Latest news with #Tremain
Chicago Tribune
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
Column: With firefighting helicopter refill pump, Plano company can claim ‘coolest thing made in Illinois'
MTH Pumps, which makes its products in a non-descript metal building in Plano, may not sound like that cool of a company. But the aerial firefighting helicopter refill pump that's produced there has just been named 'The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois,' an award presented recently by Gov. JB Pritzker during a ceremony at the Governor's Mansion in Springfield, which was hosted by the Illinois Manufacturers' Association and sponsored by Comcast Business. Out of more than 250 entries, the MTH pump received the most of the 411,000 votes that were cast through the eight- week competition, according to an Illinois Manufacturers' Association press release. Just as the name implies, the pump is designed to reduce the refill time of helicopter-based water tanks from over a minute to as little as 30 seconds, increasing the number of water drops that aerial firefighters can place on a wildfire. Which, of course, improves chances of slowing or stopping the flames from spreading; When wildfires in California left a trail of destruction, noted the press release, 'MTH Pumps helped by providing more rapid and reliable water access for the aerial firefighters.' Battling hot blazes is indeed pretty cool. But what I also found interesting after talking to Tim Tremain, president of MTH, is that the Plano facility has been making this product for nearly two decades – after a Washington state company asked for a faster pump to battle wildfires – and engineering manager Greg Rittgers accepted the challenge. Which leads to an obvious question: What took so long for the 2025 winner of this bracketed Makers Madness contest to take home the cool prize? Turns out it all comes down to timing – and marketing. In the first five years the Illinois Manufacturers' Association has been sponsoring this competition – Caterpillar's mining truck was a previous champ – MTH always submitted one of its top-selling pumps and 'the product we want to grow, which is used by data centers to save energy when air conditioners are running in those massive buildings.' Sounds practical, for sure. Still, the coolest thing about that pump is the temperature it helps control. Firefighting, however, is a whole different story. Indeed, battling wildfires has been in the news in a spectacular way, particularly in the Los Angeles area, where nearly three weeks of blazes in January killed more than two dozen people and destroyed more than 18,000 homes and structures. Even though the firefighting pump is not MTH's main product – less than 200 have been sold in 20 years – Tremain and his top people figured 'why not give it a shot' in this sixth annual contest. Things really fell into place, he added, when Dart Aerospace, a helicopter company that uses these Plano-built pumps, was praised by L.A. firefighters for the product's impact on the critical job they performed this year. Tremain's marketing crew not only called upon West Coast firefighters to support the MTH entry in this coolest-thing contest, 'we tapped into other firefighters,' including those in Illinois, he said, estimating that of the 6,000 votes cast for the top four finalists, 'we got about 1,600 … 52 more' than the second place finisher. 'I even had my dental office voting for me,' Tremain quipped. In all seriousness, the MTH president's main purpose for entering the contest was to help employees understand the importance of the work they do day in and day out. 'Traditionally, we run under the radar,' he said, noting this was a big win for small businesses. 'When people drive by, they only see a non-descript metal building, not a company with the most advanced manufacturing equipment in the country right here in Plano. 'Because we are always looking for new employees – and looking to grow – it's nice to have people start recognizing the good things we are doing over there.' What's also really cool? His father Dave Tremain, a mechanical engineer who started the company back in 1965 with that first drawing of a pump, is 93 years old but still comes to work every day. After the elder Tremain retired and turned the company over to his son, an electrical engineer, he 'got bored and started a couple more businesses,' said Tim, who describes his father as 'the real entrepreneur.' Tremain still thinks 'the data center pump is a cool story,' noting that it can also cross over to medical pumps which are part of incubators and MRI machines. 'Those are saving lives too,' he pointed out. 'But helicopters dropping water on wildfires … that makes for a lot better video.'
Associated Press
10-02-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Organ donations in Indiana reach record high in 2024
Indiana Donor Network coordinates 1,388 donated organs, saving 1,216 lives 'We're setting higher goals, knowing that we have not yet reached the full extent of the impact we can make. We continue to push boundaries and find new ways to save and heal more lives than before.' — Kellie Tremain, president and CEO, Indiana Donor Network INDIANAPOLIS, IN, UNITED STATES, February 10, 2025 / / -- Indiana Donor Network, the federally designated organ recovery organization that coordinates organ, tissue and cornea donation in Indiana and transplantation throughout the U.S., transplanted 1,388 donated organs in 2024, saving 1,216 lives. The milestone is a new high for transplanted organ donations in the 38-year history of Indiana Donor Network and represents a 22.4% increase in annual transplants compared to 2023, when 1,134 were successfully performed, which was a record at the time. 'As we look ahead to 2025, we are setting even higher goals, knowing that we have not yet reached the full extent of the impact we can make,' said President and CEO Kellie Tremain. 'We will continue to push boundaries and find new ways to save and heal more lives than ever before.' Also last year, 1,592 tissue and cornea donors resulted in 17,360 tissues recovered by Indiana Donor Network to help save and heal lives and restore sight, a 14.3% increase from 2023 and another annual record in tissue recovery for the organization. Organ donation in Indiana has trended upward since 2016, when 606 lifesaving organs were transplanted. The number of organ transplants in the state has risen each year – 2017 (620), 2018 (634), 2019 (665), 2020 (857), 2021 (932), 2022 (972) and 2023 (1,134). Other major milestones achieved by Indiana Donor Network in 2024: – Provided programs, grief and counseling services, and support to 2,815 family members of organ and tissue donors. – Signed up more than 1.1 million Indiana residents to be organ and tissue donors; today, more than 4.6 million Hoosiers have made a choice to save lives through donation. – Managed 375 dedicated advocates who volunteered more than 17,000 hours. – Led 1,300 school and community presentations, reaching more than 318,000 Hoosiers throughout the state. – Generated more than $210,000 in net proceeds from four fundraising events to support Indiana Donor Network Foundation and its mission to provide financial assistance and support for organ transplant recipients, those waiting for a lifesaving transplant and donor families. – Grew staff to 359 employees statewide, creating its largest staff since the organization was founded in 1987. 'We achieve our mission through the generosity of donor heroes and their families who say 'yes' to lifesaving donation,' Tremain said. 'To maximize these gifts, our organization has grown in many ways. We expanded our team with more hospital liaisons and donor referral coordinators. 'We have a more specialized staff today as we have brought many services in house, including our own biopsy lab and ambulance service, which improve our efficiencies,' she continued. 'We also broadened our donation eligibility requirements, which allows more Hoosiers to be lifesaving organ donors.' More than 48,000 organ transplants were performed in the U.S. in 2024. More than 103,000 people are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, including more than 1,300 Indiana residents. Every day, 17 people die waiting while every 8 minutes, another person is added to the list. One organ donor can save eight lives. One tissue donor can heal more than 75 others. One cornea donor can restore sight to two people. Despite age or medical history, anyone can sign up to be an organ donor. There are four ways that Hoosiers can sign up to become an organ donor: – They can say 'yes' when conducting business at their local Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch. – They can sign up online at – They can say 'yes' when they apply online for a hunting, fishing or trapping license through the state Department of Natural Resources. – They can sign up when applying for or renewing their professional license to work in Indiana through the state's Professional Licensing Agency. – They can say 'yes' through the Health app on their iPhone or iPad. Duane Brodt +1 317-222-3436 X LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Other Legal Disclaimer:
