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The vehicle is in fair condition and runs well.

Sayers Donates Cruiser To Pittsfield Police

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Henry 'Hank' Sayers is donating the 2000 Ford to the Pittsfield Police Department.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After towing two of their vehicles, the owner of Sayers Auto Wrecking thought it was time the Auxiliary Police got a new vehicle.
 
Henry "Hank" Sayers recently purchased a 2000 Crown Victoria at auction and is donating it to the Pittsfield Auxiliary Police. The City Council accepted the donation two weeks ago and the vehicle is awaiting pick up.
 
"I knew they were short [a vehicle] and everybody has tight budgets. They don't have a lot to work with," Sayers said on Tuesday.
 
Sayers knew a new car was needed after towing two of auxiliary vehicles. At auction, he found a series of former Connecticut police cars and purchased them all — selling some to a local taxi company and keeping one to donate to the police.
 
"It has the whole police package," Sayers said of the car. "It is in fair condition. It runs good. It is one of the better riding ones."
 
The vehicle has some life left in it. Sayers will ultimately see it come back to him in a few years, when he'll scrap it and make a few bucks. But for now, the city doesn't have to dip into its capital borrowing to purchase a new cruiser.
 
The Auxiliary Police will use it for patrol, special events and emergencies. The vehicle needs a paint job and some "TLC" but should be fairly easy to get on the road.
 
This is the second time Sayers has donated to the Auxiliary Police. About seven years ago, he passed on a vehicle that he had donated to the town of Lanesborough. Lanesborough's first K-9 unit car was donated by Sayers in a same fashion and when the town bought a new cruiser, it came back to Sayers, who offered it to Pittsfield.
 
"They have one of ours already," Sayers said. 
 
The City Council was grateful for the donation. Vice President Christopher Connell added that it could give the city the opportunity to use the old car as a "decoy," parked in places of high speeding.

Tags: donations,   police cruiser,   

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Lenco Celebrates $5M in Capital Investments

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Executive Vice President Lenny Light says it's not the equipment but the staff that gives Lenco its competitive advantage. 
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Lenco Armored Vehicles has embarked on a $5 million capital investment project for faster, better manufacturing. 
 
A ribbon was cut on Monday in front of the company's new Trumpf TruLaser 3080, a machine designed to cut extra-large sheets of metal. This will increase the efficiency of building armored tactical vehicles, such as the BearCat, by about 40 percent. 
 
Executive Vice President Lenny Light recalled the Lenco's beginnings in 1981, when it operated out of 3,000 square feet on Merrill Road with 15 employees.  Today, Lenco has 170,000 square feet of manufacturing space and nearly 150 employees. 
 
"The work that we do here in Pittsfield contributes to millions of dollars being put back into our local economy. We're the largest commercial armored rescue vehicle manufacturer in the United States. We're one of the most respected brands locally. We also now own the largest fiber laser in the United States. It's the only one of its kind in the Northeast," he said, motioning to the massive, modern machinery. 
 
"But the equipment that we have is not our competitive advantage — our welders, our forklifts, our cranes — any company can buy this same exact equipment." 
 
Rather than the equipment, he said, it's the staff who shows up every day with a can-do attitude that gives Lenco its competitive advantage. 
 
Planning for the industrial cutter began 18 months ago, when the company needed to decide if it was the right equipment for the future. Trumpf, named for its founder, is a German-headquartered global manufacturer of high-end metal processing (computer numerical control) machines, including laser technology. The TruLaser 3080 uses a high-intensity laser beam to cut through metals with speed and accuracy.
 
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