North Shore firm develops smart fibre to hide hunters

Warren Bird with FOB Direct's material which shields wearers. Photo / Paul Estcourt

A North Shore business has teamed up with an American company to develop performance enhancing fabric that blocks electromagnetic radiation, making it hard for animals to detect humans nearby.

The fabric was initially developed to make it easier for hunters to stalk their prey but is now being used in wetsuits and in medical procedures.

FOB Direct was approached by American company Human Energy Concealment Systems (HECS) to develop the technology into a fabric which could be made into hunting suits. It took one year to perfect and an additional fabric has also been developed for the inner linings of wetsuits.

The technology was developed in the US and FOB Direct designed the fabric, which is crisscrossed with carbon fibre grids to reduce electromagnetic fields by up to 95 per cent.

FOB Direct founder and owner Warren Bird set up a sister company in China two years ago to manufacture clothing, such as swimwear, T-shirts and denim items which form the core of his business. It makes the carbon fibre fabric and suits and exports them to the US.

Since June, 7000 hunting suits have been shipped to the US.

The company's goal is to export 20,000 to the US during 2011.

FOB Direct manufactures two types of HECS technology fabric: the camouflaged hunting fabric, which is made from polyester; and carbon fibre, which retails for $8 a metre.

The wetsuit lining, comprising spandex, nylon and carbon fibre, retails for $17 a metre.

The hunting suits cost US$149 ($198) and are not available in New Zealand but can be ordered on HECS's website.

Bird said he was working with the US Department of Defence to develop a wetsuit for the Navy Seals that would greatly reduce sharks detecting divers.

The fabric is also being tested by cardiovascular surgeons in the US, to see if it will prevent the interference of electromagnetic radiation emitting from the different machines in the operating theatres.

Covering up

* The NZ-US developed fabric is crisscrossed with carbon fibre grids to reduce electromagnetic fields by up to 95 per cent.

* A wetsuit is being developed for US Navy Seals to reduce shark attacks on divers.