Learning to sew eased the way to winning award for life jacket design

Proficiency with a sewing machine is not something normally associated with 25-year-old men, but stitching is just one of the skills Kieran Normoyle has had to master.

Add to that filing patents, negotiating a trial of his Core Degree survival system with the Irish Naval Service and learning to talk to potential investors and customers, and it's been a busy 14 months for the founder of Ocean Survivor since he left his job as a design engineer with Molex to concentrate full-time on his start-up.

Normoyle studied product design at the University of Limerick and, as part of his final year project, he developed a three-piece life jacket that mitigated the effects of cold-water shock, sea spray, hypothermia and secondary drowning.

As a qualified lifeguard Normoyle was familiar with the power of water. Then, when training as a medic with the Army reserve, he became aware of the challenges posed by exposure. Normoyle's jacket design was good enough to take him to the finals of the international James Dyson design competition in 2013 and he used this success to convince Enterprise Ireland to fund a full feasibility study.

Being able to make his own samples was crucial at this point, so Normoyle learned to sew and started by buying cloth from local fabric shops.

As his design took shape, he started to knock on doors until he had a stock of potentially suitable materials of different weights and strengths. He also approached Donegal-based life jacket maker, Mullion, with his idea and the company has provided him with a lot of support since.

Core heat

With a prototype in hand Normoyle approached the Irish Coast Guard, Mullion, the Search and Rescue service, the Irish Naval Service and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for feedback. All agreed he was on to something significant as the jacket went well beyond just keeping people afloat. Crucially, it also tackled the loss of core heat from the body.

“Existing life jackets don’t slow the effects of hypothermia or add heat, Core Degree does,” Normoyle says.

“When in a cold environment, 20 to 30 minutes of exposure can result in a drop in core body temperature to below 35 degrees Celsius – and a person loses heat 25 times quicker in cold water than they do in air.

“By adding heat back to the body we can increase survival times and increase the likelihood of someone being rescued.”

One of the classic entrepreneurial mistakes is sticking with an idea when the advice from seasoned practitioners is that tweaks are needed. Normoyle was smart enough to heed his feedback and decided to drop his original three-piece jacket idea and focus on refining the element that sets his product apart – its ability to add heat.

There are several patents pending on Core Degree. This prevents Normoyle from going into detail about the product at the moment. However, the patents should be through within six to eight months when he will be free to give more information.

What is confirmed is that Core Degree is a harness worn on the upper body that can be used with existing life jackets. Its USP is an integrated gel pack that activates upon immersion to heat the vital organs.

“With hypothermia blood gets pulled towards the core of the body to keep the heart and lungs functioning. This involves taking blood from other parts of the body and can lead to the loss of limb movement and hand-eye co-ordination,” Normoyle says.

“By adding heat we’re focusing on the core and this is the key to survival. It also allows the person in the water to remain more aware and calmer and helps create a positive mental attitude.”

Business development

Ocean Survivor is based at the Nexus Innovation Centre at the University of Limerick and at the moment Normoyle is working alone. However, he expects to employ four staff this year starting with an experienced business development professional. He estimates the investment to date at about €100,000 and that’s likely to double before the product goes on sale later this year. Most of the investment has come from Normoyle.

Ocean Survivor is now looking to raise money to accelerate its development and investors have already shown a healthy interest in the concept.

Late last year the company won the best overall business award in the InterTrade Ireland seedcorn competition. This is worth €100,000 to the company although Normoyle says it won't last long as the product has to go for an expensive round of safety testing in the months ahead.

“We very much see Core Degree as our halo product and one that will launch us on world markets,” Normoyle says. “But we have put a huge amount of time into developing the science and technology behind the product and it will be the first of a pipeline of products focused on treating people in survival situations.”

Making the product here would be too expensive so manufacturers in Europe and Asia are being considered. The device is complex and will involve a number of sub-assemblies.

The cost of a Core Degree vest is likely to be about €300 and the company’s initial target market is offshore oil and gas industries, followed by the renewable energy sector, the military, and finally leisure users. “The offshore safety standards are about as tough as you can get, so we very much wanted to prove ourselves in this environment,” Normoyle says. “Oil and gas are not the strongest at the moment but it’s a trend and the market is expected to bounce back in 2017.

"In 2015 there were around 60,000 workers on platforms in the North Sea and companies are always looking at ways to improve safety. The cost of a life in the oil and gas industries is estimated at around £1.5 million (€2 million), so €300 for a jacket is nothing. We have spoken to Shell and BP and they have both shown interest in Core Degree."

While military applications are on Ocean Survivor’s radar, Normoyle says supplying vests to those involved in renewable energy – working on wind turbines at sea, for example – should be the company’s second port of call.

"We have looked at the military and at Darpa (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) funding in the US in particular. But there are a lot of hoops involved and we'd more than likely have to set up there. For now we will focus closer to home and look for further venture and research funding within Europe," Normoyle says.