Metalfab’s History in Ontario, Canada
As a manufacturer of quality custom fire trucks for over 50 years, Metalfab comes to you with a rich Canadian history. Although our factory is located in New Brunswick with our starting base of customers based in the Maritimes, we were drawn into the much larger Ontario market as the company expanded. On a yearly basis, fire departments in the province of Ontario purchase the highest number of new fire apparatus from us than any other region.
Since 1967, Metalfab has been serving fire departments across North America with the best of the best in custom fire apparatus. What started as simply building trucks for local fire departments quickly grew into something more. Over the years, we expanded our clientele of fire departments across New Brunswick and well into Nova Scotia, Maine, and Prince Edward Island (PEI).
We didn’t stop there. After 29 years in business, we sold our first truck in Ontario in 1996. It was a mini pumper purchased by the Bracebridge Fire Department. Since that purchase, the Bracebridge fire department has become one of Metalfab’s largest customers with seven Metalfab-manufactured units since their initial purchase in 1996. Springwater purchased the second Ontario truck from us, a demo pumper built on a GMC chassis—at the Ontario Association of Fire Chief’s Annual Convention and Trade Show.
Since 1996, Metalfab has sold over 170 units to fire departments throughout Ontario. Of the 97 customers we’ve worked with here, 30 have been repeat customers who have purchased multiple units over the years. This in itself speaks to the superior quality of the units we produce, and it fills us with an immense amount of pride.
The majority of our customers are small volunteer departments and medium-sized full-time departments, so we know how to serve these departments well. Metalfab’s mission with each new unit we manufacture is a 20-year partnership of protection for our customers and our communities which ties in well with those small and medium-sized departments. After the sale of each truck, Metalfab remains present for any assistance. This is true even after the warranty period is over. Although small and medium-sized departments make up the majority of our customer base, we have also sold to many large-city Ontario customers as well as industrial fire departments. We get a good mix of everything from our Ontario base.
Amidst the units we’ve sold in Ontario are pumpers, tankers, and rescues on either commercial or custom chassis. In addition to the quality of our workmanship, Metalfab’s niche of working hand in hand with the customer to design and build a custom unit that meets their requirements makes us a desired choice to build a department’s next apparatus. Currently, we conduct sales and service for our trucks in Ontario through our dealer, Safetek Profire. Safetek Profire has their Ontario office in Mississauga and is also the Metalfab dealer for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Territories.
Safetek Profire is an ideal representative for Metalfab because we share a very similar set of values. Safetek Profire knows how to take action and get things done, how to respond rather than react. We also admire Safetek Profire’s ability to take ownership, be responsible, and be held accountable; to earn trust and respect by treating others with dignity and offering help when needed; to exercise their strong judgement to make the right decision and not the easy decision; to engage their curiosity and willingness to learn, improve, develop, and ask questions; to use their capacity to deliver results with insights on the highest standards; to continue their commitment to hiring and developing the best of the best to serve you; and of course to communicate effectively and be a positive influence on others.
In addition to representing us in Ontario, Safetek Profire also offers many additional services to fire departments. These include in-house service and warranty service, road service and warranty service, a large inventory of parts in house, and multiple certified Emergency Vehicle Technicians (EVTs) on staff.
With regard to new Metalfab sales in Ontario, Gregory Rivers and Colin Darling are the main contacts. Gregory is the Product Specialist and Operations Manager for Ontario and all of Eastern Canada. From rail to road to fire, Gregory holds an extensive portfolio of industry knowledge. He has a 25-year background in transportation engineering, manufacturing, and sales. Colin Darling works on Inside Sales for Eastern Canada. He comes with 10 years of diverse knowledge in firefighting, agriculture, and heavy trucks. Having dealt in both rural and urban areas, Colin looks forward to supporting customers and finding their best fit.
Metalfab’s Business Development Manager, Ryan Stacey, has worked with Ontario fire departments for over 20 years and continues to work alongside the Safetek Profire team to provide the best service to Metalfab’s Ontario customers. You can learn more about our Ontario ties by viewing our recent deliveries in Ontario here or by emailing Ryan at rastacey@metalfabfiretrucks.com.
