Holmatro

Holmatro
Company typePrivate
IndustryIndustrial equipment
FoundedNetherlands (1967 (1967))
Headquarters
Raamsdonksveer
,
Netherlands
ProductsHydraulic industrial and rescue equipment
Websitewww.holmatro.com

Holmatro is an international company producing hydraulic equipment and systems for industrial applications and emergency services using hydraulic rescue tools. Headquartered in the Netherlands, it was founded in 1967 to supply hydraulic equipment to the shipbuilding industry.[1] Holmatro has branches in the US and China, as well as a worldwide dealer network. Its American branch, Holmatro USA, began in 1984 as a one-man sales office, followed in 1988 by a manufacturing and distribution facility near Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Glen Burnie, Maryland.[2] At the time, the privately-owned company had $15-20 million in worldwide sales and 100 employees.[3]

Between 1996 and 2018, the company had a sponsorship arrangement with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar.[4] The Holmatro Safety Team performed extrication using their rescue tools and included emergency medical treatment personnel for American open-wheel car racing events nationwide.[1][5] The Team, acclaimed for its extrication expertise, travels around the US for every IndyCar race and has demonstrated the techniques used at car racing trade shows.[6][7] IndyCar racer James Hinchcliffe praised the Holmatro Safety Team for saving his life when he was impaled by his car and severely injured in a horrific crash on May 18, 2015, during an Indianapolis 500 practice run.[1][8][9] In the aftermath of the Hinchcliffe crash, IndyCar Track Safety personnel consulted with Holmatro for improved methods to cut through Zylon panels that had made the extrication more difficult, compared to ordinary steel or aluminum car bodies.[7] Since 2018, the IndyCar Safety Team has been sponsored by AMR, although Holmatro continues to provide the Team's rescue tools.[5]

Holmatro's hydraulically-powered spreaders and cutters are used by fire rescue services to extricate accident victims quickly from mangled vehicles.[10] Although sometimes colloquially called "jaws of life", that term is a registered trademark of Hurst, a North Carolina–based competitor making similar devices.[11] Automotive manufacturers provide information about the design of their products and materials used to the rescue tool makers. Holmatro, for example, provides a book to fire departments depicting the location of air bag and seat belt tensioners, which can otherwise hamper extrication efforts.[12] The company's representatives conduct demonstrations of their extrication tools for fire departments, using wrecked automobiles provided by insurance companies.[13]

  1. ^ a b c Smith, Steven Cole (May 20, 2015). "How IndyCar's Holmatro Safety Team works". motorsport.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Millersville plant". Baltimore Sun. August 26, 1988. p. E1.
  3. ^ Ragsdale, Rose (November 6, 1988). "Dutch firm looked all over, settled here". Baltimore Sun. p. B1.
  4. ^ Vaccaro, Bob (October 1, 2013). "Inside the Holmatro Safety Team". Firefighter Nation. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Bonkowski, Jerry (March 6, 2018). "AMR named new sponsor for INDYCAR Safety Team; Holmatro still involved". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  6. ^ Marot, Michael (May 28, 2016). "IndyCar drivers find comfort in having a reliable safety team". Rutland Herald. Associated Press. p. A9.
  7. ^ a b Robinson, Mark (December 24, 2015). "Holmatro Safety Team Works Continuously to Remain on 'Cutting' Edge". Indycar.com. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  8. ^ "Hinchcliffe pays tribute to Holmatro Safety Team that saved his life". Fox Sports. May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  9. ^ Miller, Robin; Pruett, Marshall (May 19, 2015). "Indy 500: Quick safety team response key in critical Hinchcliffe crash". Racer. Archived from the original on 2015-05-20. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  10. ^ "Rescue tool training". Daily American. Somerset, Pennsylvania. September 30, 1985. p. 1.
  11. ^ Morrow, Shayne (March 1, 2006). "New jaws for fire department". Alberni Valley Times. British Columbia, Canada. p. 1.
  12. ^ Quinn, Christopher (August 2, 2001). "Fire units beef up Jaws of Life". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. F5.
  13. ^ Emeigh, John Grant (August 20, 2010). "Responders learn extrication". The Montana Standard. p. A2 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon