Industries > Aluminum

Westex’s origins date back to 1919, and today they are a world leader in specialty flame resistant fabrics. With nearly 1 million square feet of manufacturing and warehousing in North America along with European warehousing, Westex can provide unparalleled worldwide support to the protective clothing marketplace. Westex is widely recognized for outstanding service and proven history of shipping over 90% of all orders within two days.

Vinex

Vinex, 85% inherently flame resistant vinal and 15% polynosic rayon blend fabrics by Westex, have been successfully incorporated into protective clothing programs at major aluminum companies worldwide for nearly two decades. Vinex continues to set the standard as the benchmark fabric in today’s aluminum industry.

Protection

Vinex is inherently flame resistant and will retain these flame resistant properties throughout the service life of the garment. Vinex is specifically engineered to perform as a specialty protective clothing fabric for use in the aluminum industry because it exhibits a unique ability to shed molten metal. Vinex has been extensively tested at the BTTG Laboratories in The United Kingdom and select styles are certified to EN 531, EN 373 (classified to D1 and D2) standards. Since insulation from thermal heat sources is directly related to fabric weight, heavier weight styles of Vinex will offer more protection from second-degree burns than lighter weights. Many aluminum companies have also performed in-house splash tests to determine the protection level required for their unique situation.

Comfort

Employee acceptance is crucial to the success of any protective clothing program. For nearly two decades, Vinex has been worn by tens of thousands of aluminum workers around the world, with positive reports on comfort. Since comfort is a subjective characteristic, and as such, cannot be predicted by lab tests, we encourage wear trial evaluations to allow the ultimate wearer to experience the comfort benefits first-hand.

Industrial Laundry Care

Vinex fabrics are being effectively handled by industrial laundries worldwide using normal processing equipment. This is an important performance factor as the majority of garments used in the aluminum industry require industrial care to effectively remove soiling and potentially harmful contaminants. In addition, competitive fabrics used in the aluminum industry are very difficult to process using conventional industrial laundry equipment and procedures. Please contact Westex for detailed laundering instructions.

Stock Availability

Westex carries substantial inventories of Vinex in their North American and European warehousing locations to support existing protective uniform programs and service the increasing worldwide demand for Vinex.