John Sweezy Jr: This business was founded to provide the best available products and to take care of customers and service their needs. Originally, we only built the high-pressure Matjack airbags and learned through our endeavours in heavy industry such as structural and machinery moving, along with deep underground mining how to build the best, long-lasting airbags in the world.
As time has gone by, we have adapted and developed new equipment to help with the challenges faced by our customers who are adapting to new construction techniques and requirements. As the company grew throughout the 80s and 90s we added products and advanced our technology. Many of our products developed over the past decade are industry specific and job specific, so that makes installation of equipment or erection of beams and panels much easier.
As with any work or endeavour you come away with new knowledge on how products can be modified or improved to work more efficiently. As we worked to lift buildings, machinery or even bridge sections we found certain reinforcing materials worked better than others and, in some cases, different sizes were required, which led to the extensive line of Matjack products we build today. Today's Matjack airbags are designed to lift heavy weights with very little insertion height, and are available in 120psi/8 bar and 175psi/12 bar working air pressure.
The high-pressure bags are neoprene rubber reinforced with either steel or Kevlar cord and we offer a five-year unconditional warranty on these products. Matjack gives you the ability to get in tight spaces and lift loads to insert machinery skates, strapping or even larger hydraulic jacks if necessary.
"Many of our products developed over the past decade are industry specific and job specific, so that makes installation of equipment or erection of beams and panels much easier."
Over the years we have customised our product to meet the customer's specific requirements, whether that was an 'off the shelf' product or something specific. We have built bags for the oil and gas industry capable of working in extreme environments, from Antarctica to the tropics, from cleanroom environments to combat theatres and the ocean floor, all without failure. Matjack's low and medium-pressure cushions are used in just as many environments as the high-pressure bags. These cushions are a different style of product because they are made with neoprene rubber and Hypalon in the case of the low- pressure cushions, but Kevlar cord-reinforced neoprene with the medium-pressure cushions.
While they don't have the weightlifting capacity the high-pressure option affords, they allow for greater lift height. Medium-pressure cushions lift at 15psi/1 bar and low-pressure lift at 9psi/6 bar working air pressure. The two options equally provide a wide range of heights and weights depending on the customer's needs.
Matjack's underwater lift bags are used to support offshore work with recovery of sunken equipment, allowing for the maintenance of vessels without dry docking. The products are used extensively, as well as exclusively, by the US Navy for recovery support.
We will continue to stay true to the foundation we have built, endeavouring to satisfy the desires of our customers and help them meet their challenges with utmost success.
