In 1969 Michael C. Palmer was a carpet cleaner. After seeing a crude homemade truckmount put together by a cleaner, Mike told himself that he could do it better. Starting in his garage, he set out to do just that. His training as a jet engine mechanic in the military and natural born talent were his only assets to begin with. His first machine was so good, a friend asked him to build one for him. After a while, Mike had so many people wanting machines that he started hiring his neighbors to help and thus HydraMaster Began in 1971. 39 years later, HydraMaster is a multimillion dollar corporation with 150 employees and 90 representatives worldwide.
Mike Palmer cannot directly be credited with the invention of the truckmount, but he can be acknowledged as one of the first to make a business of manufacturing and selling truckmounts all over the U.S. This revolutionary new mobile cleaning system changed carpet cleaning forever. Cleaners now had the heat they needed to do heavily soiled carpets. Large recovery tanks alleviated the necessity for continual dumping of waste water associated with smaller portable units. The high pressures and positive vacuum made the truckmounted carpet cleaning systems an instant success.
Mike visited many areas of the country promoting his product. He met and consulted with many other cleaners, manufacturers and educators in the industry. HydraMaster Corporation joined with other manufacturers in bringing education and training to the cleaners through early 70’s programs like the “Innovators” and “Motivators”. It was through such programs that many people were introduced to the equipment and given the training they needed to successfully operate it. In a way, these early seminars encouraged the gathering of cleaners to share information and helped establish the need for local associations to continue the education, training and standards to meet the explosive growth that the industry experienced.
Then rotary extraction was born…
In the early 80’s, Mike and HydraMaster again revolutionized the carpet cleaning industry through the invention of a new cleaning process called “Rotary Extraction” and the manufacture of a product using the process called the RX-20. This amazing new unit was a combination of the old shampooers and extractors that many carpet cleaners favored. The RX-20 combined the rotary agitation and the extraction of the two methods. This new tool reduced the amount of time and effort required to clean carpets. In fact, scientific studies on the various methods to clean carpets proved that when used with a truckmount, an RX-20 cleaned better than any other method, technique or process. Thus the RX-20 not only made the work easier, but improved the quality of workmanship for the consumer.
Rotary extraction has now established itself as a recognized method for enhancing an extraction machine, whether truckmounted or portable. The process is in use by approximately 10,000 cleaners the world over.