Sep 1, 2009 12:00 PM, BY BRUCE SAUER

But as the motor vehicle began to emerge, DeHart shifted his focus to making bodies that made motor vehicles more useful. He also became a truck dealer in the early years of commercial trucks. The transition was natural. H A DeHart had been selling Brockway carriages and simply rode into the motorized vehicle business when Brockway began manufacturing trucks.

H A DeHart Jr joined the company in 1906. By the time his father died unexpectedly in 1923, the two had morphed the company from a blacksmith shop to an early truck and equipment company.

The switch to motorized vehicles accelerated quickly following the 1918 fire that destroyed the premises. The fire essentially was a break with the past. H A DeHart only built three wagons after the fire, concentrating instead on building bodies for vehicles such as the Ford Model T. Early trucks did not have a cab. Like other early body builders, DeHart sold truck chassis and built bodies along with the cab. Cabs, however, were frequently open.

The Great Depression was a difficult period. H A DeHart Jr said that the only reason the company survived was that it had strong cash reserves before the crash and had no loans outstanding. He also commented that he knew business was bad when people who did not intend to pay weren't buying.

Here's a look at the products that a 125-year-old company sells:

AERIAL BUCKETS

Lift-A-Loft, UTEM

AIR COMPRESSOR - TRUCK MOUNTED

Airman, Cyclone, Ingersoll/Rand, Stellar Industries

ANTI-ICING & BRINE MAKERS

Salt-A-Way, Snow Equipment Sales, GVM Inc.

BUSES

Thomas Built Buses

BUS SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS

Apollo, REI, RTI, Safety Vision, Silent Witness

CAMERA SYSTEMS

R S Technical Services, Superior Signal

CRANES

Stellar Industries

DUMPS & DUMP TRAILERS

Air-flo, Del, Godwin, TBEI/Heil, R/S, Rugby, Summit, TruckCraft, Towmaster Trailers

EMERGENCY LIGHTING

Bemis, Betts, Buyers Products, Code-3, Duty Master, Ecco, Federal Signal, Grote, Kwik Raze, Kussmaul, Night Scan, Peterson, Signal-Stat, Superior Signal, Truck-Lite, Whelen

FORESTRY EQUIPMENT- DUMP & CHIPPERS

Schodorf

HITCHES

Buyers Products, Holland

HYDRAULICS

Bemis Sign Post Puller, Chelsea, Component Technology, Certified Power, DeHart Hydramastor, Monarch, Muncie, Stanley

INVERTERS, CONVERTERS, GENERATORS

Dimension Unlimited, Redi-Line, Stanley

LEAF MACHINES

American Road Machinery

LIFTGATES

Alligator, Anthony, Eagle, Leyman, Maxon, Thieman, Tommygate, Ultron, Waltco

LIGHT TOWERS/SIGN TRAILERS

Allmand

PAVERS, HOT PATCHERS & AUTO PATCHERS

Koch Pavement Sealers, Puckett Pavers, Schwarze Industries Road Patcher, Spaulding Hot Patcher

PLATFORMS

Knapheide, Rugby

REFUSE

Nu-Life Bulk Waste Crane, Ampli-Roll Hook Lift, G-S Products (Recycling Refuse), New Way, Pak-Mor

REFRIGERATION - A/C

Carrier, Thermo King, TransAir

ROLL-BACK CAR CARRIERS

Ampli-Roll, Godwin

SEWER JETTERS

Camel, Super Products, Scavenge-Vac, Dyna Vac

SNOW REMOVAL

Air-Flo, American Road Machinery, Buyers Products, Diamond, Good Roads, Henderson, Meyer, Pre-Wetting Equipment, Viking

SPRAY-ON LINERS

Scorpion

SWEEPERS

Schwarze Industries

TANKS

Snyder Industrial

TARPS

Aero, Donovan, E-Z, Pioneer, Roll-Rite

TIEDOWNS

Kinedyne

TRAILERS

Great Dane, Mickey, Summit, Towmaster, Trail-Eze

UTILITY BODIES

Knapheide, Stellar Industries

VAN SHELVING & TOOL BOXES

Nevlen, Weatherguard

VAN TRAILER & BEVERAGE BODIES

Mickey

WHEEL CHAIR LIFTS & RESTRAINTS

Braun, Q-Straint, Ricon, Sure Lok

WINCHES

Ramsey

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