Month: May 2022

Leadership team members from the IDEX Energy group, which includes Advanced Flow Services (AFS), FlowMD, Toptech Systems, and Sampi, recently gathered in Florida and participated in a volunteer activity with the East Altamonte Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida (BGCCF).

A group of more than fifteen leaders visited the local BGCCF facility and partnered with thirty students (ages 6-12) to build zipline racers using basic engineering & physics concepts. Students were introduced to concepts such as kinetic energy, thrust, velocity, and torque.

With leaders divided into seven groups, IDEX volunteers guided students through the activity, using paper clips, popsicle stick frames, propellers, and rubber bands.

“After some trial and error, most of the racers went very fast. All the students had a blast,” said Arianna Harris, Marketing Manager at Toptech. “There were oohs and aahs and even applause after each racer successfully finished the course.”

Students also enjoyed pizza and cupcakes to celebrate a few of the IDEX volunteer birthdays and IDEX team member Gabriele Attala even taught students a few phrases in Italian.

Over the years, Toptech has partnered closely with the East Altamonte Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, including hosting many events and even building a technology and activity center.

FlowMD, a unit of the IDEX Energy group, recently partnered with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) in Phoenix, Arizona to help fight food insecurity.

Twelve employees from the Engineering, Marketing, Quality, Production, Field Service, Accounting, Shipping, and Purchasing departments hand-packed bags with rice, soy, dried vegetables and a nutritionally complete blend of vitamins and minerals. After filling bags with food, team members also sealed, boxed, and placed packages on pallets for shipping.

In less than two hours team members packed a total of 70 boxes, providing almost 15,000 meals for children in Thailand!

“This was our first off-site event as a company, but we hope to continue partnering with FMSC and other organizations to make a difference in communities in need,” Human Resources Generalist Carissa Gonzalez said.

Flow MD engineers and manufactures technically-differentiated “unidirectional captive displacement provers,” also called “small volume provers,” used in the custody transfer of petroleum products, particularly on pipelines. In a market where slight inaccuracies in flow meter measurements at transfer points can result in enormous payment discrepancies for customers, Flow MD’s calibration products serve a critical application.

Located near the FlowMD facility, Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a non-profit that provides nutritionally complete meals specifically formulated for malnourished children. Founded in 1987, FMSC helps ship essential foods through over 200 channels to orphanages, schools, clinics, and food programs across 70 countries.

IDEX Health & Science team members at the Life Science Optics Center of Excellence in West Henrietta, New York, began building a community garden to provide fresh, healthy food for employees last year.

Prior to joining the team at the Optics Center of Excellence, Optical Filters Manufacturing Associate Khalil Aboushama, maintained a garden of his own at the Semrock facility in Gates, New York. When that location was moved to the current John Street location, he wanted to continue serving his colleagues.

Inspired by Khalil and his enthusiasm for gardening, IH&S team members partnered with him to start the new garden.

IDEX Fire & Safety (IF&S) recently collaborated with the IDEX Foundation to donate funds for iEmpathize – a non-profit organization which equips adults and first responders with skills to recognize and help eradicate child exploitation and human trafficking.

IF&S donated $25,000 USD to support iEmpathize’s First Responder Training course, offering classroom education on child exploitation and human trafficking prevention to the same first responders that IDEX Fire & Safety’s trusted brands serve on the fireground. The First Responder Training course is designed to address human trafficking specifically from the unique perspective of a firefighter, EMT, paramedic and 911 dispatcher. First responders are uniquely positioned to identify trafficking situations and are often the first to encounter a potential victim or crime. Their role is critical in identifying and responding to human trafficking cases.

“Adults intersect with vulnerable and victimized youth every day, yet cases continue to increase,” said Mark Brende, Engagement Coordinator for the non-profit group, iEmpathize. “By funding our First Responder Training course, IDEX Fire & Safety is helping us provide the tools and equip first responders to identify, report and respond to the issues of child exploitation and human trafficking. We extend our thanks to IDEX Fire & Safety and the IDEX Foundation and appreciate their partnership in the fight against human trafficking.”

IDEX Fire & Safety’s trusted brands in North America include Akron Brass, Hale and HURST Jaws of Life, all of which serve first responders with equipment for the rescue scene. The partnership with iEmpathize allows IDEX Fire & Safety to broaden that commitment to saving lives.

“Building on a long tradition of supplying first responders with the equipment they need on the frontline, we’re equipping firefighters with a different tool to save lives: awareness of human trafficking” said Bill Simmons, president, IDEX Fire & Safety. “We’re proud that IDEX Fire & Safety is able to contribute to such an important initiative and are appreciative of yet another way first responders are saving lives every day.”

“This partnership reflects our commitment to providing trusted solutions to improve lives in a very different, overarching and powerful way,” said Bruce Johnston, Director of Marketing, IDEX Fire & Safety North America Fire & Safety. “The everyday tasks we do, day in and day out, contribute to our promise to work tirelessly to make the fire ground and rescue scene safer. Now, we can take that promise one step further with making the world safer for vulnerable youth.”

Team members at Advanced Thin Films, a unit of IDEX Optical Technologies, recently partnered with Wish for Wheels to build and deliver bikes for students at a local elementary school.

A group of more than 50 employees from all departments, volunteered to assemble bikes with chains, handlebars and tires, building 58 bikes in only a couple of hours.

“This was an absolutely amazing experience,” said Cost Accountant Jenna Jones. “One person was blindfolded and building the bike; and another was giving instructions, not able to touch the bike. Seeing people from different departments working together was so rewarding,” she said.

Team members also volunteered to deliver bikes to students later that day.

“Going to the school and being able to see and interact with the kids receiving the bikes we built, was the most rewarding experience,” said Human Resources Manager Gabriela Garrido.  “We don’t always get to directly meet the people that our community efforts benefit, so it was really nice to see all the kids’ excited faces when they learned they were going home with their very own bike.”

In collaboration with the IDEX Foundation, Advanced Thin Films donated $5,000 to Wish for Wheels.

Advanced Thin Films (ATF), which manufactures optical solutions for the aerospace and life sciences industries, began partnering with Wish for Wheels in 2019. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Wish for Wheels partners with companies to build and deliver bikes for children in low-income schools.

To learn more about the organization, visit their website.

IDEX Fire & Safety (IF&S) recently unveiled new products at the International Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC), one of the largest tradeshows for Fire & Rescue professionals in the world.

The IF&S team announced the launch of SAM Monitor Control, a new feature on the SAM™ flow control system,  which allows users to work the SAM™ Monitor from the Control Center or optional tablet, providing more flexibility for movement around the fireground and fire apparatus.

SAM, which launched in 2019, decreases the workload of the pump operator, allowing them time to focus on their crew and stay ahead of water supply issues. At the same time, SAM’s ability to allow the operator to control the truck from either side lets the operator stay in better visual contact with the crew and the fireground, amplifying their problem-solving capability, ability to stay ahead of crew needs, and option to always pump from a safe location on roadway incidents.

With the new SAM Monitor Control and the 2021 launch of SAM Smart Nozzle with N₂P Technology, IDEX Fire & Safety continues to modernize firefighting technologies to address the challenges firefighters face on the fireground.

HURST Jaws of Life® also announced the release of a new Ram Claw, along with the expansion of its recently launched eDRAULIC® 3.0 (E3) line, adding the R 320 E3 Mini Ram to the product family.

The new Ram Claw set is designed to support “cross-ramming,” a technique used to push deformed body panels out of the way, clearing room for patient extrication from vehicles. It also provides increased surface area to ensure that material can be pushed away, rather than pierced, allowing for creation of an anchor point outside of standard push points.

The new R 320 E3 Mini Ram, which expands HURST Jaws of Life’s collection of E3 Ram offerings to three, allows first responders to create wide rescue openings in small places. The R 320 E3 Mini Ram is 13.39 inches long when retracted and extends to 25.2 inches. At just 29.32 pounds, it’s easy to maneuver and is quieter than any HURST Jaws of Life Ram.

Launched in 2021, E3 takes HURST Jaws of Life’s battery-powered extrication tools and makes them faster, and operational in both fresh and saltwater. Included on all E3 tools, the R 320 E3 features a smart tool dashboard providing the tool operator with live, visual and easy-to-see tool feedback. The dashboard includes a power level indicator, which alerts the user to real-time power level, and a battery charge status indicator, ensuring the operator is aware of runtime in real time.

IDEX Fire & Safety includes Akron Brass, Alco, AWG, Captium, Class1, Dinglee, Godiva, Hale, HURST, LUKAS, Vetter, and Weldon.