July 25, 2019

By Guy Jones

TRUSSVILLE, ALA. — Since 1971, Amerex has provided the highest quality fire protection products. Deep relationships with our customers give us the insight to innovate and provide end users with the solutions they need.

Every extinguisher, no matter how well manufactured, is vulnerable to corrosive elements, such as salt air in coastal installations over a long period of time. These environments can cause significant structural damage to a regular fire extinguisher, impairing its functionality and potentially making its use hazardous to the operator. Now, Amerex is leading the way again. We’re pleased to introduce an exciting innovation to our High-Performance line — the new Z-Series featuring corrosion resistant paint that employs an advanced zinc rich primer.

Z-Series meets the challenge presented by corrosive environments like those found on oil and gas platforms and in refineries, mines or waste management facilities. It’s our most resilient unit yet, capable of withstanding harsh industrial environments where traditional extinguisher cylinder integrity could be compromised by corrosion, and it meets the standard set by our High-Performance product line over 20 years ago. In fact, it’s the only unit on the market that’s been UL verified to withstand 12 years of simulated severe salt corrosion.

Our Research and Development team devoted thousands of hours to the design, testing and implementation of the new zinc rich paint process. Thanks to their exemplary work, the Z-Series line boasts:

  • Best-in-class corrosion resistance and improved longevity.
  • Improved environmental impact compared to galvanized units.
  • Shorter lead times.
  • Smoother finish than galvanized units.
  • The highest achievable UL rating, comparable to our other High-Performance extinguishers.
  • Severe corrosion tested in accordance with ISO 21207.
  • The only UL verified extinguisher to withstand 12 years of simulated exposure to severely corrosive chloride ions, which are present in the salt air of marine environments, winter road de-icing salt and corrosive gases commonly produced from industrial or traffic air pollution.
  • Choice of ABC, Regular and Purple K chemicals.
  • Simple operation and maintenance.
  • Compliance Flow or Fast Flow discharge available.
  • A 15% price reduction from comparable High-Performance galvanized units.

We’re excited to provide this outstanding combination of features and value for our distributor partners to showcase to their customers. As the significant efforts made by our entire company to introduce this new product attest, Amerex is invested in providing the top solution on the market for harsh industrial settings.

Guy Jones is the Portable Extinguishers Product Manager for Amerex and has been a part of our team for 15 years. Previous to his current role, he worked in product development, advancing our products and innovating new products to meet customer and industry needs. Guy uses his vast product expertise and industry knowledge to position Amerex and its partners for long-term success.

About McWane Inc.

McWane, Inc. is a family-owned business based in Birmingham, Alabama, with companies across the U.S. and around the world. The McWane family of companies casts ductile iron products, including pipe, valves, hydrants, fittings and plumbing products, and manufactures fire extinguishers, fire suppression systems and steel pressure vessels. McWane is a leader in delivering clean, safe drinking water while focusing on safe, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. With more than 7,000 team members, McWane has a longstanding commitment of supporting the communities where our team members live and work. For more information, visit mcwane.com.