The KME Renegade is a fire engine from Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp, the Pennsylvania manufacturer better known as KME. It belongs to the generation of apparatus the company built at its Nesquehoning works before the brand passed to the REV Group; the truck filmed below is a 1993 example.
KME Renegade at a glance
| Maker | Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp (KME) |
|---|---|
| Type | fire engine |
| Example shown | 1993 truck |
| 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 Renegade has no Wikipedia article and is not named in the manufacturer’s article either; this page is based on that single source for the company’s history and on the vehicle shown in the film for the model itself.
History of the KME Renegade
KME takes its name from Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp, founded in 1946 by John “Sonny” Kovatch, Jr. in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania. The company became a specialist in custom trucks and built more than 10,000 vehicles, for fire and rescue work as well as for aviation, industrial, energy, military and police use.
The Renegade is one of the names the company used for its fire apparatus. Detailed published history of the model is thin: English Wikipedia describes the manufacturer and names two of its custom chassis, the Predator and the Panther, but does not cover the Renegade, so this page keeps to what the company’s record shows.
In 2022 the REV Group, KME’s parent company, closed the Nesquehoning factory and moved production of KME branded equipment to other REV Group facilities. Apparatus such as the Renegade therefore belong to the period when KME still built its vehicles in the Pennsylvania town.
Design and features
- KME bodywork: the Renegade is a complete KME fire engine, not a body on another maker’s chassis.
- Custom build: KME built apparatus to order for individual fire departments.
- Period vehicle: the example in the film dates from 1993, within the company’s Nesquehoning years.
- Part of a wide output: the same company supplied aviation, industrial, military and police vehicles.
KME Renegade versions
- Renegade fire engine: the model as built for fire departments.
- Later KME chassis: the Predator and Panther named in the company’s entry.
- Apparatus on bought-in chassis: KME bodies on Mack, Ford, Pierce, International or Kenworth chassis.
KME’s own custom chassis were the Predator and the Panther, and the company built many pumpers. More of the marque is in the KME collection.
Video: 1993 KME Renegade fire truck at GEV
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp, English Wikipedia: founding, output, chassis, closure
