Editor's note: OtterBox's North American and international third-party device protection certifications for hazardous environments have since been approved.  

Jordan Blum, editorial director, Hart Energy: So OtterBox isn't just cell phone cases. Can you please elaborate just on all the product solutions y'all have for the energy sector?

Alex White, director of industrial solutions, OtterBox: Industry leading customers came to us in the marketplace looking for something for hazardous locations. And so we created some OtterBox industrial solutions. So [OtterBox’s i-Pad case] Hardline Series is first of its kind, it's built from the ground up and it was really designed to meet—currently right now it's approved by UL Solutions for hazardous locations in the U.S. and Canada with our third-party international certifications pending as well. So the idea is that you've got an iPad that can work in a multitude of different markets and also designed to be used where you might find different combustibles in the present—gas, vapor, dusts, etc. The iPad Air 5, it doesn't have wireless charging built in. And so when the protection method that we have is sealed by enclosure, and when you do that, you're sealing all the ports on the iPad.

And so that presents a challenge. How are you going to charge it? So we incorporated in our design a wireless charger so that you don't have to worry about opening ports or having any access to the Apple iPad Air 5 itself. As the industry was asking us to make a certified case, which the iPad itself and the case, how it comes together, is the certified solution. But what we noticed was that, connected workers, they're taking their gloves off to engage with their iPad, and so we didn't want that. We want to make sure that we're promoting safety. So we designed two types of gloves. We have a standard and we also have an insulated work glove that are EN 388 rated. And so they have tech touch—SurePoint, tech touch technology, which will allow the user to keep those gloves on and engage with the screen of their iPad without compromising their experience.

JB: Of course, y'all also have the bread and butter industrial phone cases as well. I mean, can you elaborate on how that differentiates from, you know, the one in my pocket right now?

AW: Sure, absolutely. So we have another line of products called Defender Division 2 that's targeted mainly at the U.S. and Canadian markets. And so those solutions will meet Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 for Division 2. So we have those currently available for the iPhone 12 and 13, and also the iPad Mini 6 Gen[eration].

JB: Great. Well thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it.

AW: Thanks for having me.

JB: For more in information, please read online hartenergy.com.

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