’re in the beginning stages of creating our new 2016/2017 SPI Master catalog and new E-commerce website. So, needless to say we’re not standing still when it comes to SPI brand awareness and marketing. I’d like to reach out with a big “Thank You” to all of our support teams, such as; shipping, receiving, sign shop, screen printing & embroidery, IT, accounting and purchasing. Without all of you our sales and marketing efforts would be for not. It takes all of us, each department, each team and every individual to make SPI successful. Okay, it’s hot and will be getting hotter so please whether at home or work, be sure to hydrate throughout the day by drinking water or electrolyte beverages.

Until next time..... It’s Scott Williams Sr. signing off on this issue of Stay Connected. Submitted by: Scott E. Williams Sr President / CEO, Safety Products Inc

3 4 5 • High Performance

Gloves

• Congratulations

• Consumer Beware

• North Carolina Branch

• Welcome

• Barry Cade

• Tennessee Branch

2

CongratulationsTo Katie Cruz’s son Adrian who won the Fancelli Family Future

Leaders Scholarship. It is a 4 year scholarship to Polk State College. He was nominated by his teachers

and other staff at Dixieland Elementary and was awarded at his

5th grade graduation

High Performance GlovesGood Information I’d like to share:High Performance Gloves are machine knit gloves constructed of high strength yarns that provide increased levels of dexterity, abrasion & cut resistance. Most High Performance Gloves feature coatings to increase the durability and gripping power. High Performance Gloves offer a number of advantages over leather gloves:• Cut Resistance: High Performance Gloves are 3-4 times more cut resistant than leather gloves.• Better Abrasion Resistance.• Comfort: Breathable, Form-Fitting, Ergonomic Design• Tactile Sensitivity: Seamless shells and thin coatings provide excellent dexterity.• Liquid Resistant: Coatings provide varying degrees of oil/liquid/chemical splash resistance• More Gripping Power.• Integrated knit wrists prevent debris from entering the glove.• More stability in raw material costs.• Easy to launder and reuse. Applications *Metal Fabrication *Carpentry *Masonry/Tile Work *Roofing *HVAC Installation *Assembly Operations *Petrochemical Industry *Paper & Pulp Operations *Plastics Manufacturing *Glass Handling *Bottling Facilities *Canning Industry *Plumbing & Pipe Fitting *Appliance Manufacturing *Lumber Industry *Machining Operations *Electrical-Wiring Work *Automotive Assembly *Shipping

Submitted by: Julie StanleyFL Customer Service Manager

Once again we achieved another Peak Performer Award from SMG!

Way to go gang....this is a total group effort and we’re the best group ever !

Scott E. Williams SrPresident / CEO, Safety Products Inc

Thank you to all who participated in our pinwheel garden giving awareness and support to Child Abuse Prevention Month. 100% of the in April. Donations went to the Children’s Home Society andit was a blessing that we were able to come together and provide our support.

Birthday Wishes! Here’s to wishing the following SPI employees a Happy Birthday!

AnniversaryCelebrations! We thank the following individuals as they celebrate another year of employment in May and June of 2015. We appreciate your hard work and dedication to Safety Products Inc!

Ted Schiellerd June 1stPatti Varnes June 5thDevon Deitrick June 12thMichael Kay June 21st

Blake Schwartz July 11th Daniel Lubresky July 30th

Scott Williams August 2ndCasey Summerlin August 6thHoward Smith August 7thKelly McQuage August 11thRebecca Carroll August 14thDebbie Stengel August 14thBill Treweek August 14thDevin Hall August 17th

Donna Hackney 13 years

Tonya Hall 11 yearsDemetrio Meza Perez 8 yearsKaren Rainey 5 yearsRebecca Carroll 4 yearsScott Williamson 4 yearsLuis Echeverria 3 yearsDena Aleman 3 yearsRhonda Beeby 2 yearsJustin Houze 1 year

Barry Cade

TennesseeChange has come to Memphis!!It’s often said that change is the most feared and rejected event people face but if embraced can move you forward in your life.

Memphis has recently gone through some changes as many of you already know. Our SWEET MELISSA has moved on to experience new changes for her and her family in Florida. We will miss her greatly but are so excited that she was able to stay with Safety Products Inc and join the Florida team to add all her amazing talents to help us all continue to grow. We wish you the greatest success.

With Melissa’s departure I have taken on the roll of Branch Manager for the Tennessee branch and want to thank all of you who have taken time out of your busy schedules to help me in this new transition. Our inside team, Vicki and Brandy have been extremely receptive to the change and incredibly helpful and patient. I want to especially thank Andrea for coming to Tennessee for 3 days to work with me personally and of course to all the Florida team who continue to help as needed. I promise to not hound you too much.

We have moved Kelly into my old territory where we know she will continue to grow as well as open new areas for us in Mississippi to increase our growth in the region. Blake has also continued to open up new growth in areas from Nashville to Birmingham and will continue to aid his many skills to the Memphis area. We are embracing our change and excited for new opportunities and continued growth for our branch and Safety Products Inc. BOOYAH!!!!

Submitted by: Mike KayTN Branch Manager

My team and I were challenged to replicate an image found online of a statue made of work zone barrells. He was built by SPI master builders: Luis, Winston, Devon and Frank I’d like to thank them for their hard work and creativity. Barry Cade is now displayed on top of the traffic warehouse roof facing the Polk Parkway in our Florida location for all to see as they drive by. We’ve recently added the night barricade lights that will flash his ears. Please let them know what an awesome job they have done adding a fun and imaginative element to our work zone safety warehouse.

Also thank you Angie Gaffney, who was the contest winner out of several entries,coming up with the name Barry Cade!

Submitted by : Darrell Cornelius

You rarely let your credit card out of your sight, so how do bad guys get your credit card information? Some may get it from a friend waiting tables at a restaurant, but many credit card thieves get your card info using a device called a Credit Card Skimmer.

A credit card skimmer is a portable capture device that is attached in front of or on top of the legitimate scanner. The skimmer passively records the card data as you insert your credit card into the real scanner.Credit card thieves will often temporarily affix the card skimmer device to gas pumps/ATMs, or other convenient self-service point-of-sale terminals. The bad guys like gas pumps and ATMs because they are easy to retrieve their skimmers from and they generally receive a lot of traffic.

Skimmer technology has become cheaper and more sophisticated over the years. Some skimmers capture the card information using a magnetic reader and use a miniature camera to record you typing in your PIN number. Some skimmers will even go so far as to place a secondary keypad over top of the actual keypad. The secondary keypad captures your PIN number and records it while passing your input to the real keypad.

How can you detect and avoid having your credit card skimmed at the ATM or gas pump?1. Inspect the card reader and the area near the PIN pad. Many banks and merchants realize that skimming is on the rise and will often post a picture of what the real device is supposed to look like so you will see that there is something attached that is not supposed to be there if a skimmer is present.2. Look at other nearby gas pumps or ATMs card readers. See if they match the one you are using. Unless skimmers are running a large operation, they probably are only skimming at one gas pump at a time at the station you are using. Look at the pump next to yours to see if the card reader and setup look different. If they do then you might have just spotted a skimmer.3. Trust your instincts. If in doubt, use another machine somewhere else. Our brains are excellent at recognizing things that seem out of place. If you get a sense that something looks off about the ATM you are about to use, you might be better off using one that you feel more comfortable with.4. Avoid using your PIN number at the gas pump.When you pay at the pump with your debit/credit card, you usually have the option to use it as a credit or a debit card. It’s best to choose the credit option that allows you to avoid entering your PIN in sight of a Card Skimmer camera. Even if there is not a card skimmer camera in sight someone could be watching you enter your PIN and could subsequently mug you and take your card to the nearest ATM to withdraw some cash. When you use it as a credit card you usually only have to enter your billing ZIP code as verification which is much safer than putting in your PIN.5. Keep an eye on your accounts.If you suspect that you might have had your card skimmed. Keep an eye on your account balance and report any suspicious activity immediately.

Submitted by: Angie Gaffney

Consumer Beware

BACK 2 SCHOOL DRIVEKids should go back to school feeling confident & prepared! More information will be coming soon from the marketing department on how you can help by donating needed supplies for children returning to school. (Collection at Florida brand. Other branches may want to look into opportunities in their community)

North CarolinaIt is hard to believe we are already almost half the way through a year.It seems as we get older time just keeps moving faster.

We have had a really solid year so far here in the Carolinas.Compared to last year at this time we are up almost 7.5% in margin and our gross margin percent is up almost 2% averaging 27%.

Everyone has been doing a real good job to quote competitively but still keep margins up and not give the house away.

We are excited to see what we can accomplish the second half of this year!

Submitted by: Ted Schiellerd NC Branch Manager

Welcome

Please welcome Sara Zoller to the NC Customer Service Department. Sara is a recent graduate from Western Carolina University. She is an avid animal lover, enjoys being outdoors and volunteering in the community. She will be working closely with Jennifer in the Atlanta department and will be supporting Ann McGorrian who is re-joining us in July.

Submitted by: Andrea Paxton NC Customer Service Manager

Please welcome Todd Moore to the IT support team in Florida. Todd has lived in Polk County for 27 years and has 2 daughters Emily 16 & Katie 12. Todd has been in IT support for the last 20 years in various roles. Todd is also a handyman who also enjoys photography as well as a fan of many forms of racing.

The Difference between AR and FRThe short explanation of the difference between Arc rated fabric (AR) and Flame resistant fabric (FR) is that all AR clothing is flame resistant, but not all FR clothing has been Arc Rated.

The primary purpose for the FR clothing is to resist ignition. If flammable clothing is ignited, the hazard to the wearer instantly becomes much greater. A clothing fire will last much longer than the initial hazard. By not continuing to burn after the initial hazard is over, FR clothing limits burn injury to only the body surface area impacted by the hazard. It’s this reduction of total body surface area (TBSA) burn that is most directly linked to survival. The second goal of FR clothing is to insulate the wearer from the thermal hazard (heat), thus reducing any 2nd and 3rd degree burns through the garment.

This is where arc rating comes into the picture. All Arc rated clothing is flame resistant. That is the starting point. Then, to get an Arc rating, FR fabric is sent in for testing, and 21 samples are subjected to arc flash. Sensors measure heat transfer through the fabric. The testing then is able to predict whether or not 2nd degree burns would result, and calculate the energy likely to cause 2nd degree burns through that fabric 50% of the time. This number, expressed in calories, then becomes the ARC rating for that fabric or any garment made from it. More simply put, ARC rating measures insulation of FR fabrics to arc flash. It’s a single number, and the higher the better. So, when a customer asked for FR clothing or AR clothing….there is a difference.

Submitted by: Karen RaineyPurchasing Manager