Firetrucks with a glossy, mirrorlike finish roll out of the doors at Alexis Fire Equipment Company, an established Illinois manufacturer meeting the needs of fire departments domestically and abroad.
“It’s like raising kids,” says Jeff Morris, second-generation owner of the only remaining family-owned manufacturer of custom-built firetrucks in Illinois. “Each one of them has their own little trait, and that’s the way firetrucks are to us. They have their own little torque and design. I like them all.”
At a young age, Morris started sweeping floors in the family business before earning a degree in engineering from Bradley University. His dad, Gene, founded the business in 1947 on the belief that he could build a better firetruck than the ones he had repaired in his welding and fabrication shop. Soon, Alexis Fire Equipment Company was born in the heart of his hometown of Alexis, a village of 850 people in Warren and Mercer counties.
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People Make the Difference
Alexis Fire Equipment Company has grown from a small fabrication shop to a sophisticated, high-tech business that today employs 80 engineers, draftsmen, mechanics, fabricators, painters, electricians and technicians who serve customers worldwide.
“The biggest asset we have here is our staff,” says Morris, whose son and daughter, Scott and Dawn, also work in the business. “The people are the most important part you can have in a business. Once a customer gets here and meets our people, that’s more impressive than anything.”
Customers include metro-urban fire departments and rural, volunteer departments from coast to coast. An ISO 9001 company (meaning it has a management system, manufacturing process, service or documentation procedure with all the requirements for standardization and quality assurance), Alexis Fire Equipment Company also sells abroad, including to the Middle East and South America.
The advent of the internet expanded sales from a regional focus to national and international clientele. Like its marketing, manufacturing technology has also advanced. High-tech, computerized water-jet cutting replaced skilled shear work by hand. Three-dimensional computer images now give customers an accurate portrayal of their custom truck before it’s built.
“The trucks are very computerized,” Morris says. “A firetruck today, like your car, is a computer on rubber.”
Building and Refurbishing
The industry recognizes National Fire Prevention Week in October, a time when Alexis Fire Equipment Company often gives school tours. Students visit unassuming buildings across two village blocks where staff build various types of firetrucks that range in value from $50,000 to $1 million: aerial trucks that extend into the sky, tanker trucks that haul water, pumper trucks with large tanks to hold water and rescue trucks to carry rescue equipment.
Alexis Fire Equipment Company also services and refurbishes firetrucks, a growing segment of the business that prompted a recent building expansion to accommodate demand.
Employees, some with up to 40 years of experience, often customize trucks for weather or the external environment where the truck will operate. Trucks may need to navigate narrow streets in highly populated areas or pump water at high altitudes.
“I still like this business. I have a great staff. It’s fun and rewarding,” Morris says. “I like working with a customer, starting with a piece of paper and delivering the product, and they say, ‘That’s exactly what we wanted.’”
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Enjoyed reading the article. I still remember the yellow fire truck. What a wonderful company for all these years.
Great company I knew Gene personally since early 70’s and he always had great integrity and empathy for small rural districts ! His son Jeff and his complete staff have carried this great tradition on for all these years!