DHi Nearing Goal Line In Installation of Pentagon Photoluminescent Safety Marking Systems

DHi Nearing Goal Line In Installation of Pentagon Photoluminescent Safety Marking Systems

Arlington, VA (July 13, 2010) – Defense Holdings, Inc.®, (DHi®), The Idea Company®, has been working in the Pentagon since April 2002 installing its AfterGlow® Brand Photoluminescent (PL) Safety Marking Systems. The Pentagon represents the world’s largest known installation of PL safety marking systems. DHi expects to complete this significant installation in February 2011 as the Pentagon completes the renovation of its final wedge.

In April 2002, as a direct result of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, DHi, then operating as Noesis, Inc, began installing its PL safety marking systems in the Pentagon. This was DHi’s first building installation using this new life saving technology. Eight years after the project was initiated, DHi has now begun the installation of the final phase, Wedge 5. When this installation is completed in early 2011, DHi will have installed this Low Level Exit Path Marking (LLEPM) system in over 6.6 million square feet of office space in the Pentagon alone, the single largest installation of LLEPM in the world.

Because of its successful ongoing installation of its AfterGlow brand products in the Pentagon, DHi was awarded a contract to install PL LLEPM systems in eight buildings housing the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). Located on the campus of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, USUHS was established in 1972 by Congress with a mission of educating physicians for the U. S. Armed Forces.  To date, DHi has designed, manufactured, and installed its AfterGlow brand PL safety marking systems in over 20 Federal buildings thereby significantly enhancing the safety and security of the thousands of Americans working at those locations.

Since 2002, DHi has installed its AfterGlow Brand LLEPM systems in over 200 buildings, and due to the recent fire and building code changes that mandate the technology, expect to see many more building owners adopt this new “green” solution to enhancing the safety of building occupants.

In the fall of 2003, DHi was awarded a contract to install its PL EXIT signs in a national historic landmark, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House Office Complex located adjacent to the White House and is occupied by the White House Office of Administration/Executive Office of the President.

In 2005 the Department of Energy (DOE) announced the award of a competitive contract to DHi for the supply and installation of its PL LLEPM system in one of the agency’s major office complexes in the DC area, the Forrestal Building.

2005 saw DHi’s receiving numerous contracts in support of New York City’s Local Law 26/04. Some of these firms included Citigroup, ABC/Disney, Madison Square Garden, Newmark Knight Frank and GVA Williams buildings.  These contract awards continued through 2006 and included Equity Office, Lee Tai Enterprises, and six Grubb & Ellis buildings. DHi also supported installations in the Lehman Brothers World Headquarters building. Since the inception of Local Law 26, DHi has supported installations in more than 150 buildings in New York City.

In the Washington DC area, we have recently installed our PL LLEPM systems in numerous buildings that include commercial buildings such as Louis Dreyfus Properties as well as Government buildings including the Department of Homeland Security.

During the past eight years, DHi has seen new “codes” emerge such as New York City’s Local Law 26/2004 which was written in response to the Great Northeast Blackout of August 2003, the massive widespread power outage that occurred throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada affecting an estimated 45 million people in eight U.S. states and 10 million people in Ontario; the International Code Council 2009; International Building Code 2009; and, the National Fire Protection Agency 101, 2009 Edition. These code revisions address the use of this photoluminescent life saving technology. Presently, there are a number of states and counties that have similar codes on their legislative dockets that are expected to be passed into law in the near future. Underwriters Laboratories has now approved the use of photoluminescent EXIT signs. DHi has developed a downloadable Emergency Egress Markings Reference Guide to help customers understand the new Code requirements.

Rich Martin, DHi’s President and CEO, states “Defense Holdings, Inc. is excited about the future of its ‘Glow in the Dark’ business segment. It's an exciting time to be involved with this type of safety solution on a national level. DHi takes a great deal of pride in ‘Lighting Your Way to Safety®’ by providing improved building safety for the employees and customers of major corporations with quality installations of its state-of-the-art AfterGlow Photoluminescent safety products for buildings. We have even developed an AfterGlo® Brand Photoluminescent Building Safety Paint. All photoluminescent building items are available at DHi’s AfterGlow Direct web store. DHi does custom signs as well as standard markings. Unlike many others in the PL signage business who only sell customers the materials then leave them on their own to decide exactly what is needed to install and maintain them, DHi offers full-service customer support, working with our customers to identify exactly what is needed to ensure that the safety marking system meet the requirements of the law without wasting building owners funds by buying more than is required. We work to ensure the correct mounting methods are used so the signage stays in place and can even install it for our customers. We are also available to do the periodic inspections and repairs needed to maintain a facility’s compliance.”

Defense Holdings, Inc. (DHi), a service-disabled, veteran-owned, small business, is a technology leader specializing in the defense and homeland security markets. With headquarters in Arlington, VA, research facilities in Charlottesville, VA and production facilities in Trenton, NC, DHi works with Government agencies, universities, and industry to put timely new technologies into the hands of those who risk their own lives to protect the lives of others. DHi has pioneered the PL safety products market and is currently one of the largest installers of PL safety products in the United States. DHi’s AfterGlow Brand PL Safety Products are installed throughout the Pentagon and in many other locations around the country. DHi has delivered nearly 12,000 Emergency Egress Lighting™ kits for installation in all U.S. military services’ Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Many of our products are installed on a number of US Navy and Coast Guard ships including the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77).