Since 1945

Engineering-backed filtration. Locally supported.

Hilco has been part of the Sample Brothers product line since day one. We represent them because the equipment holds up where it matters — in the field, under load, on schedule.

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120+

Years Hilco has engineered filtration

80+

Years we've represented them

Lab-backed

Fluid analysis and element testing

Same standards. Same side of the table.

We started with Hilco in 1945. The reason we still carry them hasn't changed.

We don't carry Hilco because they have a catalog. We carry them because they build filtration the same way we support it — engineering first, field-tested, accountable.

When Sample Brothers was founded in 1945, Hilco was one of the first lines we represented. That decision wasn't about filling a product sheet. Gus and Sam Sample knew the equipment from years of hands-on work with engines and rotating machinery. Hilco performed. It still does.

We verify cross-references, confirm fitment, and stay accountable through delivery. Hilco backs it with engineering discipline and lab services when the application demands proof instead of assumptions.

Hilco — over 120 years of filtration engineering

120+ years of filtration engineering. Hilco's heritage traces back to the early 1900s. Foundational equipment developed in the 1920s, refined across decades of industrial service. Design and testing are treated as engineering work — not marketing.

Small details. Big consequences.

What separates engineered filtration from commodity replacements.

Every filter element eventually gets replaced. The question is whether it performed correctly while installed. Hilco builds cartridges to hold geometry, maintain seal integrity, and deliver predictable pressure drop — not just pass through a housing.

Pleat geometry

Competitor element Sharp, irregular pleat folds. Under flow, fluid pressure forces pleats against the center tube — grinding and shearing the media. Shortened life. Early bypass.

Hilco — uniform controlled-radius pleating

Hilco element Uniform controlled-radius pleats. Full media utilization. Consistent geometry under operating pressure.

Construction & seal integrity

Competitor — poor element support structure

Competitor construction Loose media support. Premature fatigue. Early bypass risk under differential pressure.

Hilco construction Precision pleat support. Controlled spacing maintained across full element length.

Endcap seal — cross-section

An element can have perfect media and still fail at the seal. The top cross-section shows Brand X — incomplete bonding, visible gaps at the media-to-endcap interface. Below it: Hilco's full-contact bonded seal with uniform endcap coverage. No bypass path. No guessing.

Ambient

Competitor elements have nothing between the media and internal structure. Fluid pressure pushes pleats directly against the center tube — sharp edges shred the media from the inside out.

Hilco's Ambient jacket sits between the flow and the element, diffusing pressure evenly across the full pleat pack. Media stays intact, geometry holds, and the element delivers its rated service life.

Outer protective jacket — diffuses flow

Non-metallic — no sharp edges to damage media

Fits snugly around the element under pressure

Irregular pleats reduce effective filter area, cause channeling, and shorten service life. Controlled-radius pleating combined with sealed endcaps and the Ambient jacket keeps pressure drop predictable and media working across the full element.

Center tube

Backbone of the cartridge.

The center tube carries the full structural load of the element. Hilco doesn't cut corners here.

100 PSID working pressure rated

Plated for corrosion resistance

Spiral seam quadruples wall thickness

Maximum strength at minimum weight

Hilco center tube — spiral seam construction