REV Group® Announces Plans to Shift KME® Production to Other REV Fire Group Facilities
From wnep.com:
NESQUEHONING, Pa. — A plant in Carbon County that makes custom firefighting vehicles is closing.
Kovatch Mobile Equipment is a landmark in the town of Nesquehoning, producing top-of-the-line custom fire apparatus for more than 50 years. KME’s parent company REV Group has decided to move production elsewhere.
Some KME employees who wished to remain anonymous told Newswatch 16 they were called into a meeting Friday morning and were blindsided when they were told that the plants in Nesquehoning would be closing. Their last day of work will be March 31, 2022.
In a statement, REV Group said the plants will complete orders already in production, but new orders will be sent to other facilities in the company.
Doug Budziak left KME in May. He wasn’t surprised by the news.
“I knew it was coming. I’m not going to lie. I told a lot of people when I left there, I was like. ‘Listen, this place is going to go down, and it’s going to go down fast.’ Look at the stock markets, and you see their production levels; it’s just going down. With labor costs going up, it’s just more sensible to go overseas and make more money that way.”
Residents say the plant’s closure will be a big blow to the small town.
“I’m not from here, but I know it matters to these people,” Budziak said. “I know one guy, he works there, his name is Dave. He’s worked there his entire life. He’s going to lose it all.”
Despite massive layoffs in recent years, current and former employees estimate 300 to 400 people still work at the plant. Budziak says many of them can find new jobs fast, as he did, but they might have to relocate.
“Some other company is going to come in and maybe do something with it, by all means. But by that time, it’s going to be two or three years deep. The next generation’s going to be good, but you’re screwing these 300 people out of a life for the next two or three years, if not more. You don’t know what that is going to do to this kind of community.”
REV Group says it will meet with employees to discuss possible reassignments within the company. If they’re let go, employees tell Newswatch 16 the company will pay a week of severance for every year they worked at the plant.
#1 by Brian on September 15, 2021 - 10:30 PM
Mike C, Ferrara is now building their own cabs and I believe aerials. Can’t confirm on the aerials but I know for sure they are building cabs.
#2 by crabbymilton on September 13, 2021 - 8:54 AM
One way to look at it that legacy SPARTAN builds pretty solid chassis and E-ONE is a long established builder as well. So there is plenty of duplication and overlap. Quality on KME’s part certainly could have had a factor in all of this.
Who would have thought that the once mighty AMERICAN LaFRANCE would have died.
Granted they had more than their share of ups and downs over the years but many long term quality problem s did them in.
#3 by Crabbymilton on September 11, 2021 - 11:43 PM
At some point something had to give. KMEONE.
We’re all apparatus fans and do appreciate history and heritage. However having said that, the masses in this case being many fire departments, don’t really care who’s name is on the rig let alone the building. They care if the things are going to work after spending gobs of taxpayer money. To them if one builder ceases to exist, no problem there are others.
#4 by Mike C on September 11, 2021 - 11:26 AM
Michael m – FDNY isn’t buying from KME any longer. Seagrave is currently fulfilling a large order for FDNY, including Aerialscopes, Pumpers, and Rear Mount Ladders.
The way this letter reads as if KME is not being phased out but transitioned to a different REV facility. It’s not clear in this article if KME will be entirely dissolved or just produced elsewhere. I’m a bit surprised this is the route REV took since KME builds their own cabs and aerials. This is very unfortunate for the local economy in PA. Since Ferrara didn’t build their own cab or aerial, I figured this would be the line to relocate or dissolve. I think KME got hurt pretty bad with FDNY. I think KME sold themselves short, as Ferrara too.
I’m not entirely happy that REV has bought out all of these companies. I would have much preferred seeing each company bought out by a smaller firm individually rather than it being one large enterprise. The one thing about the apparatus industry that I always appreciated is the amount of competition. So many different options to choose from!
#5 by Michael m on September 11, 2021 - 11:04 AM
I wonder what the FDNY is going to do? If KME is going to be phased out, I wonder if the FDNY will go back to Seagrave?
I wonder why phase out KME? Do they really make a terrible product?
I wonder if they will phase out either E-One or Ferrara next?
Of all the maufacturers where does KME rate in terms of size? Is KME smaller than E-One and Ferrara?
The other option is to phase out all three brands and create a REV brand but still have the vehicles look like they do today. Instead of KME, E-One and Ferrara just have a REV brand fire apparatus.
I wonder if they will give those employees the opportunity to go to the E-One Stainless steal plant in Hamburg New York?
#6 by Tim on September 11, 2021 - 8:49 AM
And the beginning of REV group phasing out KME begins.