3,400 square meters, 129 employees, 14 vehicles, and 2 exhibits at the Fire Station of the Future – this is the key data for Rosenbauer’s impressive appearance at the FDIC Show from April 27-29, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. In addition to numerous innovations such as the RTE Robot, the RFC Battery extinguishing system and the E-Rescue, an electric vehicle on a commercial chassis for the American market, the RTX was the real trade fair highlight for Rosenbauer. And not ONE highlight, but three, as three RTXs from Rosenbauer were on display at the Indiana Convention Center.

After the Los Angeles Fire Department’s brand new RTX was first introduced to the public in 2022, we were faced with the challenge of how to convince our customers that Rosenbauer’s electric vehicles can provide the answer to the questions of the future today. LAFD’s positive experience with the RTX has laid the foundation for our strategy on e-mobility in the US market. On September 12, 2022, the RTX was placed in operational service after appropriate training at Station 82 – Hollywood Boulevard, and has been a success story ever since. Engine 82 (Name of the vehicle in LAFD usage) has so far:

  • completed 1.482 operations
  • been in operation for 1.185 hours
  • performed 98.65% of operations purely electrically

These conclusive numbers have spurred us on to offer our customers a confident and exclusive experience at FDIC. In addition to LAFD’s RTX at our main booth, there were two other RTXs at the convention center – and even in operational mode. Selected customers were therefore able to book an RTX Experience Tour, which lasted over one and a half hours.

In total, the tour included three stations with different focuses:

  • Station 1: RTX LAFD (20 minutes)
    • The history of the RT/RTX project.
    • The vehicle architecture optimized for fire departments, made possible by the electric drive.
    • LAFD vehicle operational statistics.
  • Station 2: RTX demo 1 (30 minutes)
    • Focus on pump operation, pump unit, and the ability to operate the vehicle yourself.
  • Station 3: RTX demo 2 (30 minutes)
    • Ride-along with focus on handling, performance, and all-wheel steering.

More than 20 booked tours were conducted by the RTX team for enthusiastic customers, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. It is certainly a rarity that customers can test new products and innovations so intensively themselves at a trade fair.

And this enthusiasm reflects the specific interest in the American market. Additional deliveries to Vancouver, Rancho Cucamonga, Brampton, and Victoria are planned later this year, and new orders and inquiries are on the horizon. Our RTX team will soon be embarking on an RTX demo tour of the USA and Canada , making the following stops along the way:

  • January to May 2023: Minnesota, East Coast, Ontario and Quebec
  • June to October 2023: West Coast, Alberta and British Columbia

In this way, we want to remain true to our line by bringing the answers to tomorrow’s firefighting questions to life today.