Oshkosh company Pierce to sell Bronto fire platforms in North America

US fire equipment manufacturer Pierce Manufacturing is to be exclusive distributor in North America of Bronto Skylift's firefighting aerial platforms. Bronto will continue to sell its platforms to non-fire fighting markets through its existing distribution network.

Pierce is a subsidiary of Oshkosh Corp, the owner of JLG Industries.

In the past, Bronto has sold fire fighting platforms in North America through E-One, a competitor of Pierce.

Esa Peltola, Bronto's managing director, said the new deal was an important milestone for the company in North America; "We feel that each company will benefit from the other's reputation for high quality and innovation. But fire departments and those they protect, first and foremost, will be the biggest beneficiaries."

Dennis Martin, Federal Signal's president and chief executive officer, said; "We are pleased to establish this important relationship with the leading North American manufacturer of custom fire apparatus.

"Bronto's articulated hydraulic platforms are recognized around the world as best in class. When coupled with the build quality and innovation that Pierce is renowned for, we believe that North American fire departments will now have an opportunity to obtain the most capable high-access firefighting vehicles ever made."

Meanwhile, Federal Signal Corp's financial results for the final quarter of 2010 show that Bronto's net sales fell by 42% to US$34.0 million. Federal reports Bronto's activities under ‘Fire Rescue'.

Order intake in the quarter, however, was up $2.8 million to $28.6 million (after accounting for currency impact) and was "primarily due to an increase in the industrial market", which means demand from rental companies.

Operating profit for the quarter was $4.3 million, less than a half of the profit in the same quarter in 2009.