Seven Pierce Aerial Tiller Apparatus Purchased By Los Angeles City Fire Department

[KENTucky]

Smeal has actually built quite a few tillers - a bunch in California and one in Greensburg, PA that I know of.   

 

Kent Parrish

Louisville, KY

[chief60]

Interesting that Smeal is letting Ferrara use their LTC. Are you allowed to say who it is going to? I heard rumor Houston was looking at a tiller but nothing else about it.

[chief60]

Kent,

 

Thank you for the information, it appears tillers are making a resurgence in the smaller departments like ours. Do they use their aerials basically as rescue trucks like we plan to do?

[drfeelgood]

From what I understand the TDA, Squirt, MMP, that LTI had built for years is one of the reasons why Smeal purchased LTI out of the ALF collapse. They also wanted to make a push into the North East and Mid-Atlantic region with a known product that had designs to address many needs/issues in those regions. Having a regional service/repair facility also helps. A customer can choose from the Smeal or LTC line for their needs except I think the only way you can get a TDA is a LTC hence the reason for the Ferrara (Smeal supplies all of their aerials anyways) build that is going in the Northern Va. region


I've seen the Smeal TDA and it's a massive creature were as a LTC is a pretty simple build

[chief60]

Thanks, the LTC aerial version was the reason we considered Smeal, their own version was rather bulky. Who is the Ferrara dealer for NOVA? I find it interesting that Pierce has fallen in the DC Metro market (except Fairfax), is it pricing or the dealer or something else? They seem to be selling a ton of units outside of that. They (Pierce) are picking up business in Georgia mainly  because other than E\-One, no one even makes much effort down here. I would love to see Seagrave return, we couldn't even get calls returned when we were looking for pricing. I hear Mont. Co. is super thrilled with the Spartans but they are sticking with them for now.

[Reliance]

Thanks, the LTC aerial version was the reason we considered Smeal, their own version was rather bulky. Who is the Ferrara dealer for NOVA? I find it interesting that Pierce has fallen in the DC Metro market (except Fairfax), is it pricing or the dealer or something else? They seem to be selling a ton of units outside of that. They (Pierce) are picking up business in Georgia mainly  because other than E-one, no one even makes much effort down here. I would love to see Seagrave return, we couldn't even get calls returned when we were looking for pricing. I hear Mont. Co. is super thrilled with the Spartans but they are sticking with them for now.

Ferrara in Virginia is C2 Emergency Solutions [url=http://c2emergency.com/%C2][/url] Also Fastlane Emergency Vehicles works out of the same building.

[firescooby]

Thanks, the LTC aerial version was the reason we considered Smeal, their own version was rather bulky. Who is the Ferrara dealer for NOVA? I find it interesting that Pierce has fallen in the DC Metro market (except Fairfax), is it pricing or the dealer or something else? They seem to be selling a ton of units outside of that. They (Pierce) are picking up business in Georgia mainly  because other than E-one, no one even makes much effort down here. I would love to see Seagrave return, we couldn't even get calls returned when we were looking for pricing. I hear Mont. Co. is super thrilled with the Spartans but they are sticking with them for now.

We're getting more and more Sutphen's in southern GA. We've got Savannah and Southside, and just won bid for Macon-Bibb.

[KENTucky]

The Louisville area has never embraced the heavy rescue concept.  Out of the 19 fire departments in Jefferson County, Harrods Creek is the only one to staff a dedicated heavy rescue...and it is temporarily funded by Uncle Sam for one of the largest bridge/tunnel projects in the country right now.  We do have other heavy duty rescue apparatus, but they are specialty units only - hazmat, technical rescue, dive, ect.  Otherwise, Louisville's truck companies handle all extrications and basic rescues.  In the suburban areas, engines, quints, and trucks can all handle extrications and basic rescues.  All fire companies in the county are equipped with basic RIT gear, as well.  The heavy rescue concept just never developed here.  We handle extrications just as efficiently with regular companies and the specialty units roll when needed.   

 

Kent Parrish

Louisville, KY

[chief60]

We're getting more and more Sutphen's in southern GA. We've got Savannah and Southside, and just won bid for Macon-Bibb.

The point I was making is they is no presence in South Georgia by most manufacturers. Dedicated service facilities and/or service personnel are non-existent without a 4 hour drive or more. It is still a lot of smaller rural departments and there isn't a lot of commitment from the manufacturers, not a lot of trucks to be sold really. While Savannah has committed to a Sutphen fleet, outside of the 4 aerials at Southside, they are mainly a commercial E\-One fleet. 

[drfeelgood]

Well with Arcola inking a deal on two Seagrave pumpers that will make 14 Seagraves sold in Va. in a year. Very aggressive dealer and many upset with the standard brand. Many municipalities in the region will remain with the standard flavor because they have sweet potions poured in their ears, don't like the cost, or get really treated well while smaller departments are treated as a door mat. Many opportunities in the region because so many are looking for change it just takes the right dealer willing to take a chance selling the right rig and end user support after the sale.    

[chfc14]

Well with Arcola inking a deal on two Seagrave pumpers that will make 14 Seagraves sold in Va. in a year. Very aggressive dealer and many upset with the standard brand. Many municipalities in the region will remain with the standard flavor because they have sweet potions poured in their ears, don't like the cost, or get really treated well while smaller departments are treated as a door mat. Many opportunities in the region because so many are looking for change it just takes the right dealer willing to take a chance selling the right rig and end user support after the sale.    

I feel ya buddy; same doormat thing happening in NC too. Got a building full of em, but looking elsewhere for our next heavy rescue. All they had to do was answer the phone, and they couldn't even do that. Amazing.  

[chief60]

Well with Arcola inking a deal on two Seagrave pumpers that will make 14 Seagraves sold in Va. in a year. Very aggressive dealer and many upset with the standard brand. Many municipalities in the region will remain with the standard flavor because they have sweet potions poured in their ears, don't like the cost, or get really treated well while smaller departments are treated as a door mat. Many opportunities in the region because so many are looking for change it just takes the right dealer willing to take a chance selling the right rig and end user support after the sale.    

 

That is awesome to see, I really like Seagrave and hope they start getting more of the share. This is the main reason we bought what we did, an aggressive dealer that did a ton of work with us to get it right. Hopefully they turn out as good as we think they will.  It is funny, you can look around the country and see the really good dealers, no matter the manufacturer. They have a lot of business and really put the effort out to get the deals made. I am surprised the other dealers don't try to copy their business plans or even notice what their other dealers are doing.

[npfd801]

Who ordered the tillers? I only thought St. Mathews had a tiller outside the city. We looked really close at the LTC version of Smeal before deciding on Pierce. Pierce was a bit lower on price and has the best dealer support in the area.

 

This astonishes me as Pierce is always very high in our region, and not fond of any truly custom stuff. Good to hear they can be competitive if the right dealer is working the deal.

[GA_Dave]

 

This astonishes me as Pierce is always very high in our region, and not fond of any truly custom stuff. Good to hear they can be competitive if the right dealer is working the deal.

I believe that is more of a dealer issue than a factory issue.  In my experience with Pierce (since 1989), they have always been willing to do custom stuff. 

[KENTucky]

I totally agree dealer relationship is a huge part of the fire apparatus experience. 

 

Kent Parrish

Louisville, KY