Firefighters from all over the United States, rescue teams from FEMA, the U.S Naval Academy, the Army, Air Force and Maryland’s Shock Trauma unit all come to Holmatro’s U.S. facility in Glen Burnie, Md., to train and use its rescue tools to save lives.

While not a household name, Holmatro is the No. 1 rescue company equipment company in the world by new sales, the largest company in world for rescue tools and the only UL-approved rescue equipment company. Holmatro designs, produces, tests and delivers hydraulic equipment and systems for industrial applications and technical rescue services. Headquarted in the Netherlands, it has branches in the U.S., China, Poland and the UK, as well as a dealer network.

Holmatro U.S. builds all of its tools in its Glen Burnie, Md., plant and they test them in-house as well. From the machining process to the laser-controlled precision work, Holmatro’s manufacturing production process requires the utmost care to detail. While it used to take a multitude of machines to produce some parts, now they are all run in their state-of-the-art Mori Seiki machining system.

Holmatro’s “Pic-Lite” inventory system is a marvel, providing sub assemblies ready for any tool. Equipment housing is placed on a sliding ramp that slides the length of a football field and stops at various intervals for sub assembly signaled by red flashing lights to add various components along with the way with a final stop for test and inspection. What used to take an hour to produce can now be assembled in 20 minutes. The Pic-Lite system shows the time used for the duration of each assembled product, which is then integrated into the company’s ERP system.

To help cut costs regarding energy efficiency, Holmatro joined the RMI energy efficiency program.

“We took the opportunity to join the Regional Manufacturing Institute’s (RMI) energy efficiency program last spring. Energy is a big topic because as a machine shop we use a lot of energy.”

To learn more about all of Holmatro’s innovative products, to see how the organization is becoming more energy efficient and to read more on its employee incentives, click the picture below.

Holmatra hosted the RMI Energy Leadership Program at its facility with executives involved in the program. (John Freeburger on right).

By Peter Gourlay, Project Manager, Regional Manufacturing Institute