As of 1987,  Vern Wieberdink had already been on a small town fire department (Forada Fire Department (located south of Alexandria, MN) for 22 years.   He was dissatisfied with the inefficiency of the equipment that various companies were selling at the time, and no one seemed to be making quality equipment for smaller, lower budget fire departments.   Non-adjustable helmets without shields, long heavy coats, hip boots and rubber coated gloves of the 1960-70 & 80’s era wouldn’t be very impressive today.  In fact, they weren’t very impressive in 1987 either.

In 1987, the Forada Fire Department was using their 3rd different brand of SCBA in 20 years. None of them supplied enough air for a hard-working firefighter.  Vern checked into the Draeger SCBA at a fire school, and was convinced it was a big improvement over the other breathing apparatus available at the time.  After some research, it was discovered that no one was selling the Draeger SCBA in Minnesota.  Vern traveled to Pittsburgh to see if Draeger would take a chance (a big chance looking back) on a volunteer firefighter selling their products to Minnesota Fire Departments. They did, and it was a good move for both Draeger and a new company called Alex Air Apparatus, Inc.

Vern began putting on a lot of miles to demo Draeger products to as many MN fire departments as he possibly could.  He sold several sets of Draeger breathing equipment, and also discovered that many departments and firefighters were also looking for a better brand of turnout gear. For a short time, Alex Air had been selling a brand of turnout made in the eastern part of the country. Vern soon decided that the lack of quality of the clothing was not something he felt comfortable selling.  During a discussion with someone from Becker Fire in Casper, Wyoming, he learned of a company called Mountain View Manufacturing in Colorado.  Vern then called JoVonne, and it was the beginning of another great business relationship!  Alex Air discovered Quest  provided a superior line of turnout gear, and excellent customer service as well. 

Almost twenty plus years later, Alex Air Apparatus has grown to 16 sales/service staff serving Minnesota, North & South Dakata, Iowa, and Missouri.  Along with 5 people in the Alexandria main office, we offer a wide variety of products meeting the needs of fire departments.