The Saudi Ministry of Interior has placed an order worth 245.3 million euros ($320 million) with Austrian firm Rosenbauer for the supply of fire vehicles and fire engineering equipment, the company announced.

Rosenbauer will supply the ministry a total of 1,125 vehicles of various types and for various operational purposes. Included in the contract are boats and other civil defence equipment, said a company statement.

The contract includes water tankers built to European standards, pumpers and rescue vehicles manufactured to US standards, heavy recovery vehicles, aerial ladders and hydraulic rescue equipment. Most of the vehicles are to be produced at the Rosenbauer plants in Leonding (Austria), Lyons (France), Karlsruhe (Germany) and Spain.

The order will be fulfilled in several deliveries until mid-2014, said a top official.

“This success underlines Rosenbauer’s industry-leading position yet again. Thanks to the highly satisfactory order trend over the past few months – and in contrast to negative developments in markets - capacity utilisation at our production units is assured for the next two years,” remarked Rosenbauer executive board chairman Dr Dieter Siegel.

Dr Siegel said the Saudi government had decided to launch an expansion programme for the fire protection sector because of the rapid increase in the Saudi population.

“The programme will involve building and fitting out 180 new fire-stations, mainly in urban areas. As well as this, some 6,000 extra firemen have been recruited and are currently undergoing training,” he added.

According to the official, Rosenbauer’s longstanding working relationship with Saudi clients is founded upon the high quality of its products, developed in close collaboration with customers to meet local requirements.