Innovative life rafts – a new breath of life within the former product of Grupa Lubawa

Lubawa S.A., a leading manufacturer of products for the uniformed services sector, is developing a new product – innovative life rafts.

Lubawa has just received additional financing for this purpose at the level of nearly PLN 1 million as part of the 1.4 PO IG [Innovative Economy Operational Programme] contest announced by NCBiR [National Centre for Research and Development].

The life rafts which will be prepared in the following year in Lubawa S.A. facilities have been designed in cooperation with Wojskowy Instytut Techniki Inżynieryjnej [Military Institute of Technical Engineering] in Wrocław and Akademia Morska [Maritime University] in Gdynia. Innovative design solutions which currently are not used anywhere in the world will be applied in these life rafts. The new product will be dedicated to both civilian users and the Navy units.

The life rafts which will be created under this project actually constitute a return to our roots. Similar products had been manufactured for decades at our facility in Grudziądz. In 2006, their production had been ceased, however, several hundred life rafts produced in our facility have been operating on maritime vessels until today. Nevertheless, the solutions applied in them need to be completely modernised. “Within the current project, we are planning to introduce a product with a modern design, unavailable elsewhere, based on solutions that will make it unique in the market as well as meeting all the current safety standards” comments Marcin Kubica, President of the Management Board of Grupa Lubawa.

The life rafts will be produced in two versions: a seven-person version with one entrance lock and a ten-person version with two entrance locks (according to the Life-Saving Appliances Code). The newly developed shape allows for easy entrance inside as well as drainage of the life rafts during their use. The life rafts will be equipped with a new ballast system, sea anchors and protection against hypothermia. All these factors will allow for eliminating any interference that may hinder the rescue operations. At the design stage, considerable attention was given to achieving a very high level of detectability of the new means of transport. They will be equipped with devices to increase their signatures in all possible detection ranges: visible (NIR and VIS), LIR (infrared thermal) and radar detection. In addition, the heating mat technology which enables raising the thermal signature (IR range) as well as matrices with carbon nanotubes which raise the radar signature will be applied. Increasing the value of reflecting the radar signal will also be possible through the use of results of researches related to the development of structural elements of military deception devices, and the colours applied in the life rafts will be characterised by a high level of remission affecting the possibility of visual detection.

The first life rafts will be offered to customers by the first half of 2015.