Pierce Manufacturing is a U.S. company based in
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh)
is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...
that manufactures customized
fire and rescue apparatus and a wholly owned subsidiary of
Oshkosh Corporation
Oshkosh Corporation, formerly Oshkosh Truck, is an American industrial company that designs and builds specialty trucks, military vehicles, truck bodies, airport fire apparatus, and access equipment. The corporation also owns Pierce Manufact ...
. Pierce was acquired by Oshkosh in 1996 and is currently the largest fire apparatus company in the US. The company was founded in 1913 by Humphrey Pierce and his son Dudley as the Pierce Auto Body Works Inc., and concentrated on building custom truck bodies for the
Ford Model T. The first production facility was designed in 1917 and enlarged in 1918 by architect Wallace W. DeLong. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, Pierce was primarily known for building custom bodies on commercial and other manufacturer's custom chassis, and was considered an
original equipment manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
(OEM).
Although the ''Arrow'' name was used for its first custom chassis which debuted in 1979, the company has no affiliation with George N. Pierce's famous
Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company
The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...
of
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, which operated from 1901 to 1938. However, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company coincidentally supplied 8- and 12-cylinder engines to
Seagrave
Seagrave is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. It has a population of around 500, measured at the 2011 census as 546, It is north of Sileby and close to Thrussington and Barrow upon Soar.
Histo ...
for use in their fire apparatus. These engines continued to be made even after Pierce-Arrow ceased operation in 1938. Seagrave continued to deliver fire apparatus with the "Pierce-Arrow" V-12 until 1970.
Throughout the years, Pierce has had partnerships with various other manufacturers, notably when it came to aerial devices (it now engineers and builds all its own aerial devices in-house). Such aerial manufacturers included Snorkel, Pitman, Aerial Innovations (AI), Ladder Towers Incorporated (LTI), Smeal, Bronto Skylift and Nova Quintech (whose assets Pierce/Oshkosh acquired in 1997). In addition to its main facilities in Wisconsin, it also has facilities in
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698.
History
Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...
. The Florida facility is a manufacturing site for the custom Saber chassis and Responder line of apparatus. Currently (December 4, 2017) Pierce is the largest manufacturer of firefighting apparatus in the United States. End-users are represented across a larger majority of the planet, including China. The single largest municipal fleet of Pierce Manufacturing apparatus is located within the 407 square miles of Fairfax County, Virginia. (Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department)
In September 2021 Pierce acquires an ownership interest in fire engines manufacturer ''Boise Mobile Equipment (BME)'' of
Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...
.
Products
Custom chassis
Discontinued
![Huachuca City Fire - 2010-03-16 - 10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Huachuca_City_Fire_-_2010-03-16_-_10.jpg)
* Arrow (1980–2002)
* Contender (1999–2010)
* Dash (1984–1999)
* Dash D-8000 (1988–1992)
* Dash 2000 (1999–2007)
* Dash CF (2011–2020)
* Enforcer (2000–2007)(Reintroduced in 2014)
* Javelin (1990–1993)
* Lance (1985–1993)
* Lance II (1993–1999)
* Lance 2000 (1999–2007)
Commercial chassis
*
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
*
Freightliner
*
Kenworth
Kenworth Truck Company is an American truck manufacturer. Founded in 1923 as the successor to Gersix Motor Company, Kenworth specializes in production of heavy-duty ( Class 8) and medium-duty (Class 5–7) commercial vehicles. Headquartered in ...
*
International
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
*
Peterbilt
Peterbilt Motors Company is an American truck manufacturer. Established in 1939 from the acquisition of Fageol Truck and Motor Company, Peterbilt specializes in the production of heavy-duty ( Class 8) and medium-duty (Classes 5–7) commercia ...
Apparatus
* Rearmount and midmount steel
aerial ladders
* Rearmount aluminum aerial ladders
* Rearmount and midmount steel aerial platforms
* Rearmount aluminum aerial platforms
* Tractor drawn steel aerial ladders
* Telescoping and/or articulating water tower booms
* Standard and rescue midmount pumpers
* Standard and rescue rearmount pumpers
* Pumper-tankers/
tankers/tenders and elliptical tankers/tenders
* Mini pumpers
* Wildland/brush pumpers (Types 1 through 6)
* Walk-in and non-walk-in
heavy rescues
* Walk-in and non-walk-in medium rescues
* Walk-in and non-walk-in light rescues
* Homeland security vehicles
* Command, communication, and rehab vehicles
*
Foam proportioning systems
* Fire Patrol Trucks
Gallery
File:Rincon fire truck2.png, Engine 181 of the Rincon Fire Department
File:Engine 55.JPG, Engine 55 of the Greenfields Fire Co, PA. 1999 Pierce Quantum Pumper
File:Hillcrest NY 2002 Pierce Dash Midmount Platform.jpg, 6-Tower of the Hillcrest Fire Co. #1, NY. 2002 Pierce Dash 2000 95' Midmount Aerial Platform Quint
File:Fire Engine Clay Twp.jpg, Reserve Engine 249 of the Clay Fire Territory, IN. 1985 Pierce Dash Pumper
File:X-Ladder 1 105' Pierce Arrow.JPG, Reserve Ladder 18 serving the Lexington Fire Department, KY. Pierce Arrow 105' X-Ladder 1
File:Jackson FD Aerial 1 (1988-89) 105' Pierce Arrow.jpg, Aerial 1 serving the Jackson Fire Department, KY. 1988 Pierce Arrow 105' canopy cab
File:Crab Orchard FD Engine 14 (2006) Pierce Contender.JPG, Engine 14 serving the Crab Orchard Fire Department, KY. 2006 Pierce Contender custom cab
File:Stanton FD Engine 30 (2002) Pierce Contender-Freightliner.JPG, Engine 30 serving the Stanton Fire Department, KY. 2002 Pierce Contender-Freightliner crew cab
File:Jackson FD Engine 2 (2003) Pierce Contender-Kenworth C.JPG, Engine 2 serving the Jackson Fire Department, KY. 2003 Pierce Contender-Kenworth single cab
File:Morehead FD Engine 10 (2005) Pierce Enforcer.JPG, Engine 10 serving the Morehead Fire Department, KY. 2005 Pierce Enforcer with Roto Ray
File:Morehead FD Engine 8 (1993) Pierce Responder-International.JPG, Engine 8 serving the Morehead Fire Department, KY. 1993 Pierce Responder-International crew cab
File:West Liberty Engine 3 Pierce Responder.JPG, Engine 3 serving the West Liberty Fire Department, KY. 1993 Pierce Responder-International single cab
File:Morehead FD Engine 7 (1979) Pierce-Hendrickson.JPG, Engine 7 serving the Morehead Fire Department, KY. 1979 Pierce-Hendrickson custom cab
References
* Shapiro, L. ''Aerial Fire Trucks'', Motorbooks International, June 2002.
Company History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce Manufacturing
Manufacturing companies based in Wisconsin
Fire service vehicle manufacturers
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Wisconsin
Oshkosh Corporation
Truck manufacturers of the United States
Appleton, Wisconsin