Since 1955, Gowans Knight
has resided at 49 Knight Street in Watertown, CT. The first fire apparatus
began to leave the facility in the late 1960s. The following years saw many
ups, from Clarke Palmer selling OREN apparatus to Gowans Knight beginning to
exclusively build our own stainless steel bodies in the 90s. Thousands of fire
apparatus have come in and out of our building since then, and we have worked
with hundreds of departments to provide the best service and product possible,
a product that we can be proud has the GK name on it.
That
being said, there have been plenty of downtimes. There have been approximately
12 significant flooding events since 1994 that have brought some amount of
water into our building. My family has spent countless hours watching weather
reports, radar screens, and driving around town checking all the local watering
holes during rainstorms. Just a few months after my first son was born, we were
here moving machines around as water began to come in.
In 2024, 3 days before
my 2nd grandchild was born, we were here moving machines again. After years of
worrying, it finally has become too much.
After many lengthy family discussions and
a lot of thinking, we officially announce that Gowans Knight, Co. will be
moving locations! We have purchased a new facility that is located at 50
Seemar Road in Watertown.
This will move us from
our current 14,000 sq ft facility to a 35,000 sq ft facility located in the
Watertown Industrial Park. I am making this move to better secure both
GK’s and our families futures;
I know my father, Clarke, would be extremely proud of how far this
company has come and where it is headed. This wouldn’t have been possible
without the support of our family, friends, and the departments that continue
to use GK for all their fire apparatus needs.
We know there will be some
moving pains, but current plans are to move the shops in phases depending on
where certain projects are in their respective timelines. There will be minimal
interruptions to any currently scheduled work. Renovations to the new building
will begin in February, and we plan to be fully moved between June – July
this year. Once we have gotten settled, we plan to have an open house for our
friends and customers.
Craig Palmer Sr. President |
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