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Based on the long-term success of Danko Emergency Equipment Co. and President and CEO Dan Kreikemeier, it is evident that the people who make the best firefighting equipment and apparatus in the industry are the firefighters themselves. A fireman since 1962, Kreikemeier has invented a number of clever devices to make firefighting easier and more efficient without a formal engineering degree. “My engineering degree comes from the school of hard knocks,” he quips. “When you do it wrong, you never do it that way again. One thing to remember – surround yourself with good, motivated employees.”

Some of Kreikemeier’s more recent inventions include a 180-degree swivel that eliminates the need for a duct valve on the side of a fire truck, as well as an ultra high-pressure, water conservation pump system, Aqua Advantage, that converts water into smaller droplets thus utilizing a lower volume of water at a high enough pressure to easily put out the flames. “The industry revolves around new ideas,” he asserts. “The firefighters like to see the new things out there, and that’s something we do.”

All in it Together

Kreikemeier founded Danko in 1974. The Snyder, Neb.-based company started out as an equipment company selling coats, boots and helmets. Until 1993, it provided marketing services on behalf of Smeal Fire Apparatus, another Snyder-based firefighting equipment manufacturer. Kreikemeier joined Smeal in 1960 as its first employee and was a partner and protégé to its founder, Don Smeal, for many years.

“Everybody in town knows there are two fire truck builders in Snyder,” he explains. “They ask, ‘How do you get along?’ I say, ‘Just fine.’ They ask, ‘Well, how can that be? Don’t you argue?’ I say, ‘No, we get along just fine. But I have to tell you, we sell their products.’

“We are a dealer for Smeal in four states,” he adds. “They build the larger fire apparatus, and we build everything that Smeal does not build. Don was kind of a mentor to me, always pushing me to redo something better. We bring good ideas to the industry together.”

Firefighting equipment and apparatus manufacturing is a close-knit business, he explains, enabling companies to communicate freely and exchange best practices. Most of them are affiliated with organizations such as the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), which sets the industry guidelines, as well as the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association (FAMA) of North America, of which Kreikemeier was president in 1991. “FAMA sticks together as a North American organization because we  want to build safe fire trucks,” he explains.

Customer Friendly

Danko supplies product to fire departments throughout the United States, Canada and sometimes to firefighting units in the Caribbean. “Every fire department wants to fight fires in their own way, so our work is pretty custom,” Kreikemeier says. “A lot of it has evolved due to new NFPA requirements.”

Danko prides itself on providing professional services with a personal touch. “As a small company, we can get together in an hour and decide what we want to change without having to go through a six-month corporate process,” Kreikemeier says. “We all work together. Our turnover is minimal, and when customers come in, the employees are really good them. We show them how we build fire trucks with TLC – tender loving care – and no B.S. So, we have a great relationship with our customer base.”

Family Tradition

Three of Kreikemeier’s sons – out of a total of six children – are all firefighters who work for the family business. Mark Kreikemeier, who is president of the Nebraska Fire Chiefs Association, operates Danko’s Smeal fire truck dealership. Tom Kreikemeier, the electronics guru of the family, heads Danko’s IT functions and is involved in outdoor warning sirens for government clients.  Bruce Kreikemeier is in charge of the company’s marketing and advertising. Their mother, Norma, handles accounts receivables.

Although Kreikemeier enjoys coming up with new product ideas for Danko, he’s confident his sons will do a fine job running the company on their own. As a matter of fact, the role of chairman of the board is starting to sound more appealing. “I come to work every morning and greet all the employees, but yeah, I’m probably slowing down a little bit,” he admits. “That’s why they say, ‘Nose in, fingers out.’ If you’re chairman of the board, you’ve got your nose in the business, but fingers out of the work. I’ll get there pretty soon.”