Pierce Manufacturing Inc. has been in business since 1913, incorporated in 1917, as one of the early suppliers of bodies for Ford Model T trucks.  Pierce from time to time constructed fire apparatus bodies for fire companies in the Midwestern states.  About 35 years ago Pierce began to manufacture fire apparatus on a full time basis and within the last 15 years has marketed their product on a national basis.  Pierce Manufacturing Inc. is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Oshkosh Truck Corp.

While Pierce began as a manufacturer of bodies and apparatus on commercial chassis; now the Custom Pierce Arrow XT, Quantum, Saber, Velocity and Impel chassis are manufactured from the frame rails up at Pierce’s Wisconsin facilities. This provided total bumper to bumper responsibility by one manufacturer.  Pierce Manufacturing Inc. operates two plants in the Appleton area, plus one in Weyauwega and one in Keewaune, all in Wisconsin. In the Appleton area one plant is devoted to chassis assembly, body and pumphouse merger and assembly and painting and the other to metal shearing, body and pumphouse fabrication and painting, and aerial and rescue/homeland defense assembly. This assembly plant and the general offices are located at 2600 American Drive and the fabrication and aerial/rescue assembly plant is at 3100 McCarthy Rd.  Pierce facilities total over 1,000,000 square feet of area. The facilities are contained on 93 acres.  Refurbishing, accident repairs and special vehicle productions is done in the Weyauwega facility of 26,000 sq. ft and 70 employees.  Pierce aerial production is done at the Kewaunee facility along with heavy fabrication of weldments for a number for manufacturer’s of not competing lines such as Marine Travel Lift, Michigan loader equipment, etc. This facility employs over 200 heavy fabrication specialists.   The current employment in the Pierce organization is in excess of 1,500 people.  The inventory is approximately $7,000,000.

In addition, Pierce operates a 280,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Bradenton, FL where the Contender and Custom Contender apparatus bodies are produced and installed.  In addition the Elliptical tanker and “Wet Side” tanker bodies, Mini-Pumpers, Rescues (up to 16’ box), and wildland interface apparatus are also produced at this facility.

Pierce Manufacturing Inc. is an ISO 9001 certified company.