In our region, we often think of equipment manufactures that are directly connected to ag—but we have a variety of companies in southwest Minnesota.
Midwest Fire Equipment & Repair Company in Luverne has been designing and manufacturing high-quality fire tankers and pumpers since 1987. They’re the vehicles used by municipal and volunteer firefighting departments all over the U.S., Canada and even worldwide.
Last year, Southwest Initiative Foundation helped finance the purchase of this business by a young entrepreneurial couple—Sarah and Dean Atchison.
“The company has wonderful, hard-working employees who design and build great products that save property and lives,” Sarah said. They’ve done great things with the company, including moving to a brand new facility in Luverne’s industrial park.
There was collaborative financing assistance from Southwest Initiative Foundation’s Business Finance Program, The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, Prairieland EDC, and the Southwest Regional Development Commission to make this deal happen.
“The collaborated effort and expertise of our lending team has been outstanding,” said Atchison. “They really went out of their way to work together on a package that would strengthen the business.”
Sarah has experience working side-by-side with her husband Dean Atchison in manufacturing. The purchase of Midwest Fire Equipment & Repair Company was a perfect complement to another company owned by him—Spectrum Aeromed, which manufactures air ambulance equipment for aircraft and designs air ambulance medical interiors.
