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HzO Chief Executive Paul Clayson understands the value of a technology company showing up at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Last January, Clayson's Draper-based company set up a booth at the trade show to unveil a technology that ended up dazzling many of the thousands in attendance. Showcasing a technique for waterproofing electronics, Clayson's company dunked smartphones treated with his process into a water tank, and they still worked.

"The week after CES, I flew to [South] Korea on business, and the English version of The Korean Times had HzO on the front page. That means we went viral in a week's time," Clayson said. "We also were on 'Good Morning America,' CBS News and Fox News. We became very well known, and we had inquiries from 600 manufacturers within 30 days of CES."

The new International CES, as it is now called, begins Tuesday and will host 3,000 exhibitors, from television manufacturers to those who make mobile-phone accessories.

The annual four-day convention, which is staged in the Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Center, as well as the Las Vegas Hilton and Venetian hotels, is the world's largest technology trade show and attracts more than 150,000 visitors from 150 countries. More than 35 tech companies from Utah will be there in hopes of capturing some of that same magic that helped build the buzz around HzO.

"The point of CES is to establish a brand," said CoverPlay CEO Adam Marriott. "It's also to meet buyers. It's one of the best places to approach a buyer from retail stores and say, 'This is our product and you should buy it.' "

Marriott, his three brothers and a friend created West Valley City-based CoverPlay to market a portable speaker for mobile devices.

The Mojo Speaker is thin and lightweight, about the size of a book that can connect to a mobile device through a Buetooth connection. The company hopes to start selling it in stores later this spring for about $100.

CoverPlay recently raised more than $30,000 in funding through a Kickstarter campaign (which promotes crowd-sourced funding) to help bring the Mojo to market in advance of its team's trip to Las Vegas and CES to show off the prototype and meet retailers.

"Every major retailer has reps there searching for technology," Marriott said. "It's a great marketing place. We also get to see what the competition is doing. And it's fun. You go out and have a good time."

As a follow-up to its big splash at last year's CES, Clayson said HzO will demonstrate three devices at this year's show — a navigation device, a monitoring bracelet and a smartphone — that will undergo the special chemical-coating process that seals out moisture from electronics. He also wants to show that his HzO process works just as well locking out juice and coffee. Clayson hopes the first consumer devices with his sealant will be sold later this year.

"It's rare to have a technology that will transform an industry, and this is it," he said.

Utah companies demonstrating their products and services at this year's International CES are:

Alpine Innovations (Lehi) • Electronics accessories such as screen cleaners, cases and eyewear pouches.

BodyGuardz (Bluffdale) • Screen protectors, skins, full-body protectors and headphones for mobile devices.

Braven (Provo) • Portable speaker/speakerphone/charger for your mobile device.

Changzhou One World International Co. (Brighton) • Computer and television cables, adapters and wall plates.

Clear Protector (Draper) • Film protection and screen protectors for mobile devices.

Control4 (Draper) • Software and hardware for home automation.

CoverPlay Audio (Salt Lake City) • Developing a Bluetooth speaker for compatible mobile devices.

CruxCase (Provo) • Accessories for the iPad, iPad mini and iPhone 5, including cases, stands and keyboards.

Damoka (Cedar City) • Audio specialists dealing with high-end equipment and custom-designed listening rooms.

Empire Brands (Lindon) • Headphones and audio accessories under Wicked Audio and EarHugger Brand names.

Goal Zero (Bluffdale) • Portable solar-powered systems.

Heatshrink (Ogden) • Heat-shrinkable tubing, custom cutting, printing and heat guns.

Hollywood Fotofix (American Fork) • Wholesale photo restoration and retouching for photo professionals.

HzO (Draper) • Developing a waterblock technology for electronic devices that keeps moisture out.

iCat by EK Ekcessories (Logan) • Accessories manufacturer for products ranging from eyewear to the iPhone.

iFrogz (Logan) • Value-branded audio accessories, including headphones, cases and speakers for mobile devices.

IsoMike (Ogden) • Acoustic baffle for professional audio recording systems.

iStabilizer (Kamas) • Tripods, camera stabilizers and mounts.

JayBird (Salt Lake City) • Audio products for sports and fitness, including Bluetooth headphones.

Kimber Kable (Ogden) • Audio and video cables.

MarketStar (Ogden) • Sales and marketing solutions for retail companies.

mykeyo (Huntsville) • Produces a computer keyboard organizer.

Ogio International (Bluffdale) • Travel bags, golf bags, golf apparel and work bags.

Professional Cable (Orem) • Audio and home theater cables for Apple products, electronics and mobile devices.

RBH Sound (Layton) • Speaker manufacturer.

Red Touch Media (Salt Lake City) • Helps manage digital content for companies.

Reverse Logistics Association (Lehi) • A trade association for third party service providers that work with manufacturers and branded and retail companies.

Skullcandy (Park City) • Audio accessories, including headphones and gaming headsets.

Wattgate (Ogden) • Connectors for audio and video equipment.

WBT-USA (Ogden) • Connectors for audio, video and digital equipment.

Wilson Audio (Provo) • High-end speakers.

Wilson Electronics (St. George) • Cellphone signal boosters.

Xi3 Corp. (Salt Lake City) • Designs and manufactures modular desktop computers and servers.

ZAGG (South Salt Lake) • Screen protectors, skins and accessories for mobile electronics.

Zenprint (Provo) • Technology and services for digital printing.

Google+: +Vincent Horiuchi —

iFrogz mobile accessories for kids to debut at CES

ZAGG Inc.'s iFrogz brand has launched a line of mobile products for kids to be introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show. Known as the "Animatone" line, it will include headphones and earbuds with kid-friendly styling in bright colors and animal-inspired images. The products feature built-in volume boundaries to prevent the sound from being turned louder than 85 decibles, the equivalent of an average telephone dialtone.