Manufacturer’s Spotlight Chris Mc Loone
Firefighters, in addition to fighting fires and saving lives and property, are solutions providers. Some of the best-known tools we use today were born from a firefighter sitting down with a problem, developing a solution, and saying, “Why not?”
The innovation has never stopped among firefighters, and new products are brought to the market frequently based on our natural inclination to figure out solutions to challenges.
Kimball Johnson has done the exact same thing with KIMTEK Corporation, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in business this year. Originally founded as a research company, today it takes solutions developed by Johnson and his employees, some of whom are or were firefighter/EMTs themselves, and builds them into skid units for UTVs. “KIMTEK was founded in 1984, with a core mission of developing products related to life safety, specifically fire safety,” says Johnson. “Our first products, which turned into several patents, were concentrated on fire sprinklers for commercial and residential buildings. These designs were innovative in that they were designed to react to the heat of a fire 10 times faster than conventional sprinklers that were commonly available at the time. Having a complete prototype shop at my disposal and having started to volunteer on our local ambulance and fire departments, I soon found myself linking my real-life experiences with the first responder activities, and lo and behold we developed the first MEDLITE® Transport to fit into a UTV all-terrain vehicle.”
Today, KIMTEK offers more than 40 makes and models of its off-road UTV skid units in medical transport (MEDLITE®), fire/rescue (FIRELITE®), brush truck units (FIRELITE), and law enforcement (LEOLITE®). KIMTEK also holds government contracts. “We have over 8,500 skid units in service worldwide,” Johnson adds.
WALKING THE WALK
When Johnson says his company walks the walk, he’s not just saying that. In 2001, after serving 12 years as a volunteer EMT and nine years as a volunteer firefighter, he founded Westmore (VT) Fire-Rescue in his community. He served there as chief until recently retiring to focus on KIMTEK. Serving as chief of the newly formed fire company, he increased membership from one to 16; constructed a new station; and acquired two pumpers and a pumper-tanker, a command vehicle, and a 4×4 rescue UTV—all in less than five years. The fire company did all this through donations, successful grant writing, and a $12,000 annual stipend from the town the fire company serves. It was also around this time that the MEDLITE was born. The fire company was looking for a rescue trailer, rescue sled, or slide-in unit for his department. There was a variety of models available on the market, but he felt there could be a better design. He and his team of engineers got to work and came up with a rugged, lightweight, and affordable rescue unit, which became the MEDLITE Transport.
Johnson and several KIMTEK employees are themselves experienced first responders, having routinely performed off-road rescues and wildfire suppression as part of their duties with fire departments and ambulance squads. This field experience makes it inherently easier for KIMTEK to develop off-road solutions that are designed right, built right, and priced right.
“After spending decades talking with first responders about the challenges of meeting off-road rescue, firefighting, and law enforcement demands, I appreciate the particular needs of these agencies and departments,” says Johnson. “They need resources that are reliable, versatile, and affordable. It’s why I started KIMTEK Research then, and it’s why our team keeps researching, adapting, and providing medical, fire rescue, and law enforcement solutions that exactly meet first responders’ needs now.”
These products are some of the company’s most important innovations, according to Johnson. “We designed knowledge-based products—many of our employees over the years have been either EMTs, firefighters, or both—and we have also listened to our customers over the years,” he says. “We call it ‘boots on the ground’ experience. Our most important innovation is the idea that we have stayed with the tried-and-true materials that stand the test of time and we embraced interoperability so that any agency or department that owns one of our skids will find their additional skid—or a neighboring agency with one of our skids—very familiar to them.”
KIMTEK is located in Northern Vermont. In 2015, the company expanded into a second facility in Orleans, Vermont, tripling the amount of space available for company operations from its original Westmore, Vermont, facility. The new building increases office space and R&D capabilities and also affords the company with a greater opportunity to create new designs.
CHANGES AND CHALLENGES
Much like the problems firefighters are continually solving, the fire service itself is constantly evolving, which means the products developed must also continually evolve. Generations turn over, and how firefighters consume information on the products available to them changes as well. How does a company navigate all this and stay in business for 40 years?
“While a lot has changed, a lot has also stayed the same,” says Johnson. “How the fire service connects to information gathering (fire safety, SOG/SOP development, products, and general news) has really morphed from print to the Internet to podcasts and even social media platforms. KIMTEK believes we need to be in all the platforms in order to be relevant and seen. As far as product designing goes, innovation is on the fast track in the fire service as manufacturers look to develop electric pumps and engines and also adapt to fighting new fires like EV fires. But when you look at what has not changed, it still comes down to hard work and dedication to our communities, putting fires out.”
Although 40 years is a long time to be in business, Johnson says KIMTEK’s biggest challenge has been very recent. “Without question, the pandemic/COVID,” he says. “This brought on terrible potential shortages of materials that we utilize to build skids: pumps, engines, reels, and even aluminum. We worked with our amazing suppliers and stayed on top of things. The team at W.S. Darley made sure we were solid in pumps, and Honda Corporation serviced our engine needs. We have always been an outside-the-box thinking kind of company, and we did everything from buying containers of this item or that device so we knew we would not let our customers down. We were considered an essential company, so we worked throughout the pandemic, and our employees really stepped up and saved the day.”
Moving forward, Johnson says the greatest challenge will be keeping it simple. “Yes, we have grand innovations; great new products; and new ways of making sure our organizations are well staffed, professional, and up to the task,” he says. “But, don’t forget the past, the traditions, the brotherhood, and the sisterhood—the glue that keeps us together. I fear we may be losing that to some degree. We need the public to understand how much career and volunteer first responders sacrifice to protect and serve. And, we in the service need to be proud of what we do and be confident while also being humble. As a retired fire chief and EMT, I hope that, as a society, we can continue to support and respect our first responders, as they deserve it.”
KEYS TO STAYING IN BUSINESS
Staying in business for 40 years is not always easy. It takes a lot of work and a focus on the customer. Johnson says that focus is one way he’s stayed in business this long. “Number 1 is customer satisfaction,” he says. “If a customer is having an issue with one of our skid units, then myself as CEO and the whole team have a problem. We jump on any customer concern immediately 24/7/365, and the organization that has the problem will know we are on it until they are fully satisfied.”
Johnson also stresses being upfront and straightforward with KIMTEK’s customers. “If we feel our products don’t match their needs or mission, we will say so,” he says. “Over the years, it has not happened often, but when it does, lo and behold that same chief or officer will call back and want to purchase our unit anyway. When asked why, they always state that any company willing to be that honest with their customers is a company they want to do business with.”
But, along with the customer focus, Johnson states that maintaining employee satisfaction is also a key to longevity. “Number 2 is employee satisfaction,” he adds. “If employees do not have pride in what they build, then things can go downhill quickly. With several of our employees being boots on the ground in the fire or EMS world themselves, it really boosts that sense of pride in what they’re building for their brothers and sisters in the field. All of our employees take great pride in customer feedback, photos, and seeing our equipment on TV doing what it was designed to do.”
PRIDE IN THE PRESENT AND LOOKING FORWARD
Johnson is proud of the company he’s built and its longevity but also looks forward to the future. “I am so proud yet humbled by being able to say that KIMTEK has served the life safety industry and first responder community for 40 years,” he says. “It has been a true honor to meet and talk with so many leaders in the fire industry as well as chiefs and EMS directors of large and small departments. But, the true delight and honor is when I meet and talk to the ‘boots on the ground’ folks who make up our first responder community. They are truly inspirational—a special and rare breed. We have many ideas for the future of Kimtek. We are looking forward to designing, developing, and sharing them with the world in our next decade of business.”
CHRIS Mc LOONE, editor in chief of Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment, is a 32-year veteran of the fire service currently serving as a safety officer and is a former assistant chief with Weldon Fire Company (Glenside, PA). He has served on past apparatus and equipment purchasing committees. He has also held engineering officer positions, where he was responsible for apparatus maintenance and inspection. He has been a writer and an editor for more than 30 years.
