Founded in 1938 in a small garage in the tiny town of Huntley, Nebraska, Allmand Bros. Inc., now under the third generation of Allmand family leadership, celebrates 75 years in the manufacturing business as it has grown to become the industry’s innovative leader in portable lighting, heating and traffic safety equipment.
In the midst of the Great Depression, and unable to afford a new arc welder for their repair shop, brothers Leslie and Walter Allmand built their own. It worked so well that their neighbors asked the brothers to build welders for them, and the business was born.
Fast-forward to 1954, when Allmand developed the "Contractor’s Lantern," the industry’s first portable light tower. From this humble origin today’s light tower industry began, and Allmand still continues its tradition of innovation.
Allmand was the first to use 1000 watt metal halide lighting in a light tower application, the first to use parallel lamp fixtures and the first to develop and use the high-efficiency SHO™ compact parallel lamp fixture. Adding to this list of firsts, Allmand was also the first to offer the LSC-100® light sequence control that allows unattended sequential start-up and shut-down of the light tower systems.
Today, Allmand is the only manufacturer to offer the SHO-HD™ 1250 watt engineered metal halide lighting system with an unparalleled 150,000 lumens per fixture, providing a brighter, more true-to-life light than any other technology on the market. The SHO-HD system is standard on all domestic Night-Lite PRO® II and Maxi-Lite® models. Allmand is also the only manufacturer to develop and introduce the V-Series™ light tower in North America. The innovative six-section V-Series tower remains in the vertical position as it extends and retracts, and does not lay down across the top of the trailer nor extend past the rear of the trailer, making it safer and easier to move, and taking up less space in storage. The operator can raise or lower the tower in only 20 seconds with the flip of a switch, while remaining safely away from the moving parts of the mast.
Allmand innovation is not just limited to lighting technology. The Allmand Maxi-Heat® self-contained portable heater has been making worksites warmer since 1992 by providing over a million BTU/h of clean, breathable, heated air. Twin 16" outlets allow the use of up to 110 feet each of flexible ducting, while its increased fuel capacity now allows over 30 continuous hours of unattended operation. A unique combustible gas detection, safety shutdown and visible warning system is also available that allows the Maxi-Heat to meet the critical demands of the Oil & Gas Industry.
Rounding out the current Allmand line-up is its Eclipse® solar assisted arrowboard trailer. High efficiency LED lamps consume less power to allow the Eclipse to operate for as much as a year without needing to be recharged while still meeting all Federal traffic control visibility standards.
From its modest inception 75 years ago, to the leadership position it has assumed in the intervening years, Allmand innovation is making work sites brighter, warmer, and safer, and will continue to drive product development for the next 75 years, and beyond.
Allmand Bros. Inc., established in 1938, is a leading manufacturer of Night Lite PRO® II and Maxi-Lite® portable light towers, Port-A-Lite® light stands, Eclipse® solar arrowboards and Maxi-Heat® worksite heaters. For more information, contact Allmand Bros. Inc., P.O. Box 888, Holdrege, NE 68949, call 800-562-1373, fax 308-995-5887, e-mail info@allmand.com or visit the company’s website
at www.allmand.com.