Grant Spencer
President, Spencer Manufacturing
In this month’s Manufacturer’s Profile, Editor in Chief Chris Mc Loone catches up with Grant Spencer, president of Spencer Manufacturing, to learn about the company’s history, what makes it unique, and advice on how to navigate the current apparatus purchasing environment.
CM: Please provide a brief history of Spencer Manufacturing.
GS: Spencer Manufacturing Inc. started in December 1986 in a pole barn under the name Spencer Repair Service. Based in South Haven, Michigan, it began as a repair company, fixing specialty vehicles such as concrete mixing trucks, tractor trailers, and fire trucks. As time went on, our focus shifted to fire trucks, and we began designing and fabricating them ourselves in our new 26,000-square-foot building. Our customers include very small rural departments up to large city fleets. We have trucks in service that range from Alaska to Maine, with our largest customer, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, operating more than 20 of our custom pumpers. Spencer is currently adding 38,000 square feet to its facility.
We currently offer aluminum and SOLID-POLY® bodies. All our subframes are built out of aluminum and carry a lifetime warranty. A few unique standards for us are our single-panel, seamless upper body side sheets that minimize any spot for potential corrosion, 100% removable wheel wells for ease of service and replacement, and our “Spencer” rear access ladder custom made out of stainless steel and milled polypropylene.
In addition to building custom apparatus, we also offer service, parts, refurbishments, upgrades, and loose equipment.
1 Spencer Manufacturing built this pumper for the Wellsburg (VA) Volunteer Fire Department on a Spartan Gladiator cab and chassis. (Photos courtesy of Spencer Manufacturing.)
CM: What did you display at FDIC International?
GS: We displayed:
• A demo pumper-rescue with a Spartan cab and chassis; a Hale 1,500-gpm pump; a SOLID-POLY body that is corrosion-resistant, is impact-/dent-resistant, and offers unlimited customization; a 1,000-gallon water tank; a transverse rescue compartment; and a city-style low hosebed. The goal was to blend rural pumper-rescues with city pumpers.
• A rescue demo with an International CV cab and chassis, an extruded aluminum body with a lifetime warranty, and a plan for all provisions like a light tower and a skid unit because wet rescues are becoming more popular.
• Washington Township (IN) walk-around rescue with a Freightliner M2 106 crew cab/chassis; an extruded aluminum body with a lifetime warranty, including a 3⁄16-inch compartment wall and seamless upper body panels; and a cascade/fill station.
2 This Spencer Manufacturing pumper-tanker is built on a Freightliner 114SD cab and chassis and features a Spencer SOLID-POLY body.
3 This Spencer-built pumper for the Saugatuck Township (MI) Fire District features a Spartan Metro Star MFD cab and chassis, a Cummins L9 450-hp engine, and a Hale Qmax-XS 2,000-gpm pump.
CM: What makes a Spencer rig unique?
GS: Customization, serviceability and durability, and fit and finish.
• Customization: Upfront engineering to understand the department’s needs; each truck is custom engineered to provide maximum tank capacities, usable compartment storage, shortest overall lengths, and so on.
• Serviceability and durability: Removable wheel wells, polypropylene rub rails that extend to be the widest part of the body to protect doors, easily replaceable tailboards; removable front and rear body sheeting; and extruded aluminum and SOLID-POLY bodies that offer a lifetime structure warranty.
• Fit and finish: Seamless upper body panels both for corrosion protection and visual appearance of limited trim to cover up things.
CM: What advice do you have for departments navigating the current apparatus purchasing environment?
GS: Plan for future replacement and budgeting timeline of apparatus. Order apparatus well in advance of when needed and consider financing or alternative purchasing methods. This will help avoid massive price increases and delays in production. Have a clear and complete grasp on what your apparatus needs are to help speed up the process and avoid changes and delays. Work with a trusted manufacturer that has flexibility and an uncompromising commitment to quality.
CM: What keeps you up at night?
GS: The health and safety of everyone, striving to never stop improving and innovating our workspace and product offerings, and providing apparatus and service that we are all proud of and that our customers can depend on.
