Scott Schneekloth started his business, Midwest Fire & Equipment, 26 years ago in the basement of his Luverne, Minnesota home, with three kids playing overhead. “I had an old dodge van that I drove around Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska looking for work—cold calling small town fire departments, offering to repair and maintain their equipment,” Scott said. After a few rough years, the company began to develop a solid reputation as an expert refurbisher and quality rebuilder of fire trucks and all related safety equipment. As his customer base began to grow, Scott added employees and expanded into manufacturing new trucks, most of which were designed and custom built to meet a local community’s needs and, per Scott, to provide a community with “local pride.” By 2012, Midwest Fire

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