By Stephen Jackson From Jamaica Gleaner

David Stephens hammered a lug tool several times into a thin glass window fitted with a pliable anti-shatter laminate. He then flung a metal chair into it without penetrating the window.

Stephens, a Jamaican and Cayman national and founder of Apex Perimeter Protection, came to Jamaica this week to launch a plastic laminate that looks similar to a window tint but with exponentially more strength. The laminate is pitched as a security, anti-burglary product for homes, businesses and vehicles.

“The laminate is still not penetrated and will stand up to repeated impact,” said Stephens at the local launch of the Canadian-owned ACE Security Laminate product in Kingston on Tuesday.

The product is being represented locally by Innovative Protective Solutions Limited, which will appoint subagents to sell and install the product across the Island.

Apex Perimeter Protection, through its affiliate Security Centres International, holds the distribution rights for ACE to the Caribbean. Apex is based in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

The product slows down a smash-and-grab thief.

“What we are presenting is just another layer of protection that can be very useful,” Stephens said at the start of his presentation to representatives of security firms, car dealerships and construction companies.

ACE is a manufacturer of safety films and security laminates for existing window applications and new construction.

The Innovative Protective Solutions team will focus on selling to new and existing commercial projects, residential homes, storefront applications, banks, automobiles and jewellery stores.

“Insurance companies like to know that you are actually reducing risk,” said Christopher Abrahams, one of the directors at Innovative, who previously worked in the insurance sector.

“If you put the laminate in a jewellery store, you say [to the insurance broker] I not only have burglar bars but I have these things in my store. It is going to make a difference, so he would be able to negotiate a deal,” he said.

The film can be multilayered, depending on the threat level and the thickness of the glass. It also offers protection against storm-borne flying debris, wind, in addition to forceful break-ins.

Apex started seven years ago in Cayman. In 2012, it merged its operations with The Security Centre group – a full service security firm operating in Caribbean countries and employs more than 400 persons.

IMAGE: David Stephens of Apex smashes a chair into a window panel in a demonstration of the product.

For more on this story go to: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20161028/apex-introduces-anti-burglary-window-solution