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Aug 31, 2012 1:32 PM

Great Dane's new refrigerated trailer plant in Statesboro, Ga., recently completed its first customer trailer produced to order—an Everest TL trailer to Rowland Transportation of Dade City, Fla.

“It's exciting to see customer trailers rolling off of our assembly lines here in Statesboro," plant manager Kevin Black said. "We've made tremendous progress since opening our doors earlier this year—all made possible due to the hard work of our dedicated plant employees and community partners."

Said Rowland Transportation president, Doc Hyder, “Great Dane has been a leader in the field of refrigerated transportation, which is why my family has used them for 70 years. Our relationship with Great Dane goes back to the 1940s, when my great-grandfather hauled fresh produce out of Florida and North Carolina to Boston, using wet bed ice bunkers to keep the product cool."

Hyder is a Florida native with strong ties to the trucking industry. He started work with his family's business in 1983, but can trace his trucking roots back to the 1920s, when his great-grandfather began Clay Hyder Truck Lines.

The Hyder family expanded its business hauling commodities and foodstuffs, such as tea
out of Boston and sugar from Savannah, and was one of the first carriers to haul fresh and chilled citrus products out of Florida to the Carolinas.

Doc's grandfather, father and uncle continued that tradition through the years. Today, Rowland Transportation mainly consists of hauling refrigerated food products throughout the country, with a focus on the Southeast region.