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American LaFrance history
American LaFrance company history timeline
Founded in 1873 by Truxton Slocum LaFrance (and partners, including Alexander S. Diven) as the LaFrance Manufacturing Company selling hand powered equipment.
The company began to manufacture other firefighting equipment and in 1880 became the LaFrance Fire Engine Company.
With the idea of creating a monopoly, in 1900 the International Fire Engine Company was announced.
The American LaFrance Fire Engine Company was formed in 1903.
ALF delivered its first motorized fire engine in 1907.
What helped Ahrens-Fox (in particular) stay in the automobile pumper market (besides its unusual but highly reliable front-mounted pump) was the “booster system” invented by Charles Fox in 1914.
The Ahrens-Fox booster system included a booster pump, water-tank, and hose reel that replaced the chemical tank on automobile pumpers built by Ahrens-Fox. (Because of patent issues, Seagrave and American-LaFrance were unable to replace chemical tanks with water booster systems until the 1920’s).
In 1927, ALF acquired the Utica based O.J. Childs company.
In 1947, ALF introduced the 700-series fire apparatus.
In 1959, ALF introduced the 900-series cab-forward chassis.
Mike L,in 1974 ALFs parent company ATO purchased Snorkel Fire Equipment.
The ALF pic under “Customs” was a real thing,called the Spartan II. They only produced them for a couple of years,starting in 1979.
In 1995, Freightliner, a subsidiary of Daimler AG purchased the remnants of the company, yet again resurrecting LaFrance.
In December 2005, it was announced that Freightliner had transferred the ownership of American LaFrance to the New York-based investment firm, Patriarch Partners, LLC. The headquarters and main plant in Ladson, South Carolina were not included in the transaction.
In 2005 it was the fifth largest manufacturer of emergency vehicles in North America.
Under new ownership ALF relocated within the Charleston, South Carolina, area in summer 2007 to a brand new facility, including manufacturing and corporate HQ, with nearly 500,000 sq ft (50,000 m²) of total space.
However, Patriarch Partners were allowed to use the plant until early 2007, when DaimlerChrysler began using the plant for assembly of the Dodge Sprinter.
On 28 January 2008, American LaFrance filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection blaming problems with implementation of a new IBM enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
On 17 January 2014, the company announced it would cease operation.
During this time sales and market share steadily declined until jenuary 2014 when, after more than 100 years in business, American LaFrance sadly announced it was going out of business, ending its long history as one of the greatest Fire Apparatus manufacturer in the United States.
#5 by Phil Stenholm on January 9, 2020 - 9:22 PM
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American LaFrance competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce Manufacturing | 1913 | $1.0B | 2,100 | - |
| BRUCE AEROSPACE | 1956 | $2.2M | 30 | - |
| Dynamic Manufacturing | 1951 | $130.0M | 550 | 20 |
| Phillips & Temro Industries | 1920 | $260.0M | 720 | 34 |
| E-ONE | 1974 | $1.0B | 900 | 7 |
| Battle Motors | 1946 | $67.5M | 350 | 10 |
| Hunter Engineering | 1946 | - | 1,000 | 77 |
| Freightliner Trucks | 1942 | $450.0M | 15,000 | 42 |
| Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems | 1986 | $700.0M | 1,709 | 53 |
| Meritor | 1909 | $3.8B | 8,200 | - |
American LaFrance history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of American LaFrance, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about American LaFrance. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at American LaFrance. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by American LaFrance. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of American LaFrance and its employees or that of Zippia.
American LaFrance may also be known as or be related to American LA France, American La France, American LaFrance and American Lafrance.