Police vehicle builder to move into the Brazos Valley

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – A new business specializing in building police vehicles is coming to the Brazos Valley.

Dana Safety Supply has built police vehicles in North America since 2005. Founded by a group of law enforcement and fleet professionals, the North Carolina-based company looks to provide vehicles and equipment to law enforcement. The company said it has five locations in Texas and will soon have a sixth about 20 minutes away from College Station at an old Fed-Ex Building in Sommerville. This would be the company’s 36th location.

With a new business on the way, the Bryan College Station Chamber of Commerce said it’s excited about what it will bring.

“A large manufacturer of police cars and all kinds of safety equipment for those who protect us all the time,” Royce Hickman with the BCS Chamber of Commerce said. “That kind of company that would be very attractive in our area.”

Dana Safety is no stranger to the community either. They are partners with Operation Safe Shield, a group that’s helping to install bullet-resistant windshields in patrol vehicles.

“I’ve talked to people out and as far away as California. They’ve called me and said, ‘Hey, you know, tell us about Dana Safety, you know, is this really a good product?’ So I said we have no financial investment in Dana Safety. We just buy from them, but they work with us on a good price,” Clifford Dorn with Operation Safe Shield said.

While some law enforcement agencies like Bryan Police Department already have contracts with other companies, this new business offers another option for those without a contract or who are looking for something new.

“We’re right here in the center of the Texas triangle and you look at all the surrounding communities not only for police vehicles but all the types of safety equipment that they manufacture for all those law enforcement agencies that are two or three hundred miles of us even,” Hickman said.

David Russo, the company CEO, said they found the Bryan-College Station and Brazos County area to be vibrant and welcoming. It’s also close to their other locations in Houston, Austin/Round Rock, Fort Worth and San Antonio.

“Our company is very proud to be a corporate citizen of the Great State of Texas, employing more than 100 Texans, and we are hiring more each and every month,” Russo said.

The new facility will be around 14,000 Sq/Ft on four and a half acres. It will have enough space for over 600 vehicles. When the company officially opens up shop they’ll be looking to hire 15 emergency vehicle technicians.

“The thing I often talk about is what is our greatest export. It’s educated young people and we can keep more of those educated young people in our community if we provide a diversity of jobs here,” Hickman said. “That’s another reason why I think this is such a powerful statement that this company from North Carolina is coming here and there will be others coming here like this in the future I hope.”

Those interested in learning more about Dana Safety can view their website here.