In addition to the New York City Fire Department, Raydan supplies suspensions to most fire truck manufacturers and many other OEMs throughout the transportation industry, as well as the U.S. and Canadian military.

When the New York City fire department started having problems with the suspensions on its trucks, it turned to Raydan Manufacturing Inc. for help. The city promised Raydan, a manufacturer of products for the transportation industry, that it would adopt a new suspension for use on its entire fleet if it was satisfied with the performance after a one-year trial.

Raydan understood this would be a challenge, but according to Rick Nissen, sales manager, "we knew that if our products would work there, they would work anywhere." As a result, Raydan studied the "severe applications" of the department and created a custom suspension for the city's fleet.

"After six months, they came to us and said that our suspension would be standard on all of their trucks from now on," Nissen says. "We asked why they weren't taking the entire year, per the agreement, but they said they didn't need a year to decide - after six months, our suspension had worked without coming into the shop for repair. Other suspensions they had tried were in the shop after three months."

In addition to the New York City Fire Department, Raydan supplies suspensions to most fire truck manufacturers and many other OEMs throughout the transportation industry, as well as the U.S. and Canadian military. Nissen notes the company's suspensions come standard on the products of all the major truck crane manufacturers, but each suspension is designed and modified to meet customers' unique needs. Raydan also manufactures trailer systems and provides chassis modification services.

The company's primary product is the Air Linkâ„¢ air ride suspension, which is used in the front tandem steering axles for a variety of transportation applications. Raydan points to the Air Link's versatility as one of its main attributes. This product is manufactured to exceed all industry requirements for vocational suspension applications and is designed for all highway, severe service and off-road industries, including cranes, oil and gas, construction, logging, fire rescue, ready-mix, pipeline, transportation, waste, mining and military.

Nissen explains the benefits of Air Link include lighter weight, better ride quality, lower maintenance and comparable purchase price to other products on the market. The Air Link lowers operating and maintenance costs, lessens damage to chassis and mounted equipment, diminishes vibrations and extends tire life.

As a "technology driven company," Nissen says, Raydan is constantly making changes to its operation or products to improve. "When we find an issue anywhere, we do all we can to solve it quickly," he says. However, the company's work force of 150 is an important part of its quality, explains Ray English, president and CEO.

"I'm very proud of our people - they do all they can to get the job done," he says. "This is challenging work - we started as an oilfield transfer company and didn't realize what we were getting into when we entered the transportation business. We had to start from scratch in dealing with truck and crane manufacturers and the military, but our people have gone out and secured good work. They really accomplished a lot for us."

Raydan has plans to further improve its service. The company is located in western Canada in Nisku, Alberta, but to better serve customers in the eastern sector of the continent, Raydan acquired the net assets of two Ontario-based firms last year: Delta Spring & Chassis Ltd. and Sturdy Truck Body. These sites will primarily support the company's chassis modification business, which is where English sees the greatest growth for the company.

Additionally, Raydan has entered into a licensing agreement with ArvinMeritor, which will allow ArvinMeritor to manufacture some of Raydan's standard, basic products in high volumes.

Nissen notes this will free up time for Raydan to focus on its specialty products. "Most OEMs need help solving their unique problems, and this will allow us to serve them better," he says.

English agrees. "We are unique because other suspension manufacturers build a suspension and then the customers have to build their product to adapt to it," he says. "We are the opposite - customers seek us out because they know we will develop a suspension that best serves their needs."