General Safety Equipment was founded in the town of Lindstrom, Minn., in the mid-1930s by Elmer Abrahamson. The company manufacturers fire trucks for nearly every state and country throughout the world. Its customers include the cities of Minneapolis and Bloomington, Minn.; Cleveland; Charlotte, N.C.; Fort Worth, Texas; and Spokane, Wash. Other customers include China, Egypt, Israel, Korea, South Africa and the U.S. Air Force. In 1995, General Safety formed a partnership with Rosenbauer International, who is headquartered in the town of Linz, Austria. Rosenbauer is also a family owned company, and has been in business for more than 130 years. In 1998, another partnership was formed with Central States Fire Apparatus of Lyons, S.D. While General Safety s emphasis is still on customized vehicles, the partnership with Central has provided the company with the combined largest product line in the industry.