Amerex Corporation is a large American manufacturer of

firefighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...

products. Based in

Trussville, Alabama Trussville is a city in Jefferson and St. Clair counties in the State of Alabama. It is a suburb of Birmingham and part of the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population at the 2020 census was 26,123. Geography Trussv ...

, Amerex makes hand-portable and wheeled

fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...

s for commercial and industrial environments, as well as fire and explosion suppression vehicle systems for military use. Other products include

fire suppression systems Fire suppression systems are used to extinguish, control, or in some cases, entirely prevent fires from spreading or occurring. Fire suppression systems have an incredibly large variety of applications, and as such, there are many different types ...

for restaurants,

gas detection A gas detector is a device that detects the presence of gases in an area, often as part of a safety system. A gas detector can sound an alarm to operators in the area where the leak is occurring, giving them the opportunity to leave. This type of d ...

systems, and

fire detection Fire detectors sense one or more of the products or phenomena resulting from fire, such as smoke, heat, infrared and/or ultraviolet light radiation, or gas. In dwellings, smoke detectors are often stand-alone devices. In non-domestic buildings, fir ...

devices.

McWane, Inc. McWane, Inc. is one of the world's largest manufacturers of iron water works and plumbing products and one of America's largest privately owned companies. The company manufactures a host of different products including ductile iron pipe and fit ...

acquired Amerex in 1999.

History

Amerex was founded in 1971 by Ned Paine and George Baureis. Paine was part of the Amerex team until his retirement in September 1999. He sold the company to McWane, Inc. the same year. In 2010, Amerex began emerging as a major military subcontractor after developing a fire suppression system being deployed on American military vehicles often targeted by mines and homemade bombs in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. The company is a subcontractor of the

Oshkosh Corporation Oshkosh Corporation, formerly Oshkosh Truck, is an American industrial company that designs and builds specialty trucks, military vehicles, truck bodies, airport fire apparatus, and access equipment. The corporation also owns Pierce Manufact ...

, a maker of military vehicles. The vehicles use safety equipment, including fire suppression gear, made by Amerex for Oshkosh vehicles. Optical sensors are used to detect fires and explosions instantly, which then directs a series of jets and hoses to put out the fire with a concealed substance. In 2011, Amerex acquired The Solberg Company, another firefighting equipment company based in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

."The Solberg Company Breaks Ground for Manufacturing Plant and Headquarters in Howard"
Retrieved January 28, 2012. According to former Amerex President Bill Beyer, the fire extinguisher sales tend to follow the general economy and growth in new buildings. Amerex produces 2.5 million commercial and industrial fire extinguishers each year.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://amerex-fire.com
Amerex Defense
Manufacturing companies established in 1971 Emergency services equipment makers Manufacturing companies based in Alabama Firefighting in the United States American companies established in 1971 1971 establishments in Alabama 1999 mergers and acquisitions