Firefighters put themselves in harm’s way every day, trusting that the gear they wear will protect them. That gear is made right here in Medina! All the clothing a firefighter wears must be flame and water resistant, flexible so they can move and do the work they need to do and help keep them cool while they are working. It is a serious challenge to meet those needs and the people who work at Fire-Dex are all aware of how important their jobs are. Much of the sewing still needs to be done by hand and when a uniform comes in for cleaning and repair, they are inspected by people to make sure they are returned in like-new condition. Protecting firefighters all over the world starts at Fire-Dex!

We need to find new associates who understand the importance of what we do, have an interest in learning, and will be here every day. Finding those individuals has been challenging with the demographics of Northeast Ohio so we have expanded to other facilities. We have much better luck hiring in North Carolina and Mexico.

Most of our customers are located in the United States, with our largest markets being in South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Additionally, Canada, South America, and the Middle East are growing markets for our products. Due to the unique nature of our materials, we source them from various locations across the United States to ensure the highest quality in all our offerings.

We have all LED lighting in our facility, and we try to recycle everything possible. The challenge is our materials are specialized and not just cloth, so we need to find ways to recycle, which in some cases isn’t possible. Still, we are trying to find ways to do better for the environment.

In our business our customers are generally governmental agencies. They have special processes they must follow, and we have to work with sunshine laws which determine what communications with a government agency are public records. A public record means someone from the public can request the information. 

We post our positions online and look for referrals. We work with a variety of agencies and social service organizations to bring people to us because our culture is welcoming, fun, and positive, and we train all our associates so they can do their best.

Why do people like to work here?

We highly value the opinions of our associates. Through our Opportunity for Improvement system, associates can document ideas for improvement, and we typically implement about 70% of the submitted ideas. When individuals are aware that their opinions are valued, they are more likely to share them. Additionally, we collectively understand the importance of our work and collaborate to ensure the highest quality. Knowing that your coworkers support you, there is a strong motivation to be present and perform well on the job.