Pierce Manufacturing Inc. is a fire truck manufacturer located in Appleton, Wisconsin. It was acquired by Oshkosh Corporation in 1996 and is a wholly owned subsidiary.
History
The company was originally founded in 1913 by Humphrey Pierce and his son Dudley as the Pierce Auto Body Works Inc., and concentrated on building custom truck bodies for the Ford Model T. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, Pierce was primarily known for building custom bodies on commercial and other manufacturer's custom chassis, and was considered an OEM.
Although the Arrow name was used for their first custom chassis which debuted in 1979, the company has no affiliation with George N. Pierce's famous Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company of Buffalo, New York, which operated from 1901 to 1938. However, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company coincidentally supplied 8- and 12-cylinder engines to Seagrave for use in their fire apparatus. These engines continued to be made even after Pierce-Arrow ceased operation in 1938. Seagrave continued to deliver fire apparatus with the "Pierce-Arrow" V-12 until 1970.
Throughout the years, Pierce has had partnerships with various other manufacturers, notably when it came to aerial devices (they now engineer and build all their own aerial devices in-house). Such aerial manufacturers included Snorkel, Pitman, Aerial Innovations (AI), Ladder Towers Incorporated (LTI), Smeal, Bronto Skylift and NovaQuintech (whose assets Pierce/Oshkosh acquired in 1997). In addition to their main facilities in Wisconsin, they also have facilities in Bradenton, Florida. The Florida facility is a manufacturing site for the Contender and Responder line of apparatus, as well as a refurbishment center.
Production
Pierce Manufacturing Inc. build pumpers, tankers, aerials, rescues on their own custom chassis and on commercial chassis.
Custom chassis
Current custom chassis
- Pierce Arrow XT (2003-...)
- Pierce Dash CF (2011-...)
- Pierce Enforcer (2000-2007, 2014-...)
- Pierce Impel (2006-...)
- Pierce Quantum (1995-...)
- Pierce Saber (1992-...)
- Pierce Velocity (2006-...)
Discontinued custom chassis
- Pierce Arrow (1979-2002)
- Pierce Dash (1984-2008)
- Pierce Javelin (1990-1993)
- Pierce Lance (1985-2007)
Aerials
Ascendant Class of Aerials
Ladders
| Model | Production | Custom Chassis | Rear Axle | Ladder Reach | Operating Range | Payload / Flow Capacity | Stabilizers | Body Styles | Tank Capacity | PUC Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75' Aluminum Ladder | 2004-present | Arrow XT, Dash CF, Enforcer, Impel, Quantum, Velocity | Single | 75' vertical / 67'-9" horizontal | -8° to 76° | 750 lb dry / 500 lb while flowing 1500 US GPM | 1 set of H-style outriggers (16' jack spread) | Quint, No pump/no tank | Up to 500 US gallons | Yes |
| 75' Heavy-Duty Ladder | 1992-present | Arrow XT, Dash CF, Enforcer, Impel, Quantum, Velocity | Single or tandem | 75' vertical / 69' horizontal | -5° to 75° | 500 lb dry or while flowing 1000 US GPM | 1 set of H-style outriggers (16' jack spread) | Quint, No pump/no tank | Up to 500 US gallons | Yes |
| 100' Aluminum Ladder | 2006-present | Arrow XT, Dash CF, Quantum, Velocity | Tandem | 100' vertical / 91'-7" horizontal | -8° to 76° | 750 lb dry / 500 lb while flowing 1500 US GPM | 2 sets of H-style outriggers (12' jack spread) | Quint, No pump/no tank | Up to 750 US gallons | Yes |
| 100' Heavy-Duty Ladder | Arrow XT, Dash CF, Quantum, Velocity | Tandem | 100' vertical / 94'-1" horizontal | -8° to 75° | 750 lb dry / 500 lb while flowing 1000 US GPM | 2 sets of H-style outriggers (12' jack spread) | Quint, No pump/no tank | Up to 750 US gallons | Yes | |
| 105' Heavy-Duty Ladder | 1992-present | Arrow XT, Dash CF, Enforcer, Impel, Quantum, Velocity | Tandem | 105' vertical / 100' horizontal | -8° to 75° | 750 lb dry / 500 lb while flowing 1000 US GPM | 2 sets of H-style outriggers (Up to 16' jack spread) | Quint, No pump/no tank | Up to 750 US gallons | Yes |
Platforms
| Model | Production | Custom Chassis | Rear Axle | Ladder Reach | Operating Range | Payload / Flow Capacity | Stabilizers | Body Styles | Tank Capacity | PUC Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100' Heavy-Duty Platform | 1991-present | Arrow XT, Dash CF, Quantum, Velocity | Tandem | 100' vertical, 93' horizontal | -5° to 75° | 1000 lb dry / 500 lb while flowing 3000 US GPM | 2 sets of H-style outriggers (18' jack spread) | Quint, No pump/no tank | Up to 500 US gallons | Yes |
| 100' Aluminum Platform | 2009-present | Arrow XT, Dash CF, Quantum, Velocity | Tandem | 100' vertical, 92' horizontal | -11.5° to 76° | 1000 lb dry / 500 lb while flowing 2000 US GPM | 2 sets of H-style outriggers (16'-6" jack spread) | Quint, No pump/no tank | Up to 500 US gallons | Yes |
Sky Booms
- 55'
- 61'
Discontinued products
- 85' heavy-duty platform (1998-2019)
- 95' mid-mount platform (2000-2018)
- 100' Sky-Arm platform (1998-2012)
- 116' Bronto Skylift platform (2011-2014)
- 100' medium-duty tiller (19??-2017)
- 100' heavy-duty tiller (19??-2017)
- 100' medium-duty ladder (????-2019)
- 100' mid-mount ladder (????-2019)
Pumpers
- pumper
- rescue pumper
- snozzle (50' or 65')
Rescues
- walk-around
- walk-in
- combination
- Encore
- command
Tankers
- pumper tanker
- dry-side tanker
Sources
- McCall, Walter M.P. Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Fire Engine Manufacturers. Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2009.
- Pierce Manufacturing history