Hasbro Lights Up NERF Basketball with LyTec

August 4, 2005- Hasbro's NERF brand has won new fans and a new following, thanks to a revolutionary component that allows kids to play in the dark. Hasbro energized its legendary NERF basketball product by integrating Elam EL Industries' electroluminescent (EL) wire, LyTec, to introduce the innovative NERF NITE JAM NERFOOP. By applying LyTec wire to the ball, Hasbro engineers have extended the playability of the game to darkened rooms and nighttime action, making it a winner with children and parents, alike.

"LyTec has allowed us to add a new cool feature to NERF that is functional too," said Kevin Fortey, vice president of marketing for Hasbro. "Since we introduced the NERF NITE JAM in 2004, it has been a popular item in our NERF line, letting kids play basketball anytime and anywhere."

LyTec overcomes traditional lighting limitations through a patented new technology that makes electroluminescence affordable, safe and easy to integrate. The electroluminescent wires are highly flexible and durable, emitting a continuous light throughout their entire length. For instance, in the NERF NITE JAM NERFOOP, the wire is embedded into the seams of the basketball and wraps around at near 360-degree angles.

LyTec wires have proven to be intriguing and are used in a wide range of products, everything from sunglasses to play light sabers to action figures and toy car models. In other industries, LyTec wire is lighting the stages and sets for some of the world's most popular entertainers. For indoor applications, LyTec is integrated into home settings, such as gardens, porches and teenagers' rooms for personal decorations. The wires are also being added to outdoor sporting goods, such as book packs, camping tents, and bicycle and boating decorations, to improve visibility, extend the life of known products or add "gee whiz" value to new ones. In high-tech, LyTec wires are the hot new trend for lighting up cell phones and high-end gaming computers.

"Hasbro's success with LyTec illustrates the wire's versatility and its implications over a wide range of new products," says Avi Timor, President of Elam USA, Inc. "The opportunities are boundless, limited only by our ability to imagine new products and design new features that extend the life cycle of old ones."

LyTec was developed by former Intel scientists who used their experiences to create a one-of-a-kind, patented process to apply thin-film coatings to flexible, cylindrical substrates. The process embeds a thin film layer 1/100 thinner than a human hair between three other micro layers. The end result is revolutionary 360-degree, continuous electroluminescent illumination that radiates from a highly flexible and durable wire. This breakthrough technology can be used in any number of existing or as-yet imagined applications.

For more information about LyTec, visit www.elamusa.com.

SOURCE Elam EL Industries