Category: Company News

Team members at HURST Jaws of Life®, a business unit of IDEX Fire & Safety, began celebrating the 50th anniversary of the revolutionary brand in Shelby, North Carolina this week. The company, whose hero tool set the standard in the rescue industry, is marking its half-century milestone with a celebratory logo, and will distribute challenge coins, patches and more to first responders throughout 2022.

“HURST Jaws of Life has been an icon for the rescue tool industry for 50 years, and we’re proud to celebrate this incredible anniversary along with our dealers who serve as ambassadors for the brand and the first responders who rely on the tools to save lives,” said Britt Hawkins, manager, marketing services, HURST Jaws of Life.

The history of HURST Jaws of Life rescue tools began when innovator George Hurst, a racing enthusiast and the manufacturer of Hurst shifters , devised a prototype tool to extricate auto racers from high-speed wrecks. In 1972, less than a year later, the HURST Power Tool made its public debut with production of the model JL-32, which soon began helping first responders extricate everyday drivers from roadside accidents. It gained popularity among firefighters, emergency technicians and law enforcement, and it was soon monikered and then trademarked as the “Jaws of Life.”

Since the original spreaders debuted, HURST Jaws of Life has expanded the rescue tool portfolio to also include cutters, combination tools, rescue rams and accessories to help first responders stay safe at the scene. Today’s tools are smaller and lightweight, and they can cut, spread, lift and breach metal, wood and rebar on vehicles and structures to allow first responders to get to entrapped people and save their lives.

Over the years, the company has continually raised the bar on rescue tool power and performance. It introduced the industry’s first battery-powered extrication tool line, eDRAULIC^®, in 2010, allowing first responders tool operation unencumbered by hoses and generators. It next invented StrongArm^®, a battery-powered multitool that fits easily in the trunk of a law enforcement vehicle and operates quietly enough for SWAT team use.  In 2019, HURST Jaws of Life launched eDRAULIC Watertight Extrication Tool (EWXT), the first battery-operated tool line to operate completely submerged in fresh water. In 2021, HURST Jaws of Life debuted eDRAULIC 3.0, a revolutionary extrication tool line offering turbo power, a smart dashboard and fresh and saltwater compatibility.

“HURST Jaws of Life has been equipping heroes for 50 years, and we look forward to bringing continued innovation and first-to-market solutions to the rescue industry for years to come,” Hawkins said.

Banjo Corporation in Crawfordsville, Indiana, recently began a partnership with the Montgomery Boys & Girls Club, partnering with the club on activities last quarter. In collaboration with the IDEX foundation, the club received $15,000 USD to help fund the hiring of additional teachers, and help purchase supplies for STEM activities. The donation will also be used to buy new Chromebooks for students to use.

Additionally, Banjo team members funded an end of the semester holiday party for the after-school students, providing a safe bounce house, snacks and more.  A small group of team members also volunteered to paint two large rooms at the club facility while the kids were on holiday break.

Lukas in Erlangen, Germany, also supported the local community during the holidays last month. To further fight hunger insecurity in the community, the team partnered with the IDEX Foundation to donate $5,000 USD to Tafel Erlangen. ​​​​​​​

Tafel Erlangen, an initiative of the Diakonisches Werk Erlangen, is a German-based food bank that takes high quality surplus foods  and distributes it to people in Erlangen and surrounding areas. Every year, the organization saves around 265,000 tons of food, which they pass on to over 1.6 million people.

IDEX corporate employees from the Northbrook and downtown Chicago offices, competed against each other this month to purchase holiday gifts online for local children who have experienced trauma.

Again supporting the charity “Kids Above All,” the Virtual Holiday Drive included a friendly competition, with IDEX corporate team members split into teams to see which group could donate the most gifts.

In less than three weeks, more than 150 corporate team members and their family members donated more than 500 gifts, which were delivered straight from retailers to Kids Above All for distribution. With 139 total gifts donated, the team led by Rula Marziani claimed victory.

“We are blown away by the generosity of our great corporate partner, IDEX Corporation, who generously donated toys, books and other items so our young people have a special holiday season and achieve their potential,” the KAA team said on LinkedIn.

‘Kids Above All,’, protects, heals and educates children and families who have experienced trauma – including abuse, neglect, poverty, toxic stress, and violence.

IDEX Corporate began partnering with the Kids Above All in 2020. With support from the IDEX Foundation, the team donated $55,000 USD for Technology, Housing, and Group Therapy for at-risk youth in the Chicago area. To learn about the history of the partnership, click here.

A company using an iPEK sewer inspection crawler recently saved a small dog that had crawled into an old, abandoned sewer pipe in Switzerland. Blacky was on a hunting trip with his owner when he got into the small pipe and couldn’t find his way out. It was unclear how far the dog had gone into the sewer pipe and whether he would ever find his way out again.

The hunter called Liaudet Pial Inc. – the fourth largest sewer inspection company in Switzerland, based in Worben in the canton of Bern – which uses iPEK camera inspection systems daily. The company, which cleans and rehabilitates sewer systems, leapt into action.

The sewer was no longer active, and the crew could not find a manhole for a person to access. So they brought in an excavator to begin digging an access point in an open field as the evening grew darker. As prospects for a successful rescue dwindled, the rescue crew pressed on.

Inserting the iPEK ROVION CCTV crawler through the small entrance pipe, Liaudet Pial Inc. found Blacky about 80 meters (260 feet) away, looking back at them through the video monitors in the service truck. Thanks to the locating sensor integrated in the camera head, the crew was able to determine Blacky’s exact position, even in the large open field.

It seems Blacky became curious about the camera lights and excavator sounds and sensed the efforts to rescue him. He slowly followed the camera light to the exit and the excavator work could be stopped.

After three hours of rescue work, the overwhelmed owner was able to hold his beloved dog Blacky in his arms again, safe and sound.

Viking Pump recently published a video Top 10 list of the weirdest uses for one of their pumps. Join Global Distribution Development Manager Chad Wunderlich as he counts down the unusual, amazing, delicious and even famous ways in which Viking Pumps have been used.

If you’d like to share it with friends on social media, you can find the two part series on the Viking Pump YouTube Channel (part 1 & part 2).

What’s your favorite of the Top 10?

The IDEX Team in Northbrook, Illinois, received an award from Kids Above All’s Board of Trustees and Staff at an annual Gala event this month.

The Lucy Rider Meyer Humanitarian Award, which is named after the organization’s founder, recognizes the accomplishments of key local, national and international leaders, organizations, and corporations who enhance the ability of children and their families to achieve their potential, help youth heal from past trauma, realize their value, and enable families to achieve a sense of social, emotional, and physical well-being.

“IDEX proudly supports Kids Above All and its work to help Chicago kids who have experienced trauma, including providing housing assistance, therapy resources and technology enhancements,” IDEX Chief Financial Officer Bill Grogan said. “We look forward to expanding our involvement, especially as opportunities for in-person volunteerism become possible again.”

IDEX Corporate began partnering with the KAA in 2020. Partnering with the IDEX Foundation, the team donated $55,000 USD for Technology, Housing, and Group Therapy for at-risk youth in the Chicagoland community. The team is preparing to begin the annual holiday gift drive to help more children near the Headquarters.

“In the past two years, IDEX has made a difference for nearly client and staff member at Kids Above All, supporting the organization’s diversity, equity, inclusion and access efforts and our Early Childhood, Emerge, Group Homes and Camp Sheilah programs, as well as providing gifts for our kids during the holidays and hygiene kits for our young people in foster care,” the Kids Above All award states. “IDEX’s leadership truly reflects the spirit of our founder, Lucy Rider Meyer, who dedicated her life to ensuring that children achieve their full potential, and we cannot you enough for your dedication to our mission.”

Watch the acceptance video below with IDEX Chief Financial Officer Bill Grogan to learn more about the partnership.

IDEX’s Accelerating Management Potential (I-AMP), recently partnered with Advanced Thin Films (ATF) to provide new furniture for the Boulder Bridge House Ready to Work (RTW) facility in Colorado.

The I-AMP cohort capstone team, led by Clarissa Bradfield, Dalton Geraldo, Rachel Otte, and Wafa Yakhlif, planned and organized a two-day event to build replacement furniture for RTW, but only needed a day to complete the project.

At the event, 24 employees from ATF helped unpack and prepare more than 40 dressers and nightstands for members of the RTW facility!

“It was amazing to watch ATF employees use teamwork to provide new furniture for BBH. Witnessing the residents fill dressers and nightstands with their belongings and smiles on their faces, was an amazing experience,” said Mary Zsigmond, Inside Sales Supervisor at ATF.

Ready to Work is a “work-first” approach to addressing homelessness. Ready to Work offers 1 year of housing, employment, support for adults experiencing homelessness and is the only holistic model in Colorado focused on addressing homelessness through social enterprise.

Ready to Work operates in 2 communities in Metro Denver. After 7 years in Boulder, Bridge House replicated the model in Aurora, CO, which expands its presence from a capacity of 44 in Boulder to 94 in the region.