Young Fire Equipment Corporation

Young Fire Equipment Corporation was an American fire apparatus manufacturer located in Buffalo, New York.

History
Young Fire Equipment Corporation was formed in 1944, when Lester Young acquired majority ownership of the Cayasler Manufacturing Company. Cayasler's origins date back to 1932, when the Case Manufacturing Company was formed in Buffalo. It became Caseler in 1933 and Cayasler in 1936 when Young joined the company. Despite its Depression-era origins, Cayasler did well building commercial chassis pumpers for area fire departments, and was also awarded contracts to build military fire trucks during the Second World War.

Young thrived after the war, and in addition to its own products, became a dealer for Maxim Motor Company. It entered the aerial business in 1960, and also built some trucks on custom Maxim chassis. In 1966, the company moved its factory from Buffalo to suburban Lancaster. In 1967, Young launched its signature Crusader custom chassis. The Crusader was succeeded by the Bison in the early 1970s and the Crusader II (on a Duplex D3500 chassis) was introduced in the early 1980s.

Young went out of business in 1991.