Baldwin County dignitaries had the chance to become better acquainted with one of the county’s newer businesses, Fouts Bros, Inc., during an open house event Nov. 7.
Fouts’ leaders hosted the “Home Day” at its corporate headquarters on Roberson Mill Road and used the opportunity to showcase the company’s growth, its role in supporting the fire service industry, and its impact on local employment and the economy.
In December 2019, Fouts’ President & CEO Scott Edens moved the company’s operations from Cobb County to Milledgeville. Edens and his wife Heather, who serves as executive vice president of Fouts Brothers, and their two teen sons moved to Milledgeville as well.
Fouts Brothers is a family- owned company of brands all dedicated to the manufacturing and upfitting of excellent American work trucks for a variety of private and public sectors, according to its website. Although its products are sold through dealerships all over the U.S., Fouts Brothers is headquartered in the 700,000-square-foot factory in Milledgeville, and has a second facility in La Grange, Texas.
The Home Day event was held in connection with the company’s membership with the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association (FAMA). Those in attendance included Georgia’s District 8 Congressman Austin Scott, Georgia College & State University President Cathy Cox, Baldwin County Commissioner Henry Craig and his wife, Cecilia, Baldwin County Manager Carlos Tobar, Baldwin County Fire Rescue Chief Victor Young and BCFR firefighters, representatives of fire departments of other jurisdictions, the media, and more. Several members of the Fouts Brothers leadership team and their spouses were also on hand.
“On behalf of the 410 employees in our organization, we thank you very much for taking time to come here,” Fouts Executive Vice President of Sales & Business Development John Slawson said as he opened the program.
Although they have been in Milledgeville only five years, the company has a rich history of success. Scott Edens is the grandson of one of the company’s cofounders, C.J. Fouts, who started the company with his brother, Jerry Fouts. The two men began their company in 1952 with the purchase of a Sinclair Service Station.
Over their 41-year-partnership, the brothers became car and truck dealers across the Metro Atlanta area. Through those dealers, they began commercial vehicle body manufacturing, which included C.J.’s favorite hobby—fire trucks. In addition to fire trucks, the company’s manufacturing expanded to include bucket, crane, box, utility, tow and flatbed trucks.
The Home Day focused on its fire apparatus manufacturing plant and included guided tours of the manufacturing line.
Director of Operations Cody Jacobs served as the tour guide of the huge facility where 63 employees work five lines, each dedicated to a certain stage of building a fire apparatus, which is more commonly known as a firetruck.
“We’re going up to eight lines by April 1st, so we’ll get up to 85 employees on the floor then,” Jacobs said.
After a truck gets to the end of the line, it goes to Quality Control, where a third party with certification runs the quality tests.
It takes six weeks for a fire apparatus to be built, start to finish, Jacobs said.
A key focus of the presentations made by various company speakers included funding for federal and state-level support for fire departments, emergency service agencies, and first responder training facilities. Edens explained that federal grants are available to assist fire departments. He also described FAMA’s involvement in advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill during “Hill Day” in Washington D.C. each year.
“We are grateful to all who joined us for Home Day,” Edens said in a statement released after the event. “This event was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the progress we’ve made over the past seven decades as a family- owned business. We are proud of our dedicated team and the work we do every day to manufacture equipment that helps keep our communities safe.”
For more information about Fouts Brothers, its products, or job opportunities, visit online at www. foutsbros.com.