A SPECIAL adhesive-free all-weather tape developed in St Ives for Moscow s fire department could have applications with fire-fighters around the world. The Russian capital s Emercom (fire and rescue) department commission Le Mark Group to develop a heavy-

A SPECIAL adhesive-free all-weather tape developed in St Ives for Moscow's fire department could have applications with fire-fighters around the world.

The Russian capital's Emercom (fire and rescue) department commission Le Mark Group to develop a heavy-duty version of its self-fusing silicone Kraken Tape, which bonds to itself through molecular fusion, that would be effective in sealing and repairing high-pressure hoses even in very low temperatures - -35dC to -45dC in wet or ice conditions.

Having been Le Mark's 'test partners' in Moscow, senior Emercom officers took the opportunity to visit Le Mark's new Houghton Hill facilities, accompanied by two technical advisers, during a week-long visit to the UK.

Le Mark managing director Stuart Gibbons told The Hunts Post: "We have continued to develop our overseas connections in specialist products and have focused on building our presence within the Russian Federation.

"All countries have been effected by the global recession, including the Russian Federation - however, we believe that it is most important to continue to expand where possible into the more specialist sectors. While it is impossible to say that any product is recession-proof, we believe that our new Kraken HD Tape, once fully certified, will have a truly international market."

But, lest his competitors are also avid readers of The Hunts Post, Mr Gibbons refused to reveal exactly how the product works.

"However, we believe that, with the help of Emercom and the testing they have done in very extreme conditions, we will have jointly created something that will be of use to fire-fighters around the world."

Mr Gibbons, second left, is pictured with Colonel Andrey Kozyrev, head of fire marshals for guarded buildings, Colonel Evgeny Chernyshev, head of the Moscow fire fighting service and technical advisers Andrew Petrov and Dmitry Simkin.