Fire Hosetech was started in April 1991 by Derek Coultherd following almost 20 years at Angus Fire Armour – as it then was.  Specialising in hose repairs and equipment servicing from the very beginning, it has steadily grown over the years becoming the leading hose testing and repair service used by the UK’s professional firefighters and being appointed as Angus Fire’s “official hose repair partner” when they moved away from that sector of the market.

Joined by his son Barry in 2002, the expansion of the business started in earnest from this date.  Barry put his experience gained at Rolls Royce’s aero engine factory in Barnoldswick to good use helping to improve testing techniques as well as starting to develop the hardware testing side of the business.

Using their expertise in the industry and their excellent contacts allowed them to begin helping customers to source equipment from all over the UK and Europe and this supply side is now a very significant part of the business.

In 2008 at the time of Derek’s retirement, the opportunity arose to purchase the Stenor Merlin company and production was shifted from Clun to the company HQ in Settle, N. Yorks later the same year.  Fire Hosetech manufacture the vulcanising machines and repair patches that enable damaged fire hoses to be returned to full working condition for a fraction of the cost of a new hose.  Whilst many customers in the UK prefer to have Fire Hosetech to carry out the actual repairs for them, some still do the work themselves and the technology has been exported to every continent with the exception of Antarctica!

With the expansion of the Management Team in 2014 and then again in 2018 there is now almost 85 years of combined experience in the fire industry covering purchasing, sales, quality, marketing, manufacturing and service roles as well as practical fire-fighting/management experience in the Fleet Air Arm and UK Airports.  Backed by an excellent team of office and engineering staff, this breadth of experience makes Fire Hosetech ideally suited to both understand and meet the customer’s needs.

From their start, FHT have constantly sought to expand and grow their business in a controlled and sustainable way and in recent years established a division to carry out testing and maintenance services on PFD’s, inflatable life jackets and hose inflation kits as well as supplying new equipment if required.  The most recent additions to the product range has been the UK distributorship for the Reveal FirePRO Thermal Imaging Camera and the in-house development of the new FHT Minijector based around the old AWG unit but brought up to date.

Currently, Fire Hosetech employ a total of 12 people and are responsible for the testing and/or repair of somewhere between 60–70% of the hoses being used by the country’s professional firefighters - both layflat and high pressure hose reel hoses.  In addition they test and repair many of the same brigades’ waterway equipment and suction hoses as well supplying a wide range of products from their extensive stock.