2025 EC&M Product of the Year Platinum Award Winner Honored at NECA Show
On Day 1 of the NECA Show in Chicago, members of the EC&M editorial staff stopped by the I-Gard booth to recognize its i-AVT Plus for winning the overall platinum award in this year's Product of the Year competition. Representing the protective devices category, the this product is redefining lockout/tagout (LOTO) safety by combining two critical technologies into one enclosure — an absence of voltage tester (i-AVT-R) and a voltage test portal (VTi).
This innovative design addresses both safety and efficiency challenges in the industry, reducing the risk of electric shock and arc flash while also cutting verification time from 20 minutes to just 10 seconds, according to the company. With automated self-checks, redundant phase and ground testing, intuitive LED indicators, and compliance with UL1436 and NFPA 70E, the i-AVT Plus gives electricians a safer, faster, and more reliable way to confirm absence of voltage without opening energized equipment.
“There is a huge contribution to boost efficiency and reduce costs, but, more importantly, it drastically reduces the electrical hazard as the worker is not exposed to any potentially energized equipment while performing the test,” said Edmundo Perich, vice president of sales and marketing for I-Gard. “The voltage test port and the known voltage source mean that qualified personnel can measure voltage and ensure the correct functionality of their meter more quickly and safely than traditional means.”
The photo above shows EC&M's Group Editorial Director Mike Eby (left) presenting Sergio A. R. Panetta (center), Vice President Engineering, with the trophy accompanied by EC&M's Key Account Executive David Sevin (right).
This year’s competition featured products introduced to the market between Jan. 1, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2024. A hand-picked panel of judges narrowed down the 122 entries to 36 category winners for the first phase of the competition. These category winners were then narrowed down to our three finalists through an online poll available to EC&M readers, who cast their votes to determine the three award-winning products.
Congratulations to I-Gard for winning this year’s platinum award. For more information, visit the company’s website.
About the Author
Michael Morris
Michael Morris is Editor for EC&M. He is also Editor for EC&M's sister publications Electrical Wholesaling and Electrical Marketing. Email him at [email protected].