North Fire expands European operations under new North Defence identity

Expansion follows new manufacturing site in Yorkshire

North Fire has rebranded as North Defence and opened a new European headquarters and production facility in Luxembourg.

The company confirmed the move comes 18 months after opening its plant in Yorkshire.

North Defence said the Luxembourg base has already been commissioned and is building light mobility vehicles for European defence organisations.

Oliver North, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said the decision was driven by the growing complexity of customer requirements.

Oliver North explains rebrand and expansion

Oliver North, a former Royal Engineer, said: “No one is more passionate about British manufacturing than me, but my military experience has taught me that strategically we need to be headquartered in the heart of Europe to ensure we can design, build, and deploy our industry-leading vehicles in the most expedient manner.

“Europe is facing challenges not seen for more than 80 years which I have experienced first-hand having personally delivered vehicles to the frontline for Ukraine’s armed forces and state emergency service constantly over the past 3 and a half years.”

North explained that similarities between military and civilian emergency vehicle design became clear during Ukraine projects.

Oliver North said: “I wanted our brand to better reflect our true capability, hence the launch of North Defence.

“I am particularly proud that the new North Defence logo incorporates my former military rank of corporal as I have a lot to thank the British Army for, from my seven years’ service at the start of my working career.

“In fact, a large proportion of the North Fire team hired over the past two decades are former British Army engineers and soldiers, which has proven pivotal in our operational vehicle development.

“Simply put, we would not be where we are without them.”

Luxembourg site led by Mark Gresty

North Defence confirmed that retired Major Mark Gresty has been appointed as General Manager of the Luxembourg plant.

Mr Gresty served alongside Oliver North in the late 1990s and retired from the British Army in 2020.

North Defence said the Yorkshire plant will remain the centre of excellence for its firefighting division.

It added that the division will benefit from access to military technology developed for the expanded European business.

Relevance for fire and safety professionals

The development is relevant to procurement officers, emergency and disaster response managers, and fire and rescue chiefs.

The Yorkshire plant will continue to specialise in firefighting vehicles, giving the firefighting division access to technology developed through defence programmes.

This may influence the type of rapid response vehicles available to services as defence and emergency engineering capabilities align.

North Defence’s focus on recruiting former British Army engineers and soldiers highlights the growing crossover between defence and civilian emergency vehicle design.

This crossover may affect specifications, procurement processes and maintenance practices across firefighting fleets.

North Fire rebrands as North Defence with Luxembourg base: Summary

North Fire has rebranded as North Defence and opened a new European headquarters and production plant in Luxembourg.

The company said the move follows the opening of a manufacturing plant in Yorkshire 18 months earlier and reflects growing demand for vehicle design and production capabilities.

Oliver North, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, explained that his military experience and direct involvement in supplying vehicles to Ukraine informed the strategic decision.

The company confirmed that light mobility vehicles for European defence organisations are already being built at the Luxembourg facility with local engineers employed.

North Defence said the Yorkshire plant will continue to focus on firefighting vehicle production and will benefit from technology crossover with military developments.

Retired Major Mark Gresty has been appointed as General Manager of the Luxembourg site and previously served alongside Oliver North in the British Army.

This article contains information from the following source: North Defence