Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY PAUL SCHENCK

• Polar Tank Trailer of Holdingford MN increased production 7% in 2007, building 2,502 tank trailers in its complete line of stainless, carbon steel, and aluminum tankers. John Koll, VP sales and marketing, says the market for petroleum and biofuels tanks remains very strong, while small-cube pneumatics used for construction materials are off. He says the company is projecting a 10% growth in 2008.

• Walker Group Holdings is a new name in trailer manufacturing. It combines four independent operating companies and four brands in the tank truck and tank trailer sector. The combined total of their production was 2,280 tank trailers and about 1,040 tank trucks in 2007. The parent company is Insight Equity of Southlake TX. The four companies are:

  Brenner Tank of Fond du Lac WI increased production of its tank trailers about 14% to the 1,200 level.

  Walker Stainless Steel or Walker Transport of New Lisbon WI built 830 tank trailers and 90 truck-mounted tanks in 2007.

  Progress Tank of Arthur IL built 250 tank trailers and 950 truck tanks in 2007.

  Garsite of Kansas City KS, builder of aircraft refuelers, mounted Progress-made tanks on truck chassis.

• Doepker Industries Ltd in Annaheim, Saskatchewan, had a very good year, up 11% from 2006 to the 2000 level. Bulk hoppers and agricultural trailers were good, as were dump trailers. Oilfield equipment was okay, but platforms and logging trailers were down with the housing market. Bill Schuler, VP sales and marketing, says 2008 won't be nearly as good, with the unit count dropping to perhaps 1,500.

• Reitnouer Inc of Reading PA has increased production about 50% each year for the past two years and had doubled its output the previous year. In 2007 the company gave up most of that gain. Production of its all-aluminum platforms and drop-decks was off 47% to the 1,985 level. Bud Reitnouer says the only bright spot was Canada, where his sales were off only 10%.

• Pitts Enterprises of Pittsview AL now combines three divisions: Pitts Trailers building forestry trailers, Dorsey Trailers in Elba AL, and DynaWeld building lowbeds in Columbus GA. The Dorsey plant was purchased in June and started up again in the fall under David Dorsey as general manager. Jeffrey Pitts, president, says the rebuilt Dorsey Trailer network of dealers will contribute to growth in future years. Meanwhile, the housing and construction downturn hurt sales in 2007. Pitts Enterprises turned out 1,823 trailers in 2007, down 6% from 2006.

• Road Systems in Searcy AR produced 1,000 remanufactured van trailers and 735 new vans, a 6l% drop in production from 2006. About half of these were short doubles trailers and half were 48 to 53 ft. The company also remanufactured 200 converter dollies.

• East Manufacturing Corp of Randolph OH produced 1,625 all-aluminum platforms, dump, and transfer trailers, a 41% decline from 2006. East also built 114 dump bodies for mounting on truck chassis. After such a difficult, disappointing year, David Tate, president, says 2008 is starting off on a positive note, but this may just be the seasonal pattern.

• Beall Corporation, Portland OR, increased its trailer production by 27%, producing 1,543 tank trailers, dump trailers, and bottom dumps. It also built 277 truck tanks and dump bodies for mounting on truck chassis. Part of the increase was made possible by purchase of another company, Marquez in Sunnyside WA, and shifting its aluminum bottom dump production there.

• Lufkin Trailers of Lufkin TX announced January 14, 2008, that it intended to close all trailer facilities after completing contractual obligations and existing inventories. Lufkin had shut down its van trailer production a year ago. The company produced 1,539 dump trailers and flatbeds in 2007.

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.