About
Road Rescue
The History Of
Road Rescue
1976
Bill Huestis, owner and operator of the LP Gas Company in St. Paul, Minnesota, purchased the exclusive rights to the name Road Rescue and all design drawings from a small fabrication shop. Bill promoted Road Rescue as a local provider that could build a safe, spacious, customizable module ambulance. With Bill’s business expertise, he focused on marketing features produced by Road Rescue that other ambulance manufacturers were not typically offering.
1978
Bill Huestis purchased the building and property at 1133 Rankin Street, St. Paul, Minnesota, directly across from Pearson’s Candy Company, to expand operations and manufacturing.
1984
As Road Rescue’s reputation grew, many customers began asking for a lower price point ambulance. As a result, the brand Med‐Star was born. Two models were produced, the Aero‐Star and Life Guard. These models were only offered on a short wheelbase chassis. The differences were extruded corner posts and door jambs, and a crisscross wall frame design which reduced labor without impacting safety. Unfortunately, the Med-Star brand wasn’t viewed by consumers as a true Road Rescue product. With few orders received for both new models, Road Rescue decided to discontinue the Med-Star brand.
1990
As he was reaching his later years in life, Bill Huestis made the decision to sell Road Rescue to business entrepreneur, Tom Winkel.
To gain market share, Road Rescue reintroduced the Aero-Star model under the Road Rescue brand. This would mean that the corner extrusion and door frames were built as a ProMedic conversion including formed angled corner panels and door jambs.
1994
Road Rescue was sold to former FirstBank CEO, Norb Conzemius. Norb’s goal in purchasing Road Rescue was to increase efficiencies through organizing various operations in the manufacturing process.
1996
Road Rescue celebrated its 20th anniversary with an updated look to the building exterior along with a modernized Road Rescue logo.
1998
Norb Conzemius succeeded in transforming Road Rescue to a point where he felt comfortable selling the thriving business. Spartan Motors expressed an interest in purchasing the company. Spartan Motors assured Norb Conzemius that they had the resources to bring Road Rescue to the next level. The company was then sold to publicly traded Spartan Motors.
2000
Spartan Motors selected Chuck Drake as Road Rescue CEO. Chuck’s vision was to broaden Road Rescue’s product line by offering Type 2 vans. This spurred the opening of a second Road Rescue facility in Marion, South Carolina.
2008
A new Road Rescue logo was developed to differentiate the new appearance of the brand. During this time, engineering teams worked on design improvements and changes in preparation for a new model reveal at the upcoming FDIC show.
2009
The new design was released at the FDIC show. This new design included roof radius changes from a 5″ high single-wall extrusion to a 3″ high triple wall extrusion, HVAC improvements, revisions to the hidden hinge door design, the addition of the ceiling device rail and an improved rub rail design.
2010
Allied Specialty Vehicles had struck a deal to purchase just the brand name from Spartan Motors and not the facility. November of 2010 the relocation of Road Rescue from Marion, South Carolina to Winter Park, Florida took place. At this time, the MetroMedic conversions were born to help dealerships with revenue while the production line was getting ready to run three units per week.
2011
The relocation to Winter Park gave Road Rescue the tooling needed to make each side body panel a one-piece design. This reduced a lot of exterior welding of body seams due to multiple seams not having large enough tooling in previous years. With this change, the need to form door jambs into each of the 4-piece body panels was eliminated.
Today
Road Rescue is known worldwide as a custom ambulance manufacturer that has been pioneering new features since 1976. Safety and innovation remain paramount, focused on protecting patients and crew from accidents and contamination.
Road Rescue didn’t set out to make just any old ambulance. We combine REV engineering with an ISO-certified factory that’s brimming with the industry’s most advanced equipment. It’s where extrusions are laser sheared, welds are robotically made and wires are machine crimped.
Road Rescue’s tough-as-nails exterior isn’t just a façade. These ambulances are built street tough, and that durability runs layers deep. We engineered each one with chassis sill plates, WhisperQuiet™ insulation and a ladder frame subfloor that creates a one-of-a-kind foundation.
Road Rescue defies all industry standards with a long list of features that shatter the status quo, starting with the V-MUX multiplex system, which integrates multiple components through REV’s own exclusive controls. The relocatable device rail lets you configure the device’s location.
Vehicle Warranty Registration
The Road Rescue vehicle warranty helps you stay in service and protect your investment, call after call. Please note that your warranty will not go into effect until your registration information has been received by the Road Rescue team.
Seamless Performance. Enlightened Design.
Get in touch.
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