Stoughton Trailers founder and former CEO Don Wahlin has received In Business magazine’s 2021 Lifetime Achievement Executive of the Year award. Since 2014, according to Madison, Wisc.-based In Business, the Executive of the Year awards have celebrated exemplary business executives based on leadership, innovation and company success.
Wahlin—who founded Stoughton Trailers in 1961—told the magazine in its January issue that the key to the company’s success has been “hiring good people.” He goes on to say that their dedication and hard work have helped him build a 60-year legacy.
The story does note “speed bumps” along the way, including a 1967 fire; offers to buy the company over the years; and the possibility of taking Stoughton Trailers public in 1999—a deal that Wahlin canceled, correctly anticipating an economic downturn, based on trailer-market cycles.
Indeed, Wahlin’s insistence on carrying very little corporate debt allowed the family business “to thrive when some competitors struggled” during the industry swings, the story suggests.
“It took about 30 years before I stopped worrying about how to meet a Friday payroll, but in hindsight it worked out very well,” Wahlin said. “I’m honored to receive this Lifetime Achievement Award, but awards were never an end goal.”
In 2001 Wahlin’s son, Bob Wahlin, took the helm of the company as its president and CEO. Stoughton Trailers is a top 10 international supplier of semi-truck trailers. The Wisconsin-based, family-owned company designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of dependable semi-truck trailers used for over-the-road trucking, as well as agricultural trailers and other specialty transportation equipment.
A panel of judges selects high-performing executives in small, medium and large companies. The award qualifies candidates using quantitative data for his or her contributions to the company’s success. In addition, they are selected based on strategic initiatives that strengthened the company’s market position.