Pierce Manufacturing, an Oshkosh Corporation business, has appointed Marty Bass as President of Pierce Manufacturing. His responsibilities include oversight of Pierce Manufacturing, MAXIMETAL, Oshkosh Airport Products (ARFF) and Frontline Communications within Oshkosh Corporation’s Vocational segment.
Bass brings more than two decades of leadership experience and strategic expertise in highly engineered, global manufacturing businesses, with a strong background in operations, quality systems and complex supply-chains.
Global Team Leader
He joins Pierce following a 19-year career at Brunswick Corporation, where he most recently served as President, Americas Market Operations for the Navico Group. During his tenure, Bass held roles of increasing responsibility, including President of Mercury Marine’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region and Vice President of Global Category Management and Strategy at Mercury Marine. In these roles, he led large global teams and supported sustained business growth through transformational initiatives and disciplined operational execution.
“Marty is a proven leader with a deep understanding of how to deliver quality, efficiency and long-term growth to meet the critical needs of our customers,” said Mike Pack, Oshkosh Corporation Executive Vice President and President, Vocational. “As Pierce continues to make significant investments in people and across operations, Marty’s experience leading advanced manufacturing organisations will be instrumental in helping us remain focused on what matters most: delivering safe, reliable, quality fire apparatus while being thoughtful stewards of our customers’ resources.”
Industry Challenges
Bass joins Pierce as president at a time when fire departments across North America are navigating increased budget pressures, industry-wide extended lead times and rising operational demands. Pierce has remained focused on addressing these challenges through more than $150 million in disciplined capital investment and capacity expansions, process improvements and workforce development aimed at strengthening quality and improving production flow in order to continue to reduce delivery timelines.
“I’m honoured to join Pierce Manufacturing and build upon the legacy of craftsmanship, innovation and customer commitment which defines this organisation,” said Bass. “Fire departments and their communities rely on Pierce apparatus to perform in the most critical moments, and that responsibility guides every decision we make. My focus will be on supporting our teams, reinforcing quality and operational discipline, and ensuring we continue to earn the trust of our customers and the fire service community.”
Navy Nuclear Engineering
Prior to his corporate career, Bass served as an officer and engineer in the United States Navy within the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. He holds dual master’s degrees in business administration and engineering management from Northwestern University, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
With Bass’s appointment, Pierce Manufacturing reinforces its commitment to strong leadership, operational and innovational excellence, and continued partnership with fire departments across the country.
For more information about Pierce Manufacturing and its innovative fire apparatus and operations, visit www.piercemfg.com
