About Us
The yellow, 12-pound Mary A hammer was invented by Doug Meadows in 1997. Doug came from a background in both drilling and pump maintenance. He valued the necessity of a well-made sturdy tool and wanted to invent a product that helped city workers all year round in any type of weather condition. He named it after his wife, Mary A. Meadows. He has been quoted to say, “I named the hammer after the meanest person I know.” This was a long-standing joke in our family for many years, and we all got great joy watching Doug and Mary bicker at one another. He did admit that giving a “man’s tool” a woman’s name created some flak from the industry, so he also called the hammer the Rhino because the head of the extractor looks like a rhinoceros horn.
In 2005, Doug’s son, Kent Meadows, retired after being a police officer for 20 years. Kent also spent his days in high school working in the oil field with Doug. When Kent came on board, he noticed a trend – some cities were not able to use the Mary A due to the pick design, so Kent wanted to invent a hammer that could fit into any lid opening. This is how the second hammer was born and named after his son, Jake. The Jake hammer weighs 4lbs less than the Mary A and is painted in chartreuse green for high visibility. On a weekly basis, there was great debate and taunting over which hammer sold the best for that month.
In 2021, Doug passed away leaving behind an incredible legacy. Ashley Meadows, Kent’s wife, retired from healthcare and stepped in to assist Kent with the family business. Today, our company is family-owned and family-run in Texas.
The hammers have been sold nationwide and in Canada and are used in numerous fields with many applications.
