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was all aluminum. After many meetings with Pierce it was decided that Pierce would <br />build an all aluminum shell for Horton. This would be Horton's first venture into the <br />Modular Ambulance business. In 1974 the first body was built. This unit when mounted <br />onto a pick-up chassis became an instant hit. A way was found to also mount the body <br />onto a Dodge or Chevrolet cutaway van. All of the modular units were an instant <br />success. Carl started breathing easier when the plant soon filled up. <br />In order to fill the manufacutring facility with product it was decided that Horton needed <br />to branch out into other areas. Soon dealers were found in Kentucky (Ed See), Illinois <br />(Foster Coach) and New York (PVS). The Horton family was growing fast. The <br />reasons were many: <br />-Highest Quality Ambulance Built <br />-Best Factory Support Available for Service and Parts Repair <br />-Highly Reputable Personnel to deal with <br />-Most Innovative Company in the business <br />The innovations developed by Carl and his team were many: First Van Style <br />Ambulance, First Raised Roof Ambulance, First all -aluminum body ambulance, First <br />(any only) Sled Tested Ambulance body, First electrical 42 system, <br />During the years the Industrial Mile location was expanded. This location maxxed out at <br />75,000 sq.ft. It was at this location that Horton built their first all -aluminum modular <br />body. During the ensuing years Horton's business became more focused on building <br />modular ambulances vs. the smaller van -style ambulance. More and more requests <br />were coming in to build 'custom' bodies that varied a great deal from what the standards <br />were originally set out to be. Because of this Pierce was becoming bogged down in <br />reacting to our continual calls to change this and that on the body. The prices of their <br />bodies continually went up and up through the years. At some point Horton needed to <br />look at alternatives. <br />During the 1980's Horton moved from local brand to a National brand. More and more <br />dealers were being set up throughout the US. Horton was now selling from coast to <br />coast. Carl had many ideas. At one point we were building ambulances on Jeep 44 <br />chassis. Carl even designed a transport unit on a golf cart (MR-10). Many of these <br />were built and sold to airports and large manufacturing facilities. However the profit <br />level was small and they were soon phased out. Carl also joined up with Championship <br />Racing (CART) to provide ambulances and a staffed safety team at all CART races <br />