Knapheide Manufacturing Company is a truck body manufacturer located in Quincy, Illinois. They are not specifically a fire apparatus manufacturer, but many fire departments use trucks with Knapheide bodywork.
History[]
Knapheide is in its sixth generation of ownership and operation by the Knapheide family. Formed in 1848 as the Knapheide Wagon Company, by the 1890s the company was selling wagons throughout the United States, and had international sales as far away as South America and Africa. Knapheide began to offer farm truck bodies in 1910, although wagon manufacture and repair remained an important part of the business into the 1930s. The company changed its name to the Knapheide Manufacturing Company in 1937. The business further diversified into service and tanker bodies in the 1970s. A new manufacturing plant was opened in 1997. Operations had been disrupted by flooding of the Mississippi River in 1973 and 1993.
Products[]
Knapheide manufactures a wide range of specialized truck bodies from flatbeds and service bodies to tank trucks.
The company does not build any specific units for the fire service, but many of its service bodies have been used for light and medium duty fire apparatus such as brush trucks, rescue trucks and various support vehicles. The company offers 2000-4000 gallon tank truck bodies which can be used for water tenders. Knapheide also offers some specialized fuel / lube and mechanics service bodies which have been used for fire department maintenance vehicles.
KUV Bodies[]
These utility bodies feature side accessible storage compartments and an oversized enclosed cargo area.