Red Head Brass

What Red Head Brass does

Red Head Brass LLC, headquartered at 643 Legion Drive, Shreve, Ohio, is a precision manufacturer of couplings, adapters, nozzles, water delivery systems, and hand tools serving the North American firefighting, emergency-response, industrial, and oil & gas markets. Founded in 1972 around the substitution of aluminum for brass in firefighting hardware, the company has built a 50+-year product line across aluminum and brass couplings (expansion ring, Storz, Kwik-Tach reattachable, Rib-Lok suction, Bar-Way booster, and large-diameter oil & gas), adapters, caps and plugs, elbows, valves, and wyes, discharge pipes, hydrant and dry-hydrant hardware, spanner and hydrant wrenches, gauges, expander machines, hose cutters, and forged hand tools (Halligan bars, axes, sledges, pike poles, roof hooks). The company holds two relevant industrial-design patents — on the Hy-D Mass Decontamination Nozzle and the SpeedSwivel FDC Adapter, the latter exclusively manufactured under a 2023 arrangement.

The company's core technology is materials- and process-driven rather than digital: hardcoat anodizing to MIL-A-8625 Type III Class 1 as a standard finish, seamless extruded 6061-T6 aluminum (ASTM B221) for couplings and adapters, forged Storz heads to SAE-AMS-QQ-A-367 and ASTM B247 for DIN compliance, and stainless steel ball bearings or aluminum roller bearings in swivels meeting A-A-59227A. Finished SKUs carry third-party validations including FM Approvals, ULC listings, NFPA 1963/1962 conformance, USDA Forest Service spec, FEMA equipment approval (Hy-D), and a Department of Homeland Security responder-knowledge-base listing. All extrusions, forgings, castings, machining, assembly, and anodizing are performed domestically.

Red Head Brass is a privately held LLC with no disclosed outside investment or parent company. The company sells exclusively through a network of distributors and resellers across the U.S. and Canada, with a locator portal searchable by zip code or state/province and a separate distributor login portal; it does not transact directly with end users and does not publicly disclose pricing. Customer-facing demand generation is light, relying on the website, LinkedIn and Facebook pages, FEMSA membership, and a downloadable catalog PDF, with no evidence of paid acquisition, app distribution, or AI/ML-driven product features.

Name

Red Head Brass

Legal name

Red Head Brass LLC

Website

https://redheadbrass.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Red Head Brass is a Shreve, Ohio-based precision manufacturer of hardcoat-anodized aluminum and brass firefighting couplings, adapters, nozzles, water-delivery systems, and forged hand tools, sold exclusively through U.S. and Canadian distributors to fire departments and oil & gas operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Shreve

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Firefighting Couplings, Adapters, Nozzles: Red Head Brass manufactures and sells a comprehensive line of firefighting hose couplings, adapters, nozzles, and accessories. Revenue is generated through the sale of these physical products, sold exclusively through distributor channels. Products span aluminum, brass, and stainless steel materials across multiple connection types (NH, NST, NPSH, Storz, Cam & Groove, British Instantaneous).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Red Head Brass LLC manufactures and sells firefighting hose couplings, adapters, nozzles, and water delivery systems, along with a patented mass decontamination nozzle and hand tools. Products are fabricated primarily from hardcoat anodized 6061-T6 seamless extruded aluminum, with select brass and stainless steel components, and are made entirely in the USA from US-sourced raw materials. The company serves fire departments, emergency response, industrial, and oil & gas customers exclusively through a distributor network.

Product overview

Red Head Brass LLC is a manufacturer of high-quality firefighting equipment, established in 1972, offering a comprehensive product portfolio for emergency response, industrial, and oil and gas industries. The company's offerings are centered around four core product families: couplings (including aluminum, brass, Storz quick-connect, Kwik-Tach reattachable, Rib-Lok suction, Bar-Way booster, and large diameter oil and gas couplings), adapters (aluminum, brass, Storz, and oil and gas configurations), nozzles and water delivery systems (including the patented Hy-D Mass Decontamination Nozzle and SpeedSwivel FDC Adapter), and hand tools (Halligan bars, axes, sledges, pike poles, roof hooks). Supporting these core lines are accessories including caps/plugs, elbows/wyes/valves, tools/gauges, strainers, mounting plates, and replacement parts. All products are manufactured in the USA from US-sourced materials, with aluminum components hardcoat anodized to MIL-A-8625 Type III, Class 1 specifications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SpeedSwivel FDC Adapter Patented adapter solution for firefighters to connect to Fire Department Connections (FDC) when brass swivels are stolen or missing. Features hard coat anodized aluminum components tested at 1000 psi static pressure, compliant with NFPA 1962.
• Hy-D Mass Decontamination Nozzle Revolutionary hydrant mass decontamination nozzle with patent D 557,376 S. Listed on Department of Homeland Security responder knowledge base and FEMA approved for gross decontamination application. Low-cost alternative for mass shower decontamination with single-person installation capability.
• Aluminum Expansion Ring Couplings

Quantifiable outcome

• Hy-D nozzle weight: 4 lbs; Hy-D Kit weight: 13 lbs — lightweight for easy single-person deployment
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FEMSA (Fire Equipment Manufacturers and Suppliers Association)coreOthersRed Head Brass is a member of FEMSA, the Fire Equipment Manufacturers and Suppliers Association. FEMSA membership indicates participation in the fire equipment industry trade association for standards, advocacy, and industry collaboration.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dixon Valve & Coupling: Large manufacturer of industrial hose couplings, adapters, fittings, and fluid handling products, including firefighting and oil & gas SKUs. Direct peer for Red Head's oil & gas/large-diameter coupling and adapter lines — Dixon is much larger, but its industrial catalog overlaps significantly on Storz and layflat hose fittings.
• Task Force Tips: U.S. manufacturer of firefighting nozzles, monitors, valves, and foam proportioning equipment. Direct peer — overlaps with Red Head Brass on nozzles, discharge pipes, and water delivery systems, and sells through the same distributor network to fire departments.
• Elkhart Brass Manufacturing: Manufacturer of firefighting nozzles, monitors, valves, and apparatus hardware used by municipal and industrial fire departments. Direct peer — competes with Red Head Brass's nozzles, discharge pipes, valves, and adapters in the same spec-driven U.S. fire equipment channel.
• Kochek Company: Manufacturer of fire hose accessories, strainers, hydrant adapters, valves, and water flow products for firefighting and industrial markets. Direct peer — overlaps with Red Head Brass's couplings, adapters, dry hydrant, and water delivery product lines and serves overlapping fire/industrial distributor channels.
• Snap-tite (Dover Precision Components): Manufacturer of quick-connect/disconnect couplings and valves for fluid handling, including fire/rescue and industrial hose applications. Direct peer — competes with Red Head Brass's Storz and Kwik-Tach quick-connect couplings and shares the industrial/fire distributor channel, but operates at much larger scale as part of Dover.
• Akron Brass: A leading U.S. manufacturer of firefighting water delivery products including monitors, nozzles, valves, and electronic waterflow systems. Direct peer — competes with Red Head Brass in the same fire department specification-driven fittings and water-delivery category, with overlapping distributor channels.

Broad incumbents

• OPW (Dover): Manufacturer of fluid handling products including industrial couplings, fittings, and valves for petroleum, chemical, and industrial markets. Broad incumbent — overlaps with Red Head Brass's oil & gas and large-diameter coupling/adapter lines as part of Dover's portfolio, with much greater scale and global reach.
• Hale Products (IDEX Fire & Safety/Diversified): Manufacturer of fire pumps, foam systems, and electronic controls for fire apparatus, part of IDEX's fire and safety portfolio. Broad incumbent — addresses an adjacent fire-truck-mounted product category (pumps, controls) that complements rather than directly competes with Red Head Brass's fittings, but competes for the same apparatus OEM slot.
• Rosenbauer International: Global manufacturer of firefighting vehicles, fire suppression systems, and firefighting equipment. Broad incumbent — competes indirectly through its apparatus OEM relationships, which can specify fittings from Red Head Brass or its competitors, and exerts pricing/specification pressure on niche U.S. fittings suppliers.

Regional players

• Angus Fire: UK-based global manufacturer of fire hose, foam, and firefighting equipment with a strong presence outside North America. Regional/international player — comparable to Red Head Brass in couplings and hose accessories, but primarily competes in EMEA and Asia rather than directly in the U.S./Canada distributor channel.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/redheadbrass
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/red-head-brass-llc

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Red Head Brass