So Minnesota: Rosenbauer firetrucks

A company in Chisago County has helped save lives for more than a century by building firetrucks.

Rosenbauer, located along Interstate 35 in Wyoming, Minnesota, is one of the largest manufacturers of fire service vehicles in the world.

“Everybody is like, ‘I’ve driven by that building for years, and I had no idea,'” said Allison Niendiek director of marketing with Rosenbauer America.

Rosenbauer’s history started in Austria, and its Minnesota roots date back nearly a century. The company’s firetrucks are sold around the globe.

“You can find it in Bora Bora,” Niendiek said. “We have them going down to Chile, we have them going to Saudi Arabia. You can also find them in the Bahamas. We got them in Jamaica. We pretty much cover all of the Caribbean, Central America, South America and North America.”

Firetrucks cost between $400,000 and $1.8 million. Last year, Rosenbauer launched the first fully electric firetruck.