How Yellow Jacket® Got it's Name

It all started back in 1946, when the late Jack Ritchie founded Ritchie Engineering Company in Minneapolis, MN as a fabrication/manufacturer’s representative organization. Jack worked hard and in 1949 he created a high-quality charging hose. Jack picked yellow for the color of the hose – which later became the industry standard for refrigerant. The color stuck with Jack and inspired the name YELLOW JACKET®. Today, that hose is known as the YELLOW JACKET® Charging Hose and remains the best-selling refrigeration recovery hose in the industry for 75 years.