Company Name: Mark-A-Hydrant
Headquarters: Allentown, PA
Signature Product: Mark-A-Hydrant®
Website: mark-a-hydrant.com/
Intro: It’s been said that the “simplest solution is very often the best solution.” That notion wasn’t lost on the folks at Mark-A-Hydrant. That’s why their product is not only effective, but extremely simple.
What was the inspiration behind starting your company?
Like all successful products, they have to fill a need – the need to be able to find hydrants and identify flow-rate - quickly, day-or-night, is very real. Any firefighter will tell you, that wasting time locating hydrants, with the appropriate flow-rate, is contrary to their mission of protecting lives and property.
Why do you believe your products are essential to the fire community?
As a firefighter, I know what it’s like to search for, and not be able to locate a hydrant — especially at night. When visibility is poor, you need your lights to reflect back quickly and brightly. Mark-A-Hydrant® reflectors do just that! Lives and property are at risk and when you’ve been tasked with hooking to a hydrant, nobody wants to hear that you can’t find it. They only want to know you’re ready to flow water, when called upon to do so.
What has been the biggest challenge your company has faced?
Our biggest challenge is getting the word out! When we get our product in the hands of fire professionals, and they put it on a hydrant, the response is always glowing. Mark-A-Hydrant® reflectors do exactly what they are intended to do, and seeing is believing.
What makes your company unique?
Our product’s visibility, simplicity and effectiveness. There are hundreds of hydrant markers on the market, but none of them bring the same level of visibility and identification as ours does. It marks the hydrant – not a spot in the road. Its shape makes it clear that it is a hydrant. The NFPA 291 color-coding lets firefighters know if the flow will be sufficient, and nothing installs faster!
What do your customers like best about you and your products?
They love the visibility. The number of times we have people come up to us and tell us “we could see them from blocks away” is impressive. That’s why almost 50 percent of our customers are repeat customers.
What is the most rewarding part of serving the first responder community?
Every time we do a trade show or get the opportunity to speak with customers about how effective our product is. It never gets old and nothing beats it.
Is there any fun fact or trivia that you’d like to share with our users about you or your company?
Mark-A-Hydrant® has been around for seven years, we’re in almost all 50 states, but our biggest customer is a regional government in Canada. The state with the most customers is Louisiana!
What’s next for your company? Any new upcoming projects or initiatives?
Stay tuned! We have some line extensions in the works.
