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The Fire Apparatus Manufacturing Industry in North America
SpecialtyVehicles.net, Dec 2007, Pages: 204
The Fire Apparatus Manufacturing Industry in North America: Size, segmentation, trends, growth, channels, competitive shares and industry structure underlying the manufacture of different types of fire apparatus in North America.
The fire apparatus manufacturing industry in North America is dominated by a few large manufacturers, alongside which are numerous small, regional competitors. SVN has identified eight-five manufacturers of fire apparatus in North America, with the top ten companies making up 81% of the industry in value terms, and the leading manufacturer accounting for more than a fifth of the market.
The increase in funding from the Federal Government post 9/11 for the purchase of apparatus for fire fighting and emergency applications provided a strong impetus to growth in this industry. The volume of such funds transferred to lower levels of government and to municipalities has also grown. In addition, North American manufacturers are finding increased acceptance in export markets, and destinations such as China, Turkey and the Middle East are growing in importance.
A key characteristic of this industry is the very high degree of customization, with manufacturers building products per the specifications of the customer. Sophisticated products such as aerial platforms and ladders are, however, built by only a few of the leading manufacturers, with the smaller players building simpler products such as water tenders, rescue vehicles, brush trucks, etc., and by and large serving fire departments and municipalities in their own regions.
The larger companies have a presence across the country through a widespread dealer network. Dealers are usually exclusive, and hence manufacturers at times find it difficult to expand their dealer network, as one dealer normally does not represent more than one manufacturer. In a move towards ensuring better market penetration, there has been a trend in recent years for partnerships between small niche players and larger manufacturers. Typically most fire apparatus is purchased through a bidding and tendering process.
Apparatus is mounted on both custom and commercial chassis, with Spartan being the leading non-captive manufacturer of custom chassis used in the fire truck industry. Freightliner, particularly the Freightliner M2, is one of the most popular commercial chassis platforms for fire, rescue and emergency service vehicles. Most leading aerial manufacturers build much of their apparatus captively from the ground up, that is, they engineer and build the chassis, cab, frame rails and all major components.
The industry went through a phase of consolidation and restructuring in the last decade, with many manufacturers being sold, acquired or merged with other companies. Six of the leading fifteen manufacturers today operate as divisions or subsidiaries of large corporations such as Oshkosh, Federal Signal and Rosenbauer International. At the same time, companies such as Smeal and Sutphen continue to operate as either family-operated businesses or private stand-alone players.
With the increase in the average age of the population in North America, the demand for products to handle emergency medical and rescue scenarios has been increasing. It is estimated that 70% to 80% of calls to police and fire departments are for emergency medical services, with another 20% for small fires, including vehicular fires. Emergency response vehicles will continue to be refined to address the changing needs of customers. With many fire departments taking on the management of ambulance services, the industry is also witnessing a convergence of opportunities in the fire apparatus and ambulance sectors.
NFPA standards have a significant impact on apparatus. In addition to the current NFPA 1901 and 1906 standards which affect apparatus design and performance, the upcoming NFPA 1911 will additionally affect apparatus maintenance and testing.
Thus increased functionality and interoperability of fire apparatus, federal and NFPA regulations and growing urbanization are the main change drivers in this industry.
These and other complex aspects of the industry are highlighted in this pioneering report. The key objective of this report is to present a picture of the competitive landscape and rigorously document “who is who” in the business of manufacturing vehicles used for fire and emergency applications.
Through a “bottoms-up” approach, a database has been developed that breaks out estimated production by company and by type of apparatus. The report is a first-ever attempt to cohesively put this industry into a structured format for enabling M&A moves, market size identification, sales planning, and competitive share analysis.
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