The KME Panther is a custom fire apparatus chassis built by Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp, the Pennsylvania company known as KME. English Wikipedia names the Panther and the Predator as the two chassis on which KME builds its own custom fire apparatus, as distinct from apparatus mounted on chassis bought from other manufacturers.
KME Panther at a glance
| Maker | Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp (KME) |
|---|---|
| Type | custom fire apparatus chassis |
| Chassis | KME’s own, built in-house |
| Parent company | REV Group |
| Founded | 1946, by John “Sonny” Kovatch, Jr. |
| Vehicles built | more than 10,000 |
| Factory | Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania |
| Factory closed | 2022 |
| Production today | other REV Group facilities |
The Panther has no Wikipedia article of its own; this page is based on the single English Wikipedia article on the manufacturer, which names the Panther chassis but gives no further detail about it.
History of the KME Panther
Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp was founded in 1946 by John “Sonny” Kovatch, Jr. and became one of the custom truck builders of Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania. The company works across automotive, aviation, petro-chemical, industrial, energy, military, police and fire-rescue vehicles, and reports more than 10,000 vehicles built.
Its custom fire apparatus is built on chassis of its own design, and the Panther is one of the two such chassis that the company’s Wikipedia entry names, together with the Predator. Building the chassis in-house is what separates a custom apparatus from a commercial one: the department buys a complete vehicle designed around the fire service rather than a body fitted to a lorry chassis.
For departments that do want a chassis from another maker, KME also fits its apparatus to Mack, Ford, Pierce, International and Kenworth chassis. In 2022 the REV Group closed the Nesquehoning factory and moved production of KME branded equipment to its other facilities, ending the Panther’s association with the town where the company began.
Design and features
- Purpose-built chassis: designed by KME for fire apparatus rather than adapted from a commercial lorry.
- Custom bodies: each vehicle is built to the ordering department’s specification.
- One of two: the Panther and the Predator are the two KME custom chassis named in the company’s entry.
- Alternative chassis: Mack, Ford, Pierce, International and Kenworth chassis could be used instead.
KME Panther versions
- Panther chassis: KME’s own custom chassis for fire apparatus.
- Predator chassis: the sister custom chassis in the range.
- Apparatus on bought-in chassis: bodywork on Mack, Ford, Pierce, International or Kenworth chassis.
The sister chassis is the Predator. KME also built the Renegade and many pumpers; the rest of the marque is in the KME collection.
Sources
- Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp, English Wikipedia: founding, output, chassis, closure
