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Media contact: Belinda Donovan, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , CD&M Communications, 207-774-7528

The Baker Company's FlexAIR Canopy Exhaust Connection Saves Energy and Provides Safer BSC Performance

Date: 04/10/10

(February 2010) Sanford, ME— The Baker Company's newly released FlexAIR canopy exhaust connection offers significant energy and cost savings to the laboratory, without sacrificing safety and performance. The patent pending Baker FlexAIR technology combines the security of a traditional canopy (or thimble) exhaust connection with the lower exhaust flows of a traditional hard exhaust connection.

With a FlexAIR canopy exhaust connection (CEC), only the minimum amount of air necessary to achieve cabinet exhaust containment is used, Adding a FlexAIR CEC reduces the amount of exhaust required to operate a biological safety cabinet by 15% to 18%. Even more importantly, productivity levels remain high and safety for both the product and personnel exceed NSF standards even when the building's exhaust system fails.

"Energy efficiency is increasingly becoming an important concern for our customers," said David Eagleson, President of The Baker Company. “But while we are constantly seeking new ways to develop efficient products, safety remains paramount to our technology."

Baker's FlexAIR works by utilizing dynamic front and side panels that open or close depending upon the variances in exhaust flow rate. The front panel automatically opens in the event of exhaust system slowdown or failure, allowing the cabinet to maintain Class II, Type A2 BSC performance. Additionally, the FlexAIR is equipped with an audible and visual alarm feature to let workers know when the house exhaust system has slowed down or stopped. This may be important if work includes the use of volatile organic solvents, gases, or vapors (which are not captured by HEPA filters). NSF 49 is in the process of changing recommendations concerning hard exhaust connections and FlexAIR is a unique canopy alternative that will meet the new standards.