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Boardman built fire apparatus in Oklahoma City from 1929-1995 and from
1995-1999 in Clinton, OK. We were bought out by Freightliner and turned
into an ALF facility in August, 1998. ALF nameplates started appearing on
our rigs in April, 1999. Production was continued at the Clinton facility
until October, 2002 when our product line was moved to ALF's main facility
in Charleston, SC.
There were approximately 2,100 Boardman rigs built between 1929-1999.
Preliminary research shows that about 70% of these were on Ford chassis,
with roughly 70% of those being C Series tilt cabs. We built almost every
conceivable type of apparatus (except a tiller) including pumpers, tankers,
hose wagons, brush rigs, rescue and salvage units, airport crash rigs,
quads, quints, midship as well as rearmount aerials and platforms, Squrts,
Telesqurts, Snorkels, Snozzles, and so forth on custom as well as commercial
chassis. We bought the Readi-Tower aerial line from Reading Techmatic in
1984. We built that product until it was absorbed by ALF and offered as
part of the Aerial Innovations portfolio. Boardman also produced many
industrial rigs over the years.
Boardman apparatus was purchased by all of the major cities in this part of
the country including Amarillo, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin, Tucson, Phoenix,
Albuquerque, Little Rock, Wichita, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City. Tulsa and
Oklahoma City purchased the most over the years having 39 and 50 pieces,
respectively. None were delivered to Canada; however, many were exported to
Mexico and other countries on several continents.
I have photos of around 1,100 Boardmans (factory photos as well as shots
taken by me and other buffs) in my collection. That number is growing
slowly; I shoot more of them each year as I travel.
There was a fire at the plant in 1949 which destroyed all previous records.
I have at my disposal all records from 1949-1999. If you need information
about a Boardman rig, please contact me.
I am trying to keep track of where all of our rigs go. If you know
of a Boardman rig that has been sold or is in the hands of a subsequent
owner, please let me know. I’ll need the Boardman serial number (F-xxxx),
which will be on a data plate on the pump panel.
If you have any photos of Boardman apparatus (factory or
otherwise), please let me know...you may have one that I don't.
Contact Steve Loftin
stevenbloftin@yahoo.com
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