The FMC Corporation, also known as John Bean or the John Bean Fire Apparatus Division of FMC, was a fire apparatus manufacturer located in four different cities over several years: Lansing, Michigan; Tipton, Indiana; Orlando, Florida; and Oakdale, California.
History[]
The origin of FMC fire trucks stretches back to the 1884 formation of the Bean Spray Pump Company in California. Bean designed and built agricultural sprayers for orchards. The company changed its name to John Bean Mfg. Company in 1915 and after purchasing other companies in the food canning industry, changed its name again to Food Machinery Corporation, or FMC. During the Second World War, FMC built tracked amphibious landing vehicles for the US military. In 1948, the name of the company changed to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, retaining the same initials. In 1961, it became simply FMC Corporation. FMC continued its military work and was well-known for building the internationally exported M113 armored personnel carrier and the M2 Bradley armoured fighting vehicle. In January 1994,FMC and BMY Harsco decided to combine their defense businesses to form United Defense.
John Bean's involvement in the firefighting industry began in the late 1930s when a farmer used one of their agricultural sprayers to fight a fire. Once the company became aware of this development, they created a high pressure "fog" system to fight fires. The high-pressure fog system (or HPF) was revolutionary for firefighting at the time; using a piston pump (as opposed to the more typical centrifugal kind) alongside a special nozzle, to make a fine mist of water instead of a large stream. This proved quite useful, as the water would turn to steam & vapor upon hitting the heat of the fire; thus extinguishing it more quickly & with less water. This system was used during the war to fight fires on board US Navy ships. After the war, the company continued production of the Fog Fire Fighter and sold thousands across the United States in the following decades. Most were built on conventional chassis supplied by the fire department.
A typical John Bean pumper of the 1960s
A FMC Commander pumper with a Sentinel body
John Bean fire apparatus of this era (1940s through the 1970s) had a few defining visual characteristics, with earlier apparatus including two small compartments on the running board in front of the rear wheel wells, and later units originally having distinctive round covered twin booster reels mounted atop the pump panel, before being redesigned to be more squared-off and rectangular in the 1960s; and lastly, was the slanted cuts on the top of the hosebed and on the bottom-rear compartment. Another feature that started on Bean trucks in the mid-to-late 60s (before becoming a staple of FMC's design) was the the trapezoidal & angular rear wheel wells, in contrast to the more traditional rounded ones.
By the mid-1950s, FMC had diversified its offerings to include mini-pumpers, triple combination pumpers and city service ladder trucks. Aerial ladders were added in the 1960s, using ladders built by Grove or Memco. FMC was one of the first manufacturers to use custom chassis built by Spartan Motors. In 1978, FMC acquired California apparatus manufacturer Van Pelt. FMC later entered into an OEM arrangement with Ladder Towers Inc. (LTI) to market aerial ladders. By the year 1980, the Bean nameplate had disappeared from trucks, as they were now solely badged as FMC apparatus; with models such as the Roughneck and the Omega, and in later years the Sentinel. In the early 1980s, the company tried to expand its role in aerial ladders by leveraging FMC's Link-Belt crane division but the venture was unsuccessful. FMC also had an agreement around this time with the company Indiana Fire Apparatus, out of Mayfield, Indiana, tot build some tankers for them. In 1987, after moving from Tipton to Orlando, FMC introduced a few new products; including the the StarFire, and the Commander (A custom apparatus using cabs provided by Spartan or Pemfab, with exclusive FMC badging and recessed black fiberglass band around the front of the truck).
The FMC Fire Apparatus division was ultimately shut down in 1990. FMC now produces chemicals and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The defense (United Defense), oil and gas manufacturing (FMC Technologies) and construction equipment (Link-Belt) divisions were spun off into separate entities.
Production[]
Production Locations[]
John Bean trucks were initially built in Lansing until the mid-1960s. Production was then moved to FMC's complex in Tipton, Indiana, and again in 1986 to Orlando, Florida, remaining there until the division was shut down in 1990. Trucks were also built in California at the Bean-Cutler Division in San Jose and later at the Van Pelt plant in Oakdale. Production at Oakdale ended in 1987.
Product Lines[]
The following were offered as pumpers, tankers, mini-pumpers, or brush units:
- John Bean HPF
- John Bean HPV
- FMC Econopac
- FMC Omega
- FMC Roughneck
- FMC Semi-Custom
- FMC Sentinel
- FMC Spirit
- FMC StarFire
- FMC Super Spirit
- FMC Volume Fire Fighter
Chassis[]
FMC also offered their own custom chassis, using models provided to them by Spartan, and having FMC badging exclusively on them.
- FMC Custom
- FMC Commander
See Also[]
Sources[]
- Rieth, John John Bean and FMC Fire Apparatus Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2009. ISBN 9781583882375
- McCall, Walter M.P. Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Fire Engine Manufacturers. Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2009. ISBN 9781583882528