FORT COLLINS, Colo. — SVI is a Colorado-based company that has a firetruck factory in Fort Collins. Located about an hour north of Denver, the business is a fifth generation family operation.
When they build a firetruck it’s a process that takes months, starting from the ground up. Sheet metal is transformed into full-blown fire trucks, with every bolt, door and decal assembled in Colorado.
When it comes to fire truck sales, Jason Kline with SVI said this year has set records with 50 trucks ordered. It’s the maximum the company can produce in a year, and nearly half the trucks are for Colorado fire departments.
“We had a really good year last year,” Kline said. “We did about 25 units in Colorado and Wyoming about 5.”
Trucks can cost between $200,000 and $1 million. At that price, when firefighters come to inspect their truck, they take a lot of time to make sure it’s perfect.
The cost might seem high, but consider this: When Summit Fire and EMS built a new truck designed to protect homes last summer, it was deployed two days after they got it, which helped to save millions of dollars worth of homes in the Lake Christine Fire between El Jebel and Aspen.
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