About KMC MAX

Built on decades of proven engineering. Focused on the future of wildfire response.

KMC MAX designs and manufactures purpose-built tracked machines for wildfire suppression, vegetation management, and demanding off-road applications.

While KMC MAX is a new company, the platform behind every machine has more than 60 years of proven performance in some of the world's toughest environments. From steep mountain slopes and deep swamps to remote forestry operations and disaster response, the foundation of today's KMC MAX machines has earned a reputation for exceptional traction, durability, and reliability.

Today, that proven platform has been re-engineered for a new generation of operators, combining modern safety systems, improved ergonomics, and purpose-built wildfire capabilities into machines designed for the challenges crews face today.

A Legacy of Traction

The story behind the KMC MAX platform began long before the company itself.

In 1941, FMC was commissioned to undertake an ambitious engineering challenge: building the world's first amphibious tracked vehicle, the LVT-1 (Landing Vehicle Tracked). The project demonstrated the company's ability to design machines capable of operating in some of the most demanding environments imaginable.

Twenty years later, FMC was once again called upon to solve a new challenge. In 1961, the company developed a high-performance tracked personnel carrier for the U.S. Army that could operate across swamps, mountains, mud, and other extreme terrain while delivering exceptional traction, speed, and reliability.

That engineering foundation became the basis for the tracked chassis that continues to influence the KMC MAX platform today.

Recognizing its versatility, FMC adapted the platform for civilian applications in the 1970s. Its ability to work on steep slopes, wetlands, and difficult terrain made it well suited for forestry, construction, power grid maintenance, firefighting, and other demanding industries around the world.

For the next 37 years, the platform continued to evolve through production in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada, where it earned a reputation for traction, durability, and dependable performance in challenging conditions.

A New Generation

In 2025, KMC MAX acquired the KMC Kootrac technology and relocated production to modern manufacturing facilities in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Building on more than five decades of proven chassis engineering, KMC MAX has modernized the platform with enhanced safety systems, improved operator comfort, updated manufacturing processes, and purpose-built wildfire capabilities.

The result is a new generation of tracked machines engineered to help crews work safely and effectively in some of the world's most demanding environments.

Built for Today's Challenges

Wildfires are becoming larger, more complex, and more demanding every year.

Firefighters need equipment that can reach remote terrain, operate safely on steep slopes, carry the tools and water needed on the fireline, and continue delivering value long after fire season ends.

That philosophy drives every machine we build.

Purpose-built for wildfire suppression. Proven by decades of tracked engineering.