BEAMSTOP’R Inc.

An LIA corporate member since 2001, Beamstop’r, Inc. offers cost-effective and custom made laser protection curtains and screens. The company’s products confine a laser’s beam and protects against occupational eye and skin exposure resulting from reflective laser radiation, thus ensuring a safe working environment in laser spectroscopy laboratories, hospitals and medical and dental offices.

Company Organization
Founded in 1991 by Barbara Krantz, Beamstop’r employs three full-time employees at its home office in Beachwood, Ohio. There are also four part-time workers and a medical consultant. The facility includes two workrooms that fabricate products and one that constructs the frames and tracks. The company holds one patent and performs its own research and development.

Beamstop’r’s mission is to provide a product that fits the customers’ requirements in a cost-effective manner and to manufacture a product that is well made, will last, and will meet or exceed all government regulations. In fact, Beamstop’r products meet and exceed OSHA and ANSI regulations as tested by The Ohio State University.

The first product produced by Beamstop’r was a series of laser protective curtains designed with and for The Ohio State University for their laser spectroscopy labs for Class IV lasers.

Company Products
“Beamstop’r has been in business for 17 years. We manufacture custom laser barriers, usually in the form of curtains or screens. We can meet almost every individual requirement that a company, university, hospital, medical/dental, or veterinarian office might present us with. We continually upgrade the quality of our products to meet or exceed all government standards for the above type of laser usage,” said Krantz.

Today’s products include laser curtains, laser dressing screens, laser window covers, laser Roman shades, and any other laser protection barriers customers might need or envision.

“Our most popular item is the barrier curtain installed on track hardware. This style of protective curtain is similar to the curtain that surrounds a patient bed in a hospital,” she said.

Beamstop’r is currently developing a cubicle room covered with its laser protective fabric that creates a room within a larger room.

“The room will have four walls and a locked door. This room will be for pulse lasers and low wattage continuous wave lasers only. The walls will be shipped to the end-user to be assembled on the job site. We are also working on a safety cage using our laser protective fabric and an industrial strength frame,” Krantz stated.

Conquering Challenges
After 17 years in the laser safety industry, Krantz has seen quite a bit of growth. “Lasers are being used more and more in the medical/dental and hospital setting. We have also seen lasers being used in the cosmetic hair removal industry and in other cosmetic procedures.”

Along with this growth come the inevitable changes. “The biggest change has been the ANSI regulations that require the end-user of lasers to be more safety conscious. This means the use of protective barriers like our products,” she said.

An LIA corporate member for the past seven years, Krantz sees a lot of value in her membership. “LIA provides us with all the information we need pertaining to the newest and latest changes in the laser field both nationally and internationally. The staff at LIA is well trained and very knowledgeable, and always available to answer our questions.”

“The laser industry is growing rapidly as new uses for lasers are being developed and discovered. It is critical that as the laser industry continues to grow, the safety requirements continue to be foremost in the minds of the personnel that are responsible for the purchase of lasers. LIA is a leader in the endeavor and it is our privilege to be a part of this growth,” she said.

For more information visit www.beamstopr.com.