Since FIRE CHIEF spoke with John Stevenson, president of American LaFrance, in August, DaimlerChrysler's Freightliner LLC sold the American LaFrance business unit to the New York-based investment firm of Patriarch Partners LLC. Stevenson provides an update on the future of one of America's largest and oldest fire apparatus manufacturers.

What will Patriarch Partners be able to do for American LaFrance?

They bring a great deal of enthusiasm to the company, as well as a drive to have us seek new accounts and implement new approaches to the business. Because of the nature of Freightliner's core business, we were somewhat limited in what we could do before. Patriarch Partners will bring new capital, expertise and direction to help us grow.

American LaFrance has had six presidents in 10 years. Will you remain as president of the company under the new ownership?

Yes. I will remain, as will a majority of the upper management. We will be adding some talented people from outside the company as we move forward, but most of the American LaFrance management team will stay in place. I am devoted to American LaFrance and feel that the possibilities with the new owners are so great that I am staying.

Will American LaFrance keep all of their related companies, such as LTI?

The American LaFrance business unit includes the LTI, Snorkel and Aerial Innovations aerial product built in Ephrata, Pa.; the MedicMaster line of ambulances and RescueMaster line of rescues built in Sanford, Fla.; and the Condor line of low cab-forward refuse chassis. It also includes the R.D. Murray production facility in Hamburg, N.Y., where they build formed stainless-steel bodies with FRP exterior surface panels and the Becker facility in Casper, Wyo., where they build extruded aluminum bodies. We also have a custom chassis plant at Jedburg, S.C., and five wholly owned dealerships. All of these companies, plants and dealerships will continue to operate as part of American LaFrance.

Do you plan to move any of your production facilities?

The sales agreement allows us to continue to manufacture and install our custom cabs and formed aluminum bodies in portions of the DaimlerChrysler Freightliner facility in Ladson, S.C., until mid-2007. We will also maintain our headquarters at this location. We are currently looking for a new site in the tri-county area for those operations and will probably relocate before that time. The other facilities will stay where they are.

Many current American LaFrance dealers are also Freightliner dealers. Will the sale affect your dealer network?

We currently have 38 dealers, including the five wholly owned dealer outlets. We expect to keep all of them and further strengthen our dealer base in the future. Since the announcement of the sale, we have heard from several of our dealers, and they all expressed their support for the change and are positive about the future of American LaFrance.

What new products can customers expect from American LaFrance in the future?

We introduced a steady stream of new products during 2005, including our Liberty Series of value-priced program apparatus, our independent front suspension, roll stability control system and enclosed cab-mounted pump panel. Fueled by the strength gained through our new partners, we expect to continue that trend in 2006 with new product announcements at FDIC in April and throughout the rest of the year.

New engine emission standards for 2007 are expected to require major changes to diesel engines. What steps are you taking at American LaFrance to prepare for the new engines?

The 2007 engines will certainly present some design challenges for vehicle manufacturers including the need for new cooling systems, the addition of particulate filters and other changes. American LaFrance has been working closely with all of the engine manufacturers to prepare for these changes and we are currently running 2007 test engines as part of that effort. We are also one of the few apparatus manufacturers to continually update our customers on the new engines through an ongoing series of bulletins to our dealers.

American LaFrance built a lot of apparatus on Freightliner commercial chassis in the past. What relationship will American LaFrance have with Freightliner in the future?

Part of the sales agreement was that American LaFrance needed to have a positive relationship with Freightliner to be successful in the future. We will continue to offer apparatus built on Freightliner commercial chassis as part of our product line. The new arrangement gives us the best of DaimlerChrysler's products plus the flexibility offered by the new owners.

Any final thoughts on the future of American LaFrance?

When I took over as president of American LaFrance, I had three major goals. The first was to improve the quality of our products, and we've done that. I continue to perform surprise quality audits on apparatus coming out of our plants, and everyone knows I'm serious about keeping quality high. We've made a lot of internal changes to make sure that our apparatus maintain high standards of fit, finish and function.

Second, I wanted to significantly improve our productivity and decrease our delivery times, and we've done that too. Excessive backlogs and late deliveries are a thing of the past.

Third, and perhaps most important, I wanted to return American LaFrance to its traditional position as a leader in the fire apparatus market. With the help of our new partners, we are now in a position to achieve that goal as well.