Robert Bohn is the chief executive officer and former president of Pierce Manufacturing and ceo and president of Oshkosh Truck Corp. His office walls are covered with pictures of Oshkosh trucks: garbage trucks, heavy-duty construction trucks, military trucks from Operation Desert Storm and fire trucks.

Bohn talks enthusiastically about his "collection" of trucks, in particular the fire apparatus, and he's keen to cross new technology over from one industrial vehicle to the next. What's in Pierce's future? In Service asked.

IS: What do you feel was your most significant influence on Pierce when you served as president?

Bohn: John Randjelozic is the president and doing a splendid job, but I remain very active in Pierce with the dealer network we have and especially with talking to the customers that we have come through the plant.

One of the things I was very pleased to get going in the industry is achieving iso 9001. This is a process where you really look at everything from the material coming in the door, how you service the product, to what are your three-year and five-year business plans. What you say is what you must do, that's the simplicity of the system. I'm very proud that at Pierce Manufacturing, we are the only ones out there that are iso 9001 certified other than W.S. Darley, I believe.

Also, we started the Dash 2000, we secured the acquisition of Nova Quintech, which is an aerial manufacturer in Canada, and we implemented the Hawk Wildland Rapid Response vehicle specifically for Florida situations and fires out West. We also launched and completed the Elliptical Tanker, which is a new product line for us.

What was also interesting was the emphasis on the customer and customer service. The first thing I did at Pierce was to put in 24-hour, seven-day service and basically one call away. For example, our chief engineers carry beepers so that if a dealer needs to get hold of them for a situation in the field, we can reach these people immediately and get the unit running.

We put in 800 numbers for people to call toll-free. Some may not think it's a big deal, but we think it is. If you have a question or an issue, why should you pay for that call?

IS: What changed in the parts department handling a few years ago? Many maintenance people were upset with having to go through dealers instead of working with the factory.

Bohn: There was a mild mix-up three to four years ago, when we acquired Pierce, as to who to call. We wanted to make it clear to the customer that our dealer is there seven days, 24 hours to make sure your vehicle is up and running. We have 38 principals or dealers, and they are the primary source for representing our company. They provide parts and service, but also if somebody calls the factory direct, we'll get the parts out to them. If you have problems, call us and we will assist the dealer to get your vehicle in service, and that's what we put in place in September 1996.

IS: When you came to Pierce as president, you found numerous ways to reduce costs. How were these savings a benefit to your customer?

Bohn: We saved and we spent between $6-8 million at Pierce. The money we saved we spent back into the business. We spent the money on research and development, we put the money on new products. Last year at Indianapolis, we had more new products in our booth than the rest of the industry combined. We also made sure he customer benefitted.

The commitment we had was to spend money in research and product development and to upgrade our facilities. We ended up putting a $2.2 million addition to our Appleton [Wis.] plant, to improve the lighting, the work flow, and the systems and the business.

We introduced 10 new products in less than two years, and the money we saved through manufacturing efficiencies we reinvested back in Pierce. Not too many companies make that investment in the early stages of an acquisition.

IS: Pierce has always been known for its strength in quality fire apparatus, but not so much as an innovator. Your comments indicate that the innovator reputation is changing at Pierce.

Bohn: Our commitment is to be the innovator. We come out with new technology, new features, and normally people will look at what we have been doing in the industry and copy what we do. Frankly, I'm flattered when they do that, but we plan on leading the industry through technology.

We have our own foam system we designed and developed, and why is that important? It's important because we are a "single-source solution." One of the problems today in our industry is if you buy a chassis - I mean customs - then buy the body, then buy the aerial, you're dealing with two or three different companies.

We hear it all the time in bid processes. We listen to people argue and point fingers: "It's the aerial producer, what he did to the truck. "It's the chassis producer and what they didn't do."

At Pierce, it's our problem. We manufacture and design all of it and stand behind the products. The customer knows he can dial one phone number and get it taken care of, whether it's an issue of body, chassis or aerial.

IS: A few years ago Pierce opened the vehicle of the future for discussion. Numerous attendees were impressed that they had a chance to make suggestions or complain about designs. When are we going to see a vehicle for sale as a result of that input?

Bohn: We did introduce the first Rapid Response Vehicle concept, which started a flood of discussion. It has been interesting because we have worked with maintenance and fire chiefs from all over North America, because that's how we start to develop new products. Our development doesn't start from the top down, it starts from the customer and focus groups or "campfire" meetings of individuals that specifically use the equipment.

We have gone from a to z on this type of vehicle and continue to develop and design these vehicles today. We plan to come out within the next couple years. The real issue is that 80% of the fire departments today are performing ems functions, though. I think the decision is still out on patient transport.

We continue to look at different cities in North America and around the world to see if a first response vehicle is something that will be accepted. We feel within the next two years it will be for sale.

IS: A number of the iafc's Apparatus Maintenance Section members participated in some heavy discussions regarding the concept vehicle.

Bohn: One of the hidden secrets and the reasons that we're successful at Pierce is that last year we had over 7,000 customers come through. When the customers come through, they tell us what are the features they need to better perform their job in a safer manner. That's one of the reasons we have as many engineers as we have, because we will engineer and give the customer what they want.

Every city has a different situation, every volunteer fire department has different types of hills or mountains or streams, and we need to fulfill their need. Our customer is involved in a serious business of saving lives and property, and we respect that.

IS: In the past few years, bigger corporations have discovered the fire industry, and a lot of technology is crossing over to the fire industry. What are some of the pros and cons of big corporations coming in to produce a fairly unique vehicle?

Bohn: It's interesting, because I see it as a double-edged sword. In the case of Pierce and Oshkosh, I believe it's a good fit. Pierce definitely benefitted from the resources we had in financial, specifically in leasing and operations, and technology. We pioneered all-wheel drive, all-wheel steer in the industry when our company started out in 1917 when it was Oshkosh Truck in Wisconsin.

I think the Pierce apparatus are even better today than they were two or three years ago because of the technology and the synergy that we have been able to place with the two companies coming together. We learned from each other. There are a lot of things that Pierce does extremely well and a lot of things that Oshkosh does very well. Again, it's our knowledge of the field of independent suspension, where we manufacture and build our own front-wheel drive steering and axle, transfer cases and also the all-wheel steer.

We look at multiplexing, which is something we're working on for the military, so the diagnostics, screen and digital readout on the dash tell what the vehicle is doing and if any maintenance needs to be performed. We call it the "sealed hood" concept. That's what we're building on the new Dash 2000.

What is unique is that this is a product that cannot and should not be mass-produced. This is a product specifically for the specific customer and giving the customer the requirements of what they need. That's why Oshkosh leads the industry in the specialty truck market.

Larger companies can add in technology and have the financial strength. When I went out with our sales manager to Bakersfield and heard Fire Chief Dan Clark read the list of apparatus they currently own, I was surprised to hear the list of manufacturers that are not in business anymore. The only name out of the 14 types of equipment that Bakersfield has that is still in business is Pierce.

What I've learned since 1996 in this industry is that the customers have a unique need for the apparatus to save lives and property, and they're not going to be told what they need and don't need. I respect that.

IS: Does Pierce have any plans to acquire any other manufacturers or form any alliances?

Bohn: We are always looking at business in this industry to help us expand our product line. That's why we did the deal with Nova Quintech. We will continue to look at acquisitions in the fire and emergency industry and that can be anywhere from aerials to customs, to products that the firefighter uses.

IS: What about ambulances?

Bohn: It's not "no." We are open to ambulances, as a matter of fact.

IS: Is it your desire to become the largest apparatus builder in the world?

Bohn: It is our number-one desire to be the best manufacturer in the world. I sometimes look at these companies in corporate America and they want to be the biggest, but you've got to continue to do your basic block-and-tackle in your businesses and focus on the customer and customer service. Everybody says it: The sales person sells the truck the first time, and the service people sell the truck the 15th time. That's why we're so focused on service.

The sales organization at Pierce, the whole organization, has an average of 15 years of servicing Pierce. We have great quality, great price, but we also have dedicated people servicing the product. We have 38 dealers with over 275 salespeople working on Pierce.

We also have 53 dealers throughout the world; we built this network since 1996. We're not sitting still. We're building 14 tank trucks in Egypt. We're looking in Europe and the Pacific Rim.

IS: With the new facility opened in Florida, why did Pierce locate a facility outside of Wisconsin?

Bohn: There are several reasons. Mostly it dealt with our long-term ability to serve the growing demand for our custom chassis apparatus up in Appleton, and our aerial business that has been growing since the mid-1980s.

The advantage of building in a small city like Appleton is that our employees are very smart, hard-working and dedicated, true craftsmen. We like it when our customers come here to visit, because we cut them loose in the plant and they can talk to any employee, and that helps the customer understand what Pierce is and what we do with our company.

We're moving our stock commercial apparatus manufacturing to Bradenton, Fla., where we've got a beautiful facility with all the grounds and capability. This allows us to expand our custom manufacturing in Appleton and at the same time serve our cost-conscious pumper market.

In 1996 when we acquired Pierce, we had 900 employees; today, in Appleton, we have over 1,350. We want to focus on aerials and customs in Appleton, and be best in the world on those. We can then grow our commercial business down in Florida in a focused environment.

IS: What is your personal vision for Pierce?

Bohn: Pierce is the premier fire truck manufacturer in North America and most recognized brand in the world. When you think of Pierce, you think of quality, you think of reliability, you think of a company with substance: They stand behind their product.

I expect Pierce to continue to grow, to gain market share in a tight market in North America. I expect Pierce to expand and manufacture in different parts of the world, to have strategic alliances, to have joint ventures and to acquire other businesses so we can spread our technology worldwide. Pierce has had steady growth from the mid-'80s and grown very nicely in 1996 since we had the company.

When we looked at developing 10 new products in 10 years and continue to develop new products today, that's what we'll do: We will be the leader in innovation. Our target isn't to be the biggest, our target is to be the best and that the customer is satisfied. We haven't just met the customer expectations, that's not our job - it's to exceed their expectations in sales and in service.

IS: In your view, what's happening in the fire service today?

Bohn: There's going to be consolidation, where smaller departments are merging with larger.

As we go forward for the firefighter, it's going to deal with ems, more in the communities and getting involved where they haven't been before. Our job is to study the trends and work with the chiefs and give them the technology to do what they have to do.