The Gowans-Knight Company is a small-scale American fire apparatus manufacturer located in Watertown, Connecticut.
History[]
Gowans-Knight was originally founded in 1948 by Dave Gowans and Cecile "Bill" Knight, as welding & fabrication shop. Later on in 1952, their two employees Clarke A. Palmer and Tom Alexander gained ownership in the company, becoming Palmer & Knight (The name changed back to Gowans-Knight in the 1970s). Clarke became the company's president in the 1960s, and his son Craig Palmer Sr. would later assume that position a few decades later.
They built their first fire apparatus in 1963 for the Northfield Fire Company, and continued to build more & more trucks for the next 3 decades; until making the decision to focus exclusively on fire apparatus production in 1986. GK was also previously the Connecticut dealer for Boardman fire apparatus and LTI aerials; this ended in the late 1990s when both companies were acquired by American LaFrance. GK also represented Oren, from 1970 until they were acquired by Grumman in 1991.
In January 2025, Gowans-Knight announced they would move from their longtime home at 49 Knight Street (having been used by them since the late 1960s), to a new location at 50 Seemar Road, still in Watertown. The move was due to having constant issues with flooding over the past several decades, as well as upgrading to a bigger space; with the move planning to be finished by summer 2025.
Production[]
Gowans-Knight builds pumpers, tankers, rescues, brush & utility trucks, on both custom and commercial chassis; upfits chief, command, and other vehicles for fire/EMS departments; and refurbs & rebuilds older trucks. They also act as a general repair & service center for trucks of all manufacturers. To date, almost all of their sales have been to fire & EMS departments in Connecticut and southeastern New York.
See also[]
- Departments operating Gowans-Knight apparatus
- Article about Gowans-Knight, published April 7th, 2025 in the Hartford Business Journal