We recently had the pleasure of chatting with Chris Mc Loone, the editor in chief of Fire Apparatus Magazine. He published our discussion in the October 2024 issue, and we wanted to repost here to give you even more insight into who we are at Mercedes Textiles.
The following was written by CHRIS Mc LOONE; published in Fire Apparatus, Oct 2024
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 counductive 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 resistance, and friction loss—which is especially important in long-distance wildland applications.
LJ: What makes Mercedes hose unique starts with the process we use—the Mertex lining. It creates the smoothest waterway, which provides better flow, more flexibility, and better packability. We manufacture our couplings, which allows us to engineer couplings that also create less friction and allow for better flow. Our WAYOUT® arrows are an important safety feature.
Also, we focus on making sure that our products are tested to the latest standard, and we really go that extra mile to get UL approval for all of our premium lines like our KrakenEXO®.
CM: Talk about the “Know Your Hose” program.
LJ: When I came onboard, I had to immerse myself in fire service culture because it wasn't what I came from. During my first year, we launched KrakenEXO Super II™, which was a huge innovation for us. It was game changing in a lot of ways— for example, allowing you to flow the same amount of water with 30% less weight. I kept getting asked questions about all the stats and all the specs, and I learned why people needed to know them.
The longer I did this job, the more I realized just how important really knowing that information can be for the front line—being able to not only assess and evaluate different hose depending on what your company needs and wants, but also once you have decided on a hose, being able to test it properly, being able to know what it's capable of, and to understand its performance were integral to using hose effectively.
I pushed really hard for us to make the information more accessible. I wanted it to be easy for people to get whatever they might need. I was already using #knowyourhose on social as a way to educate around our products and the importance of knowing your hose.
It turned into an idea to create a website dedicated to hose gurus. We wanted them to have everything they might need to satisfy their appetite for knowledge. So, the goal for the “Know Your Hose” program is to provide those hose specs. We have for our entire lineup. It also provides a friction loss calculator.
We also work hard on creating resources and content. My end goal is to create this as an ongoing community and ongoing exchange of information. I often reach out to firefighters or instructors for their insights or their input on topics that are relevant to the front line. For example, one of the firefighters on our demo crew wrote a three-part series on right sizing water supply packages. I think that's where my end game is on that program: using it as an exchange of information.
We'll also be launching a shop eventually because people ask me for our hoodies all the time!
And as much as I'd love to take credit for pushing transparency, it is actually now part of the new NFPA standard that manufacturers are required to publish certain information that they haven't been required to in the past. We were just ahead of the curve on that.
"From my perspective, everything Mercedes innovates is about the safety of the people on the front line. We want the highest quality and the best product because that keeps not only you safe as a firefighter, but it also keeps the people you're saving safe." – Lydia Jackson, Marketing Director
CM: What keeps you awake at night?
JE: Well, you know, Lydia and I were talking about this. I love the question. Mercedes is always on my mind. We're all working all day long, and we've got great people and great products. A lot of these products have been developed because of a lack of something or to fix something, and I get some of my best product innovations when I'm in bed. We're always trying to think of, you know, the next best mousetrap, if you will. And with the firefighter in mind, keeping our firefighters safe.
LJ: From my perspective, everything Mercedes innovates is about the safety of the people on the front line. We want the highest quality and the best product because that keeps not only you safe as a firefighter, but it also keeps the people you're saving safe. I have a lot of really great relationships with firefighters who I care deeply about, and their safety matters to me. The phrase “because you're on the line, and that matters” is what it boils down to for me. And, safety includes both physical and mental health.
We want to make sure we are doing what we can to support our fire family. I feel a great responsibility to this community because we have platforms; we have relationships; and we have a level of responsibility, in my mind, to make sure that we're always working for the betterment of the fire service.