By Chris Mc Loone

This year marks 70 years since P.L. Custom Body and Equipment Co., Inc. (PLCB) opened its doors in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey.

In 1970, the business was purchased by the Smock family, led by Martin V. “Bud” Smock, and has been owned and operated by the Smocks ever since. The company thrived during the ensuing years, based in large part on its methodical, calculated growth; its focus on people-both within the company’s walls and its customers; and maintaining a size that allows it to turn on a dime when necessary.

Origins

The company was founded in 1946 and built brush truck and responder vehicles. At that time, it had not gotten into ambulance manufacturing. In the 1960s, the company moved to Brick, New Jersey, and continued to manufacture brush trucks and other small fire trucks. “My father was selling for Swab Wagon, out of Pennsylvania, in the 1960s,” says Deborah Smock Thomson, president of PLCB. He discovered PLCB in the 1960s, hooked up with the company, and started developing an interest in ambulances. He had been a first-aid member in Spring Lake and Manasquan, New Jersey, and, according to Thomson, “He said there’s got to be a better way to build a better ambulance,” and figured PLCB would be able to do it. He started selling for PLCB and in a short amount of time made the investment to buy into the company and then bought the company. “He kept all the employees,” adds Thomson. “So if you go back to 1970, it’s always been our structure to say we’re going to keep the people we have, expand their talents, and promote from within.”

1 P.L. Custom Body and Equipment Co., Inc. is celebrating 70 years in business during 2016. The company has used this facility in Wall Township, New Jersey, since 1987. (Photos courtesy of P.L. Custom Body and Equipment Co., Inc.)

As the modular ambulance started to become accepted, the company needed more space because until then it could only work on one truck at a time. So, in the mid 1970s, PLCB moved to a facility in Wall Township, New Jersey. Since that time, the company has been in four buildings on Atlantic Avenue. “We’ve continued to grow and continued to move into larger facilities,” says Thomson. “Every time we got to one, we said, ‘That’s it. We’re never going to need more space.’ And, a couple of years later, we would say, ‘We need more space.’ As our footprint in the industry increased, we needed bigger facilities.”

The company moved into its current facility in 1987 after Bud Smock looked across the driveway from his office in a building the company built and saw that the complex was for sale. “He said, ‘Think we should do it?’ and went home to talk to Jean Smock, the company’s current owner and CEO. He and Jean talked about it, and she said, ‘Why not? Let’s go for it.’ So, we bought the building in 1987 and had no idea how we were going to fill it up.” Jean Smock adds, “The interest rate in those days was 18 percent. What a leap of faith!”

Read more 274 0 Article rating: No rating Posted: Apr 15, 2016 FDIC International Makes Me a Kid Again   Chris Mc Loone If I had known about fire service trade shows when I was a kid, I would have gone out of my mind. As it was, my parents couldn’t separate me from my “Emergency!” plastic fire helmet with a picture of Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto as its frontice piece. To have been brought to an event like FDIC International as a kid, I would have been in paradise. After I joined my fire company and attended some of the regional trade shows I had access to, I began to look forward to the trade show season each year, without knowing that there is a bona fide season for them. These days, of course, I am always anxious to hit the show floor at FDIC International as the annual trade show season officially opens. 2016 is no different. FDIC International is a unique conference and exhibition in that many of the exhibit hall attendees get a chance to use a few of the products on display during the conference component of the show. Participants in the event’s hands-on training evolutions get to use SCBA, two-way radios, extrication equipment, technical rescue equipment, fire apparatus, and more from leading fire service vendors. After recovering from the intense training experience, they get to take a closer look at everything they used in the field while walking the aisles of the exhibition. Additionally, FDIC International is the launchpad for countless new products. Under development sometimes for several years and sometimes only since the previous show, vendors wait for FDIC International to introduce their products. As much as I look forward to seeing new products, I find it even more valuable to see how other departments from across the nation have chosen to locate each piece of equipment and each tool on their rigs. To that end, I expect to see some interesting front bumper configurations at this year’s show. Our March issue included an article covering front bumper extensions and the different ways manufacturers and fire departments have chosen to design them. There are many commonalities across the country for what departments carry and how they carry it on or in front bumpers, as well as countless unique configurations. Along with the article, the digital edition of the magazine included a survey on how fire departments view front bumper extensions. Eighty percent of survey respondents stated that they prefer an extended front bumper with storage for equipment vs. a short bumper with no storage. I found that result interesting. My fire company recently started using a loaner rescue truck that does not feature an extended front bumper. Every truck I’ve been qualified to drive has always had some storage on the front bumper. I’m used to driving with them, but I had a chance to operate the loaner rescue en route to a call that involved a turn caused by a fork in the road; I was not traveling in the direction of the fork. To make the turn, I was practically making a U turn with cars on each side. The shorter wheelbase of the truck and normal front bumper made making this turn a cinch. It was kind of a nice change. That said, for our purposes, our next rescue truck will feature an extended front bumper with different pieces of equipment in it. We’ve found it works for us, and we’ll readjust easily to having the larger bumper. But, 80 percent is a pretty high percentage. Given that sort of market demand, I’m looking forward to seeing what some of the apparatus manufacturers are coming up with to maximize the fr Read more 470 0 Article rating: No rating Posted: Apr 15, 2016 FDIC International Makes Me a Kid Again   Chris Mc Loone If I had known about fire service trade shows when I was a kid, I would have gone out of my mind. As it was, my parents couldn’t separate me from my “Emergency!” plastic fire helmet with a picture of Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto as its frontice piece. To have been brought to an event like FDIC International as a kid, I would have been in paradise. After I joined my fire company and attended some of the regional trade shows I had access to, I began to look forward to the trade show season each year, without knowing that there is a bona fide season for them. These days, of course, I am always anxious to hit the show floor at FDIC International as the annual trade show season officially opens. 2016 is no different. FDIC International is a unique conference and exhibition in that many of the exhibit hall attendees get a chance to use a few of the products on display during the conference component of the show. Participants in the event’s hands-on training evolutions get to use SCBA, two-way radios, extrication equipment, technical rescue equipment, fire apparatus, and more from leading fire service vendors. After recovering from the intense training experience, they get to take a closer look at everything they used in the field while walking the aisles of the exhibition. Additionally, FDIC International is the launchpad for countless new products. Under development sometimes for several years and sometimes only since the previous show, vendors wait for FDIC International to introduce their products. As much as I look forward to seeing new products, I find it even more valuable to see how other departments from across the nation have chosen to locate each piece of equipment and each tool on their rigs. To that end, I expect to see some interesting front bumper configurations at this year’s show. Our March issue included an article covering front bumper extensions and the different ways manufacturers and fire departments have chosen to design them. There are many commonalities across the country for what departments carry and how they carry it on or in front bumpers, as well as countless unique configurations. Along with the article, the digital edition of the magazine included a survey on how fire departments view front bumper extensions. Eighty percent of survey respondents stated that they prefer an extended front bumper with storage for equipment vs. a short bumper with no storage. I found that result interesting. My fire company recently started using a loaner rescue truck that does not feature an extended front bumper. Every truck I’ve been qualified to drive has always had some storage on the front bumper. I’m used to driving with them, but I had a chance to operate the loaner rescue en route to a call that involved a turn caused by a fork in the road; I was not traveling in the direction of the fork. To make the turn, I was practically making a U turn with cars on each side. The shorter wheelbase of the truck and normal front bumper made making this turn a cinch. It was kind of a nice change. That said, for our purposes, our next rescue truck will feature an extended front bumper with different pieces of equipment in it. We’ve found it works for us, and we’ll readjust easily to having the larger bumper. But, 80 percent is a pretty high percentage. Given that sort of market demand, I’m looking forward to seeing what some of the apparatus manufacturers are coming up with to maximize the fr Read more 423 0 Article rating: No rating Posted: Apr 15, 2016 FDIC International Makes Me a Kid Again   Chris Mc Loone If I had known about fire service trade shows when I was a kid, I would have gone out of my mind. As it was, my parents couldn’t separate me from my “Emergency!” plastic fire helmet with a picture of Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto as its frontice piece. To have been brought to an event like FDIC International as a kid, I would have been in paradise. After I joined my fire company and attended some of the regional trade shows I had access to, I began to look forward to the trade show season each year, without knowing that there is a bona fide season for them. These days, of course, I am always anxious to hit the show floor at FDIC International as the annual trade show season officially opens. 2016 is no different. FDIC International is a unique conference and exhibition in that many of the exhibit hall attendees get a chance to use a few of the products on display during the conference component of the show. Participants in the event’s hands-on training evolutions get to use SCBA, two-way radios, extrication equipment, technical rescue equipment, fire apparatus, and more from leading fire service vendors. After recovering from the intense training experience, they get to take a closer look at everything they used in the field while walking the aisles of the exhibition. Additionally, FDIC International is the launchpad for countless new products. Under development sometimes for several years and sometimes only since the previous show, vendors wait for FDIC International to introduce their products. As much as I look forward to seeing new products, I find it even more valuable to see how other departments from across the nation have chosen to locate each piece of equipment and each tool on their rigs. To that end, I expect to see some interesting front bumper configurations at this year’s show. Our March issue included an article covering front bumper extensions and the different ways manufacturers and fire departments have chosen to design them. There are many commonalities across the country for what departments carry and how they carry it on or in front bumpers, as well as countless unique configurations. Along with the article, the digital edition of the magazine included a survey on how fire departments view front bumper extensions. Eighty percent of survey respondents stated that they prefer an extended front bumper with storage for equipment vs. a short bumper with no storage. I found that result interesting. My fire company recently started using a loaner rescue truck that does not feature an extended front bumper. Every truck I’ve been qualified to drive has always had some storage on the front bumper. I’m used to driving with them, but I had a chance to operate the loaner rescue en route to a call that involved a turn caused by a fork in the road; I was not traveling in the direction of the fork. To make the turn, I was practically making a U turn with cars on each side. The shorter wheelbase of the truck and normal front bumper made making this turn a cinch. It was kind of a nice change. That said, for our purposes, our next rescue truck will feature an extended front bumper with different pieces of equipment in it. We’ve found it works for us, and we’ll readjust easily to having the larger bumper. But, 80 percent is a pretty high percentage. Given that sort of market demand, I’m looking forward to seeing what some of the apparatus manufacturers are coming up with to maximize the fr Read more 318 0 Article rating: No rating RSS FirstPrevious4191419241934194419541964197419841994200NextLast Theme picker Section Quick Links   Fire Mechanics Documents EVT Discussion Forum Fire Mechanic Photo Gallery Training & Testing 2019 Scholarship Logo Wear Store Upcoming Events Theme picker Sponsors Fire Mechanics Section Board Chair Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Chair Elliot Courage North Whatcom Fire & Rescue Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Vice Chair Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Vice Chair Mike Smith  Pierce County Fire District #5 Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Secretary Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Secretary Greg Bach South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #1 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #1 Doug Jones South Kitsap Fire & Rescue Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #2 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #2 Paul Spencer  Fire Fleet Maintenance LLC Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #3 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #3 Jim Morris Mountain View Fire Department Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #4 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #4 Arnie Kuchta Clark County Fire District 6 Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #6 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #6 Brett Annear Kitsap County Fire District 18 Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #5 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #5 Jay Jacks Camano Island Fire & Rescue Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Legislative Representative Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Legislative Representative TBD TBD Read more 3255 0 Article rating: No rating Immediate Past Chair Posted: Oct 20, 2015 Immediate Past Chair Brian Fortner Graham Fire & Rescue Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating RSS Theme picker 2020 CAR SHOW Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement - Copyright 2024 by Washington Fire Chiefs Home Members About Us News Calendar Resources Documents Sections County Fire Chiefs FRWC WSAFM