W.S. Darley & Company is a fire apparatus, equipment and pump manufacturer located in Itasca, Illinois. Manufacturing operations are located in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and Janesville, Iowa.
History[]
William Stuart Darley formed the company as a municipal supply business in Chicago in 1908, offering fire equipment among his wares. By the 1920s, Darley began concentrating on the fire equipment field and offered a series of small centrifugal pumps ideally suited for attachment to Ford Model "T" trucks, providing an inexpensive fire truck option for small towns. In the 1930s, Darley expanded operations to provide complete fire apparatus using front-mount Barton pumps and, initially, bodies built by Luverne.
The Darley Champion pump was launched in 1934 and proved successful. The pumps were built in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, the home of the designer and pump manufacturing continues there today. Hundreds of fire trucks were built for the American military during World War II and business expanded considerably after.
Today, Darley continues to manufacture apparatus, pumps, Compressed Air Foam systems and water purification systems. The company is still family-run and celebrated its centennial in 2008.
See Also[]
Departments operating Darley apparatus
Facility Map[]
Chippewa Falls Facility[]
Sources[]
- McCall, Walter M.P. Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Fire Engine Manufacturers. Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2009.