History

The History of Superior
Superior was founded in 1973 by partners Butch Barthel, Bob Mather and Barry Skinner. Barthel and Mather had previously worked for the Saskatoon Fire Engine Company, another western Canada fire truck manufacturer. Superior started building pumpers and tankers for smaller fire departments in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The company cracked the bigger city market with three 1975 Hendrickson 1500 IGPM pumpers for Calgary and continued to expand their reach throughout western Canada. In 1978, Can-AM Fire Apparatus was created as a marketing arm for Superior in the United States, the name Superior was already used by an apparatus manufacturer in Montana. The Can-Am name was used until 1983.

In 1980, a new division, Superior Fire Trucks, was founded in Kingston, Ontario to serve eastern Canada. Manufacturing facilities were set up in Kingston and approximately two dozen trucks were built for departments in Ontario and the Maritime provinces. In 1982, the Kingston operation was closed and the eastern market served from Red Deer.

By 1989, Superior was Canada's largest fire apparatus company. Florida's Emergency One came calling and purchased 100% of the company from the founders in 1991. At first, Superior served the Canadian market, but later became E-One's builder of light rescues and brush trucks. The company changed its name to E-One Canada in 2003.

In 2006, E-One announced that it was shutting down operations in Red Deer and the plant wound down production by the end of that year. Current information says that SE 3660, an E-One Cyclone II Custom Pumper, was the last vehicle to come off the production line. This truck was destined for the Prince George Fire Rescue Service