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By Firefighters for Firefighters!
In 1985 as newly appointed Milwaukee firemen, Craig Steffen and I established Paul Conway Shields to provide a high quality helmet shield. We began producing shields in our off hours in Craig’s basement. We researched the best leather sources, the strongest adhesives, toughest stitching and the best the tools to produce our shields to create a new standard for helmet shields.
At first our clients were mostly local, then we sold to Milwaukee firefighters and soon after, regional firefighters began ordering, too. As business grew, we moved production to my parent’s home in New Berlin, Wisconsin where my father, Charles Conway was Fire Chief. We worked there for several years with continued success and growth. This growth spurred us to attend our first trade show. We were excited and apprehensive but at The Firehouse Expo in Baltimore in 1987, our shields were incredibly well received!
As word of our quality product spread, firefighters from around the country started ordering our shields. To keep up with demand, in 1992, we moved production and administration from my parent’s home and garage to a commercial office and production facility in New Berlin. Although I had bought out Craig a few years earlier, I brought him back to the business and we increased our marketing with more trade show appearances. Craig and Mike Wise traveled, from coast to coast, selling Paul Conway Shields. Firefighters from New York City to Los Angeles County were wearing our shields and the reviews were fantastic.
By 1995, I realized our customers would benefit by adding an equipment distributorship to Paul Conway Shields. We committed to selling the best turnout gear and a full line of quality protective equipment along with complementary safety products. Today, we employ a production staff of 10 who work in two shifts. Twenty-three years later, we still produce the highest quality shields by hand. I do not contract out or job out any production and we never will.
We also have a sales staff of eight people serving the state of Wisconsin and other locales with some of the best equipment available on the market. Our highly trained customer support team of four and three more people in administration makes up the balance of our firm. Together, our small company of 25 is here to serve the most important people - our customers – America’s Bravest!
Today, I continue to serve the city of Milwaukee, where I have achieved the rank of Battalion Chief and I am assigned to our 1st battalion covering downtown and the near north and west sides of Milwaukee. Other members of my staff are Milwaukee Firefighters or serve in volunteer and paid-on-call departments throughout the state. In addition to my service in Milwaukee and raising my 3 children, I continue to oversee production and sales for the business.
Every order is as important to us as to you - whether it is one shield or 1,000. We are all deeply committed to providing the same high quality leather front shields, and custom & gold leaf fronts you have come to know from our company over the decades! Without customers like you who demand quality and service, we would never have attained the success we know today. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.
Be Safe & thank you for your business.
Paul Conway
Paul J. Conway
Owner/President
Paul Conway Shields
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