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Your safety changed forever thanks to invention from Muscatine

Chances are you, or someone you know, will live or work or visit in a place protected by an invention that was born and made in Muscatine, Iowa.

Muscatine Community College teacher Allison Rogal says the equation for school safety is solved, thanks to a local invention.

Your safety changed forever thanks to invention from Muscatine

It's a homegrown device, designed to keep intruders out when school is in session.

The tragic aftermath of school shootings, and ineffective protection against them, inspired a group of Muscatine teachers to take action.

"This project is important because there really is not a better solution out there," said Daniel Nietzel, president and CEO of Fighting Chance Solutions.  Nietzel wanted to protect his Kindergarten-teaching wife, Kat, and thousands just like her.

Nearly a year after they launched their idea, The Sleeve is revolutionizing school safety.  It's designed by teachers for teachers.

"It's a blur," Nietzel said.  He has traded teaching middle school to running the business full-time.  His four partners remain in the classroom and meet after school and evenings.

Your safety changed forever thanks to invention from Muscatine

They've come a long way from primitive prototypes carved out of plastic.

"We knew we were on to something," Nietzel said.  "We knew there had to be a better way."

They brainstormed over better solutions after hitting obstacles.

"When one said, 'This isn't going to work,' the others would say, 'Let's try this,"' he recalled.

It's truly a homegrown product, and each step is rooted in Muscatine.

Four of the five partners, who developed The Sleeve, studied at Muscatine Community college before they became teachers.

Your safety changed forever thanks to invention from Muscatine

They first tested The Sleeve at Muscatine Community College.  They took The Sleeve from concept to reality at a plant in Muscatine, where design and production take place.  Laser-cutting and shaping form the steel sleeve in a matter of minutes, and each piece also gets a bright coating of red paint.

"We want kids to look at that and realize that the red represents safety," he said.

"This is another example of people who are committed to their community," said Greg Jenkins, president and CEO of Muscatine Chamber of Commerce.  "They hope to grow their business here.  It's really exciting to watch it happen."

Fighting Chance Solutions is selling thousands of sleeves in 45 states these days.  Most of them are going to schools, and the company just landed its first big contract in the Quad Cities to produce The Sleeve for schools in Bettendorf, Iowa.  Hospitals, Army bases, even nuclear plants are signing up as other businesses also find applications for The Sleeve. 

"My prayer for them is that I hope in 10 years, this has an inch-and-a-half of dust on it," Nietzel said.  "You never have to use it."

Fighting Chance Solutions is also working on other safety-related products.

"It's what drives us to keep doing what we're doing," Nietzel concluded.  "It's a powerful responsibility.  We don't take that responsibility lightly."

From classrooms to communities, The Sleeve is a perfect fit for safety.

For more information, check out www.fightingchancesolutions.com.

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