Pierce Manufacturing

thumb|250x250px|The special 100th anniversary commemorative logo affixed to trucks that Pierce made in 2013. 
Pierce Manufacturing Inc. is an American fire apparatus manufacturer headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin. It was acquired by Oshkosh Corporation in 1996 and is a wholly owned subsidiary thereof. Today, Pierce is one of the largest apparatus builders in the US, having delivered nearly 40,000 trucks across the country, and the entire world. 
==History==
The company was originally founded in 1913 by Humphrey Pierce and his son Dudley as the Pierce Auto Body Works Inc., and concentrated on building custom truck bodies for the Ford Model T. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, Pierce was primarily known for building custom bodies on commercial and other manufacturer's custom chassis, and was considered an OEM.
Although the Arrow name was used for their first custom chassis which debuted in 1979 (built for the Miami Department of Fire-Rescue), the company has no affiliation with George N. Pierce's famous Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company of Buffalo, New York, which operated from 1901 to 1938. However, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company coincidentally supplied 8- and 12-cylinder engines to Seagrave for use in their fire apparatus. These engines continued to be made even after Pierce-Arrow ceased operation in 1938. Seagrave continued to deliver fire apparatus with the "Pierce-Arrow" V-12 until 1970.
Throughout the years, Pierce has had partnerships with various other manufacturers, notably when it came to aerial devices (they now engineer and build all their own aerial devices in-house). Such aerial manufacturers included Snorkel, Pitman, Aerial Innovations (AI), Ladder Towers Incorporated (LTI), Smeal, Bronto Skylift and NovaQuintech (whose assets Pierce/Oshkosh acquired in 1997). In addition to the main facility in Appleton and refurb facility in Weyauwega, Wisconsin, they also have a facility in Bradenton, Florida.
On September 16, 2021; Pierce Manufacturing announced that it had "completed the purchase of an ownership interest" in Boise Mobile Equipment.Pierce Manufacturing Completes Ownership Interest in Boise Mobile Equipment. piercemfg.com. Sep. 16, 2021. Accessed Oct. 15, 2021. A year later, in 2022, Pierce's parent company Oshkosh announced they had completed the acquisition of Canadian fire apparatus manufacturer Maxi-Metal (whom Pierce had a working partnership with for several years prior, being one of the few third-party builders that Pierce supplied chassis to). https://www.oshkoshcorp.com/news/6-13-22-Maxi-Metal 
As of March 2023, Pierce removed the Quantum and the Arrow XT from all official websites (excluding drawings and previous orders), as well as many dealer websites, indicating that the product line was discontinued.
===Milestones===
2022 - Pierce built their 3000th PUC pumper:
*SN# 36426 was a Pierce Enforcer 7010 PUC pumper built for the Minnetonka Fire Department.
2014 - Fairfax County Fire and Rescue put their 100th Pierce into service:
*SN# 27613-03 was a 2014 Pierce Velocity pumper (1500/750/40F).
2013 - Pierce celebrates their 100th year in business. 
2008 - The first PUC quint was built for the Strasburg Fire Company (Pennsylvania): 
*SN# 20230 was a Pierce Arrow XT PUC aerial.
2007 - Pierce built three prototypes for the new Velocity cab/chassis. They were later sold;
*SN# 18565 to New Cumberland Fire Department (Pennsylvania) and was purchased Mar. 21, 2014.
*SN# 18566 to SSI de Sainte Catherine de la Jacques Cartier, with an unknown purchase date, and;
*the third SN# and recipient is unknown.
1995 - Pierce builds their first Quantum truck: 
*SN# E9777 was a pumper for the Williamsport Volunteer Fire and EMS (Maryland).
1988 - Pierce celebrates their 75th year in business. 
1993 - Pierce builds their 5000th custom chassis:
*SN# E7381 was an Arrow built for the Oxnard Fire Department.
1979 - Pierce builds their first custom cab:
* SN# E0321 was a canopy cab Arrow. It was built for the Miami Department of Fire-Rescue.
==Production==
Pierce Manufacturing Inc. builds pumpers, tankers, aerials, and rescues using their own custom chassis and commercial chassis.
===Innovations ===
*Pierce Ultimate Configuration
===Custom chassis ===
At present, Pierce denotes all their cab models with a 4-digit numerical suffix. The first two digits identify the length of the cab, measured from the center of the front axle to the rear cab wall. The last two digits identify the height of the roof. Dimensions are measured in inches ("). For example, an Arrow XT 6710 cab measures 67" in length with a 10" raised roof. Flat roof cabs are denoted with a "00" in place of the roof height and aerials may have a notched version of the shortest roof height configuration available, per each cab.
====Current custom chassis==== 
*Pierce Enforcer (2014-Present)
*Pierce Impel (2006-Present)
* Pierce Velocity (2006-Present)
*Pierce Saber (1992-Present) (Redesigned in 2014)
*Pierce Volterra (2021-Present) 
====Discontinued custom chassis====
Between 1987 and 1993, Pierce supplied custom chassis to Superior Emergency Vehicles, including the Arrow, Dash, and Lance.
*Pierce Arrow (1979-2002)
*Pierce Arrow XT (2003-2023)
*Pierce Contender (1999-2010)
* Pierce Dash (1984-2008) 
**Pierce Dash 2000
** Pierce Dash D-8000
*Pierce Dash CF (2011-2020)
*Pierce Enforcer (2000-2007)
*Pierce Javelin (1990-1993)
*Pierce Lance (1985-2007)
**Pierce Lance II
**Pierce Lance 2000
*Pierce Quantum (1995-2023)
*Pierce Fire Marshal (Hendrickson 1871-S chassis, pre-1979) 
===Commercial chassis===
Pierce made a wide variety of apparatus using commercial chassis. Not all were given names.
====Current commercial chassis====
*Responder
====Discontinued commercial chassis====
*Contender
*Minuteman
*Mustang
*Suburban
===Aerials===
*Payload capacities are denoted by firefighter weight + equipment allowance.
====See also: Ascendant Class of Aerials====
====Ladders====
 	75' Heavy-Duty Aluminum 	75' Heavy-Duty Steel 	100' Heavy-Duty Aluminum 	100' Heavy-Duty Steel 	100' Heavy-Duty Low Profile Steel 	105' Heavy-Duty Steel
Production 	2004-present 	1992-present 	2006-present 	????-present 	2022-present 	1992-present
Custom Chassis 	EnforcerImpelVelocity 	EnforcerImpelVelocity 	EnforcerVelocity 	EnforcerVelocity 	EnforcerVelocity 	EnforcerImpelVelocity
Aerial Extension Capacity	75' vertical67'-9" horizontal 	75' vertical69' horizontal 	100' vertical91'-7" horizontal 	100' vertical94'-1" horizontal 	100' vertical93' horizontal 	105' vertical100' horizontal
Operating Range 	-8° to 76° 	-5° to 75° 	-8° to 76° 	-8° to 75° 	-8° to 78° 	-8° to 75°
Payload Capacity 	750+100 lbs. dry500+100 lbs. wet 	500+100 lbs. dry or wet 	750+100 lbs. dry500+100 lbs. wet 	750+100 lbs. dry500+100 lbs. wet 	750+100 lbs. dry500+100 lbs. wet 	750+100 lbs. dry500+100 lbs. wet
Water Flow Capacity 	1500 US GPM 	1000 US GPM 	1500 US GPM 	1000 US GPM 	1500 US GPM 	1000 US GPM
Stabilizers 	1 pair of H-style outriggers(16' jack spread)	1 pair of H-style outriggers(16' jack spread)	2 pairs of H-style outriggers(12' jack spread)	2 pairs of H-style outriggers(12' jack spread)	1 pair of H-style outriggers + 1 pair of downriggers(Up to 16' jack spread)	2 pairs of H-style outriggers(Up to 16' jack spread)
Body Styles 	QuintTruck (no pump/no tank) 	QuintTruck (no pump/no tank) 	QuintTruck (no pump/no tank) 	QuintTruck (no pump/no tank) 	QuintTruck (no pump/no tank) 	QuintTruck (no pump/no tank)
Tank Capacity 	Up to 500 US gallons 	Up to 500 US gallons 	Up to 750 US gallons 	Up to 750 US gallons 	Up to 750 US gallons 	Up to 750 US gallons
PUC Config. 	Available 	Available 	Available 	Available 	Available 	Available
====Platforms====
 	100' Heavy Duty Aluminum 	100' Heavy Duty Steel
Production 	2009-present 	1991-present
Custom Chassis 	EnforcerVelocity 	EnforcerVelocity
Aerial Extension Capacity	100' vertical92' horizontal 	100' vertical93' horizontal
Operating Range 	-11.5° to 76° 	-5° to 75°
Payload Capacity 	1000 lbs. dry500 lbs. wet 	1000 lbs. dry500 lbs. wet
Water Flow Capacity 	2000 US GPM 	3000 US GPM
Stabilizers 	2 pairs of H-style outriggers (16'-6" jack spread)	2 pairs of H-style outriggers (18' jack spread)
Body Styles 	QuintTruck (no pump/no tank) 	QuintTruck (no pump/no tank)
Tank Capacity 	Up to 500 US gallons 	Up to 500 US gallons
PUC 	Available 	Available
====Other aerial devices====
=====Sky-Boom=====
The Sky-Boom is an aerial water tower available in a 55' or 61' reach (16.76 m or 18.59 m),and delivers an unrestricted 500 lb (226.8 kg) dry tip load rating and a 250 lb (113.4 kg) tip load while flowing 1,000 gpm (3,785 lpm) of water. 
=====Snozzle HRET=====
The Snozzle HRET (High Reach Extendable Turret) is an elevated waterway with a piercing nozzle, high flow discharge (up to 250 gpm), and 360-degree rotation. It is available in a 50' and 65' model. 
====Discontinued aerial products==== 
*85' heavy-duty platform (1998-2019)
*95' mid-mount platform (2000-2018)
*100' SkyArm platform (1998-2012)
*116' Bronto Skylift platform (2011-2014)
*100' medium-duty tiller (19??-2017)
*100' heavy-duty tiller (19??-2017)
*100' medium-duty ladder (?-2019)
*100' mid-mount ladder (?-2019)
*45' Aerial-Ett rear-mount bucket
*35' Aerial-Ett rear-mount ladder
=== Pumpers===
*pumper
**FXP pumper
**BXP pumper
**Volterra electric pumper
*rescue pumper
*heavy-duty rescue pumper
===Rescues===
*Encore walk-around
*walk-around
*walk-in
*combination
*command
===Tankers===
*pumper tanker
*BXT tanker
*FXT tanker
*DX tanker
*dry-side tanker
*wet-side tanker
*elliptical tanker
==External Links==
*Pierce Manufacturing Inc. main website
*Pierce Manufacturing Facebook page
*Pierce Manufacturing Twitter feed
*Pierce Manufacturing Instagram feed
*Pierce Manufacturing YouTube channel
*Pierce Manufacturing Flickr page (new deliveries)
==Sources== 
*McCall, Walter M.P. "Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Fire Engine Manufacturers". Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2009. ISBN 9781583882528
*Pierce Manufacturing history
*VIN decoding
==References==
==Facility Maps==
===Appleton Facility===
===Bradenton Facility===
===Weyauwega Facility===
Category:American fire apparatus manufacturers
Category:Pierce