CLINTONVILLE, Wis. (May 8, 2003) -- Former Freightliner LLC president Jim Hebe is back in truck manufacturing.
Hebe and a group of investors have acquired Seagrave Fire Apparatus, a privately held maker of fire and emergency vehicles. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Clintonville, Wis., company produces a full line of commercial and custom pumpers, rescue trucks, aerial ladders, tractor-drawn aerials, and platforms for fire departments across North America. Its customers include the largest fire departments in the United States, among them New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
The purchase includes several Seagrave affiliates, including Almonte Fire Trucks of Carleton Place, Ont.
Hebe will serve as president and chief executive officer of Seagrave, where he can exercise his long-professed affinity for the fire truck market. While with Freightliner, Hebe engineered the acquisition of fire truck manufacturer American LaFrance, where he began his career in 1971 as a salesman.
Seagrave, founded in 1881, is the oldest continuous manufacturer of fire apparatus in North America. The company employs 422 through its manufacturing facilities in the United States and Canada. Seagrave products are distributed and serviced by a dealer network with locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Hebe was president and CEO of Freightliner from 1992 to 2001. Under his leadership, Freightliner was recognized as an agile innovator and leader in truck design, manufacturing processes, and customer support. By 2000, it was the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in North America. He and Freightliner agreed to part ways after the class-8 truck market weakened dramatically.
