(KIWA Staff Photo)Iowa (RI) — A northern Iowa company that manufactures heavy-duty truck-mounted equipment has acquired a Minnesota firm that makes equipment for fire trucks.
Stellar Industries, founded 36 years ago in Garner, was the first U.S. manufacturer to design and produce a hydraulic hooklift mounted on a truck chassis to hoise large containers such as dumpsters. The company has acquired more than half a dozen businesses since its founding.
Its latest purchase is Midwest Fire in Luverne, Minnesota, which has produced custom fire-truck equipment since 1987. The Midwest Fire brand will remain in place, and products will continue to be manufactured at the Luverne plant.
Stellar employs 800 people, according to its website, and has been employee-owned since 2023.
Stellar operates facilities in Garner and Kanawa in Iowa, as well as in Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and now Luverne, Minnesota. The company also maintains a warehouse and parts distribution center in Mason City.
