American LaFrance

American LaFrance (ALF) was an American vehicle manufacturer which focused primarily on the production of fire engines, fire aerials, and emergency apparatus such as ambulance and rescue vehicles. Originally located in Elmira Heights New York, the final iteration of the company was located in Summerville, South Carolina. It also operated a Canadian plant in Toronto, Ontario, where it sold apparatus under the name LaFrance-Foamite, until 1971.

American LaFrance
IndustryFire apparatus manufacturer, Commercial Vehicles
Founded1873 (1873)
Defunct2014 (2014)
Headquarters
Summerville, South Carolina
,
U.S.
OwnerDaimler Trucks North America
ParentDaimler AG
Websitewww.americanlafrance.com

Ward LaFrance, a unrelated competitor fire-apparatus manufacturer also based in Elmira Heights, New York, was founded by a LaFrance family member.

On 17 January 2014, the company announced the cessation of operations.[1]

History
Emblem of the historic 1954 American La France-Foamite 700 Series (California Historical Vehicle 622S).

With roots dating to 1832, the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company was one of the oldest fire apparatus manufacturers in the United States. Founded in 1873 by Truxton Slocum LaFrance (and partners, including Alexander S. Diven[2]) as the LaFrance Manufacturing Company selling hand powered equipment. A predecessor company, the International Fire Engine Company, built some steam power fire engines between 1903 and 1907. Apparatus built by International included horse drawn steamers, hose wagons, and hook & ladders to chemical engines, water towers and combinations. The American LaFrance Fire Engine Company was formed in 1903. ALF delivered its first motorized fire engine in 1907.

  • Manufacturing Fire Engines for the Government. Main machine shop at American LaFrance Fire Co., Inc. 1919.
  • Painting Ford car chassis in plant of American La France Fire Engine Co., Inc. 1918.
  • Advertisement for American LaFrance fire extinguisher, ca. 1920.

According to the Elmira, New York newspaper the Star-Gazette:

The company began to manufacture other firefighting equipment and in 1880 became the LaFrance Fire Engine Company. The 1890s was an era of business consolidation with the growth of trusts. A rival firm was  created named the American Fire Engine Company. With the idea of creating a monopoly, in 1900 the International Fire Engine Company was announced. It included the American Fire Engine Company, LaFrance Fire Engine Company and Thos. Manning Jr. and Co.  Three support equipment manufacturers were included, three fire extinguisher manufacturers also joined the company.  In 1903, the company reorganized into the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company and in 1906 company headquarters were relocated from New York City to Elmira.[3]

ALF produced a small run of passenger cars from about 1910 to 1920, totaling around 22 (with several additional 'speedsters'). None are known to still exist, but because the design was based on a Crane-Simplex chassis, several early ALF fire trucks have been converted into speedsters.[4]

In 1927, ALF acquired the Utica based O.J. Childs company. The company had created Foamite, a liquid chemical designed to extinguish fires in extreme temperatures ranging from -15ºF to 110ºF.[5]

In 1947, ALF introduced the 700-series fire apparatus. The 700-series was a "cab-forward" design, placing the driver ahead of the engine and providing an expansive forward view. This would become industry standard and copied by many other manufacturers.[6] In 1959, ALF introduced the 900-series cab-forward chassis. Although it was similar to the 700 (and closely related 800-series), the 900 was an all new design with a wider cab. In addition to the 700-800-900-Series trucks, ALF produced models under the names Century, Pioneer, and Eagle.

The company suspended operations and closed the Elmira operations in 1985. A much-reduced company re-opened for operations in Bluefield, Virginia in 1986, operating through 1994.[7]

Freightliner Era

In 1995, Freightliner LLC, a subsidiary of Daimler AG purchased the remnants of the company, yet again res-securing LaFrance. Freightliner continued to utilize American LaFrance's original nameplates and designations including the Eagle custom chassis. Many of their Liberty products were built on Freightliner LLC M2 or Sterling Acterra chassis. ALF operated additional manufacturing facilities in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, Sanford, Florida, and Hamburg, New York. In 2005 it was the fifth largest manufacturer of emergency vehicles in North America.

Patriarch Partners Era

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. However, Patriarch Partners were allowed to use the plant until early 2007, when DaimlerChrysler began using the plant for assembly of the Dodge Sprinter. 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.

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.[8] On 25 July 2008, the company emerged from bankruptcy with a revised business plan to transfer the firetruck body building portion of the business to the remaining Hamburg, NY, (formerly RDMurray Inc.) and Ephrata, Penn., (formerly Ladder Towers Inc.) facilities. The Summerville, SC plant continued to manufacture fire truck cab and chassis, but focused on vocational vehicles and the Condor vehicle line. In 2009, the company closed Hamburg and Ephrata attempting to consolidate operations to Summerville.[9] On 17 January 2014, the company announced it would cease operation.[10] Remaining assets of the company which included parts and partially completed trucks, were auctioned to pay creditors. It is still unknown, but highly unlikely American LaFrance will be openinng its doors ever again.[11]

Historical Collections

The North Charleston Fire Museum and Educational Center, located in North Charleston, South Carolina, is "proud to house the largest collection of professionally restored American LaFrance fire apparatus in the country". The museum has an active collection of 20 ALF vehicles, each in operating condition.

  • American LaFrance Steam Pumper, used by Oakland Fire Department
  • Aerial American LaFrance, Adelaide Street Firehall
  • American LaFrance 700/800/900-Series
  • American LaFrance 700/800/900-Series
  • Pioneer Series
  • O-11A airport crash tender

See also

References
  1. McLoone, Chris (18 January 2014). "Report: American LaFrance Closes Doors". Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. "American LaFrance Fire Engine Company". Coachbuilt. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  3. Hare, Jim (10 November 2015). "Elmira: Fire Engine Capital of the World". Star-Gazette. Elmira, NY. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  4. Ford, Grant (October 2016). "No Smoke without Fire – American La France". Blacktop Magazine. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  5. 2308845, White, Clifford B., "Foam-type fire extinguisher"
  6. "Encyclopedia: American LaFrance". Society for the Preservation & Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  7. "Farewell to American LaFrance". Fire Engineering. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  8. Krigsman, Michael (11 February 2008). "Customer blames bankruptcy on IBM IT failure". ZDNet.
  9. Ball, Richard (21 April 2009). "American LaFrance closing Hamburg plant". Buffalo Business First. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  10. "Breaking News: American LaFrance Fire Apparatus Closes Doors". SConFire.com. 17 January 2014.
  11. Ballam, Ed (21 October 2014). "American LaFrance Assets Picked Like a Turkey Carcass". Firehouse.com.

Further reading
  • McCall, Walter M.P. (2005). 100 Years of American LaFrance.
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