After Hurricane Helene hit Henderson County, the Gerton Volunteer Fire Department found itself in the difficult position of trying to respond to emergencies with inadequate equipment. Downed trees and damaged roads made areas impassable with its large fire trucks, says Fire Chief Jay Alley.
C.W. Williams & Company loaned the western North Carolina department a side-by-side Polaris utility task vehicle to use during emergency response after the storm.
“We didn’t have roads. All we had were ATV trails,” says Alley, describing the 10-square-mile area the department serves. “This gave us the ability to at least fight fires with something.” The department would end up buying the utility vehicle from the Rocky Mount-based company.
C.W. Williams sells and services first responder equipment to federal, state and local agencies in Virginia and North and South Carolina, says Tripp Evans, who owns the company. They sell fire trucks that can cost up to $2 million, in addition to equipping vehicles and first responders with equipment and gear. He says he likes to view the 65-year-old company as the “unseen partners” of first responders.
“First responders face threats every day to their health and well-being while they are protecting our health, so we put them first,” says Evans. The company has locations in Rocky Mount and Statesville and expects to open a third location in a former auto repair shop in the town of Pisgah Forest by the second quarter of 2025.
It will involve an investment of about $1.75 million investment and is expected to create 10 jobs by 2026. C.W. Williams expects to invest $1.2 million in property acquisition and $550,000 in building improvements, new machinery and equipment. A $70,000 state grant for rural development will help facilitate the reuse of the building that has been vacant since early 2024.
C.W. Williams currently has between 40 and 45 employees. The move to Pisgah Forest will help the company respond quicker to customers. A decision to locate in western North Carolina was made before Hurricane Helene hit, but the storm demonstrated the need existed, says Evans.
C.W. Williams delivered a new ambulance to Buncombe County EMS after the storm, services four Maggie Valley Fire & Rescue trucks put out of service by flood waters with a mobile mechanic; towed and serviced a Clearmont Volunteer Fire Department truck from Yancey County; and donated items to several other first responders.
The Pisgah Forest location will give the company a better presence in western North Carolina, says Evans, who joined the company in 2018 and purchased it in 2021. “We want to be closer and be able to respond quicker to our customers,” he says.