Holden, LA – Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Inc., a custom manufacturer of fire and emergency vehicles based in Holden, Louisiana, is celebrating the first anniversary of its Factory Service and Refurbishment facility.  Located directly across the street from Ferrara’s main manufacturing plant, the Service and Refurb center has 14 bays ready to serve large or small needs in fire apparatus maintenance.  

The Service and Refurb center does all types of work on all types of apparatus.  On a recent tour of the facility with Blaine Richard, Ferrara’s Service and Refurb Manager, there were several Ferrara vehicles in for routine maintenance, two Ferrara’s receiving collision repair, as well as trucks from other manufacturers having major paint and refurb work performed, plus a 1947 antique apparatus that a local collector brought to Ferrara’s facility for major paint, body and electrical work.

The amount of business in the first year has surprised even company founder and CEO Chris Ferrara.  “We’ve really promoted the business only through word-of-mouth,” he said during a recent conversation.  “But the response has been tremendous and we’ve been fully booked several weeks out since we opened.” 

The amount of service business has created roughly 30 new jobs in Livingston Parish, due to both the amount of work coming in and Ferrara’s dedication to taking care of its customers.  “When we first opened the service center, customers would routinely drop off their trucks with us, no matter what size job we had to do to it,” said Richard.  “But we want to take care of the customer in all regards, so we now have a crew whose job focuses solely on the small types of repairs, such as replacing bulbs, doing minor pm’s (preventative maintenance), that sort of thing.  We ask our customers to wait in the lounge and they’re usually back on the road in short order.  More involved work still requires them to leave their truck, but it’s nice for them to know a small job doesn’t have the truck out of service for an entire day.”

Ferrara builds a complete line of fire apparatus, including the Inferno and Igniter custom chassis, pumpers and tankers, rear and mid-mount aerial ladders and platforms, rescue vehicles, brush trucks, airport vehicles, command trailers and the Strong Arm.  Ferrara Fire Apparatus has long been considered a leading innovator in the fire and emergency vehicle industry.  Their Inferno and Igniter are some of the most rugged custom chassis available and feature optional firefighter safety devices such as Independent Front Suspension, Roll Stability Control, Complete Airbag Protection, and SmartWheel steering systems. 

To learn more about the company please contact Paul Christiansen, Marketing Director, at 800.443.9006, via e-mail at paul.christiansen@ferrarafire.com or by regular mail at Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Inc., PO Box 249, Holden, LA  70744