Industry · Manufacturing

Cooling Vest for Foundry & Manufacturing Workers

Foundries, steel mills, glass plants, and hot-work floors run hot 12 months a year. ClemaCore is an active cooling vest worn under PPE in radiant-heat environments — 8–12 hr with one battery swap, no ice, no water, no humidity dependency.

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The problem

Heat exposure is a year-round issue.

Radiant

Furnaces, kilns, hot work

Radiant heat from furnaces and kilns drives indoor temperatures above outdoor highs — year-round.

30–50%

Output drop on peak-heat days

Heat-driven productivity loss compounds with throughput targets and uptime KPIs.

PPE

Uniforms trap body heat

Mandated PPE protects from molten material and machinery — and limits the body's ability to dissipate heat.

Turnover

Hot-floor turnover is high

Heat is a major driver of attrition on hot-work floors. Active cooling improves retention and reduces re-training cost.

How Clema helps

Cooling that handles radiant-heat environments.

Solid-state active cooling delivers a measured temperature drop in radiant-heat environments where evaporative cooling underperforms. Worn under standard uniforms and PPE on the floor.

  • 8–12 hrRuntime per swap. Built for full production shifts.
  • >25°FFelt temperature drop on the body. Tested in 120°F.
  • RadiantPerformance unaffected by radiant-heat exposure.
  • PPE-fitWorn under uniforms, FR layers, and safety harnesses.
  • No waterNo ice, no refilling, no humidity dependency.

The business case

Hold throughput. Reduce turnover. Lower exposure.

On a hot-work floor, even a small reduction in heat-driven downtime and turnover offsets the cost of equipping the crew. Clema costs less than one serious heat-illness claim.

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$50K–$200K+ Potential cost of a single heat illness incident Workers' comp + OSHA + downtime
30–50% Output drop on peak-heat days Field productivity research
36M+ Heat-exposed workers in the US 2.4B globally · 640B labor hours lost annually

FAQ

Manufacturing cooling: floor-leadership FAQ.

What is the best cooling gear for manufacturing workers?
The best cooling gear for manufacturing workers is a solid-state active cooling system that runs the full shift, weighs under 2 lbs, and is worn under existing uniforms or PPE. ClemaCore delivers a >25°F felt temperature drop for 8–12 hours with one battery swap and is built to handle radiant heat environments.
How do you cool workers in steel mills and foundries?
Steel mills and foundries combine radiant heat with high ambient temperatures and PPE that traps body heat. Active cooling worn under uniforms — like ClemaCore — delivers sustained cooling without ice or water and continues to work in radiant-heat environments where evaporative gear underperforms.
Can manufacturing workers wear cooling gear under uniforms and PPE?
Yes. ClemaCore is a sub-2-lb suspender system designed to fit under standard manufacturing uniforms, FR layers, and safety harnesses without modification.
Does Clema work in radiant heat environments?
Yes. Solid-state cooling continues to deliver a measured temperature drop in radiant-heat environments such as foundries, steel mills, and glass plants. Performance does not depend on humidity or evaporation.
How does heat affect manufacturing productivity?
On peak-heat days, manufacturing output can drop 30–50%. In radiant-heat plants, this is a year-round issue rather than a seasonal one — making sustained cooling a year-round productivity lever.
What is the ROI on cooling wearables in a foundry?
A single heat-related incident can cost $50K–$200K+ before litigation. In a foundry running 24/7 in radiant heat, even a small reduction in stop-work events and turnover offsets the cost of equipping the crew.
Why do evaporative cooling vests underperform in steel mills and foundries?
Evaporative cooling depends on water evaporating from a damp vest. Inside a steel mill or foundry, ambient humidity from process water, radiant heat that doesn't drive evaporation efficiently, and PPE that blocks airflow combine to make evaporative cooling unreliable. Solid-state and PCM cooling perform consistently in these conditions.
How is radiant heat different from ambient heat for cooling vest performance?
Radiant heat from furnaces, kilns, and molten material heats the body directly through infrared exposure rather than by warming ambient air. Some cooling technologies (evaporative, fan-driven) react to ambient air temperature. Solid-state and PCM actively counter radiant load by drawing heat from the body itself.
What heat-related illnesses do manufacturing workers face?
Manufacturing workers exposed to sustained heat face heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and in cases of muscle strain rhabdomyolysis. Heat also drives fatigue-related injuries (slips, falls, machinery errors) that show up as non-heat incidents on safety reports.
Does the OSHA heat standard apply to indoor manufacturing?
Yes. The proposed federal heat rule covers both outdoor and indoor work settings. Foundries, steel mills, glass plants, and other radiant-heat manufacturing environments are squarely in scope. See our OSHA heat standard guide.

Related guides

Keep reading.

Cal/OSHA Indoor Heat Standard

California's 82°F indoor IHIPP rule.

Cooling Vest Types Compared

PCM, evaporative, ice, circulatory, solid-state.

OSHA Heat Standard 2026

Federal heat NPRM covers indoor manufacturing.

Summer 2026 — 500-unit first batch

Get your hot-work floor on the priority list.

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