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

• Kentucky Manufacturing in Louisville KY reported production of 1,515 trailers in 2007, down 29% from the previous year. Larry Roy, CFO, said that the company's specialization on moving vans has made it too susceptible to swings in the housing market. Therefore, it has diversified with the purchase of a company in Walled Lake MI that specializes in expandable vans built on drop-frame trailers for use as mobile command centers. Hydraulic cylinders can push walls outboard to double the floor space to as much as 1,000 sq ft. Another model uses hydraulically powered ramps to stow as many as eight automobiles inside for transport.

• Talbert Manufacturing of Rensselaer IN increased production of lowbed trailers 12% in 2007 to 1,415 trailers. This includes 867 commercial lowbeds, up 6%, and 548 military units, up 23%. Steve Kingman, executive VP, says their goal is to have a 50-50 break between commercial and military production, but this is not always possible.

• Kidron, headquartered in Kidron OH, boosted production of its refrigerated distribution trailers another 10% in 2007, according to John Sommer, executive VP. The company now has “nationwide” production facilities with plants in Montgomery PA and Tulare CA in addition to the original plants in Lakeland FL and Kidron OH. All these plants also build Kidron referigerated truck bodies.

• X-L Specialized Trailers of Oelwein and Manchester IA enjoyed a 19% increase in production, building 1,123 truck trailers in 2007. The company's new plant in Manchester, about 36 miles from Oelwein, added 60,000 sq ft of manufacturing space plus 27,000 sq ft of paint facilities and finishing area. Merle Wall, sales manager, says that the company's line of lowbed trailers remains strong, plus new growth is coming from the wind generation industry for extendible trailers used to transport the very long “wings” or blades. He says Iowa wind farms rank third in the nation in wind generation of electricity.

  Western Trailer in Boise ID enjoyed increased volume in its bulk agricultural commodity trailers such as grain hoppers and V-bottom belt conveyor trailers. However, it could not make up for the declines in platforms, producing both center-frame and perimeter-frame flatbeds. Western also builds moving floor chip trailers and tipper transfer and dump trailers. While the dollar volume was up, the unit count was down 11% to 1,016 trailers in 2007.

• Tremcar Inc, the Canadian manufacturer of a variety of petroleum, chemical, and bulk trailers, had a strong year in 2007.

  The company, based in St-Jean sur Richelieu, Quebec, completed its first full year of operation following the acquisition of Hutchinson Industries, a Toronto-based manufacturer of tanks. Tremcar made Hutchinson a subsidiary in July 2006 and continues to use the Hutchinson brand.

  New production from Hutchinson helped Tremcar achieve record output of 914 trailers in 2007. Also working in the company's favor last year was the fact that much of its product line is designed for the petroleum industry, a particularly strong market for trailers in 2007. Demand for cement trailers, however, dropped significantly as construction declined.

  Daniel Tremblay, president, is bracing his company for a 20% decline in production in 2008, but Tremcar currently is producing trailers at the same rate as last year.

  “We are getting mixed information from the U S,” he says. “But we will go at full speed at least for the first four months of this year. Crude oil is still strong, and there is a good demand for natural gas. There is a lot of drilling going on in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and parts of British Columbia. It is a busy market.”

• Benson International, now headquartered in Cadiz KY, doubled its production in 2006, but lost all of the gain and then some in 2007. It built 860 truck trailers (platforms and dump trailers), down 55%, plus 202 truck bodies mounted on truck chassis.

• Travis Trailer Company in Houston TX reported a 10% drop, building 821 end dump, bottom dump and transfer trailers.

• Clement Industries in Minden LA was off 11% in its production of end dump and bottom dump trailers, and heavy-duty demolition and scrap-hauling trailers. The final tally was 778 trailers for 2007.

• Doonan Specialized Trailer in Great Bend KS, now under owners and co-managers Mike Gordy and Elgen Reynolds, set an all-time record for their company specializing in customized options for an extensive line of drop-decks and platform trailers, oilfield trailers, and double-drop glass trailers. They managed a 45% increase to 713 trailers, and think they can hold this gain in 2008.

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