By Chris Mc Loone
I caught up with Jamie Emblem, co-owner and northeast regional sales for Mercedes Textiles, and Lydia Jackson, director of marketing for Mercedes Textiles, to discuss the origins of the company, its product lines (it is more than a hose manufacturer), and its “Know Your Hose” program.
CM: Give a brief history of Mercedes Textiles.
JE: We started off manufacturing Polyflex®, which is a cabinet hose for interior fire protection. They found a patent on the way they uniquely line our fire hoses. It’s trademarked under the name Mertex®. From there, they expanded into wildland/forestry hoses and then eventually into attack hoses that I’m sure most of the U.S. fire service knows us best for. We were really founded on cutting edge technology with different innovations that had huge advantages in the fire service—less friction loss, for example. We have a fused-in liner system that does not delaminate, which was a huge problem.
We’ve really put a focus on double-jacket attack hose and have come out with some very lightweight, kink-resistant, high-flowing hose. We say they’re lightweight, but that doesn’t mean we sacrificed any raw materials. That’s actually because we’re using better raw materials.
LJ: We were founded in 1978 and, at that point, we really only made two different types of hoses. We had about nine looms at the time. A few years later, we created the Mertex lining, and we moved our offices from Ontario to Quebec. In the 1990s, we expanded again and realized we needed to really push ourselves to create more variety in municipal lines, and that’s about the time that Bob Richardson, our current president, came onboard. His focus was taking our municipal lines to another level and working on how we solve the problems of municipal hose,creating lighter hose and hose that doesn’t delaminate. We now have over 60 patents to our name.
CM: As you said, many in the United States know Mercedes Textiles for your hose products, but you actually do more than that. Would you go over your other product lines?
JE: We have the fire hose division, which you know. We also have a very large wildland division—in fact, we’re one of the world’s largest forestry hose manufacturers thanks to our patented weeping hose that is used by nearly all of Canada and many other countries.
Beyond hose, we also manufacture the full line of WICK® portable pumps from ultra-lightweight 3.5 hp to high-power 23 hp, as well as inline accessories. We like to say we go “from the foot valve to the nozzle” on the forestry side, including gated wyes, water thieves, hose stranglers, and more.
Our industrial division includes hoses for other uses like cleanup, snowmaking, and the cabinet hose Mercedes was founded on. We make everything for our hose in house. We’re the only shop in North America that manufactures both the coupling and hose under one roof.
CM: What makes Mercedes Textiles fire hose unique?
JE: Basically we start with the Mertex lining technology. It totally encapsulates the weave, and it creates a very smooth surface. It is inseparable. Like I said before: zero delamination. It has a huge advantage in cold weather flexibility. About five years ago, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1961, Standard on Fire Hose, released a new standard for radiant and counduc- tive heat testing. Because of the lining, these hoses do not catastrophically fail; they start weeping, self protecting. Despite being lighter, we actually put more raw material and use higher quality materials to make a premium attack hose with exceptional durability, kink r