Wabash National
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE:WNC S&P 600component | |
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | Lafayette, Indiana,United States |
Area served | Worldwide (except China, Europe and Oceania) |
Key people | Brent Yeagy, President/CEO |
| Products | Semi-trailers |
| Revenue | 1.77 billionUSD(2017)[1] |
Number of employees | 6,500[1] |
| Website | wabashnational |
Wabash Nationalis an American diversified industrial manufacturing company and North America's largest producer of semi trailers and liquid transportation systems. The company specializes in the design and production of dry freight vans,refrigerated vans,platform trailers, liquid tank trailers, intermodal equipment, engineered products and composite products.[2]Its products are sold under the following brand names: Wabash National, Transcraft, Benson, DuraPlate, Walker Transport, Walker Defense Group, Walker Barrier Systems, Walker Engineered Products, Brenner Tank, Beall, Garsite, Progress Tank, TST, Bulk Tank International and Extract Technology.[3]The company operates a number of Wabash National Trailer Centers, trailer service centers and retail distributors of new and used trailers and aftermarket parts throughout the United States. In 2017, the total revenue was 1.77 billionUSD.[1]
History
[edit]Wabash National was founded as a start-up in 1985 in Lafayette, Indiana and has been publicly traded since 1991.[4][5]The company was co-founded in April 1985 by Jerry Ehrlich, formerly the president of Monon Corp., an Indiana-basedtrailermanufacturer. Two years earlier, corporate raiderVictor Posnerhad acquired Monon's parent company, Evans Products Co., and had proceeded to sell off its assets to pay debt. As Monon declined, Ehrlich repeatedly offered to buy the company but to no avail. Thus, Ehrlich and two fellow ex-Monon Corp. executives, Ronald J. Klimara and William M. Hoover, started their own company. They were soon joined by 14 other former Monon employees.[6]
Ehrlich and his associates established their company inLafayette, Indiana,about 30 miles south of Monon Corp. and approximately 65 miles northwest of Indianapolis. In need of manufacturing facilities, Wabash initially leased a 450,000 square-foot abandoned factory then used by local farmers to store corn. The executives' experience and contacts helped Wabash acquire its start-up capital: $2 million in equity from Washington D.C. investorsStevenandMitchell Rales,a $3 million industrial revenue bond, and a $5 million line of credit from a local bank. Wabash's first trailer was reportedly built on two sawhorses and was finished in August 1985. Its first customer wasSears, Roebuck & Co.,a former customer of Monon, which ordered ten trailers from Wabash.
With Ehrlich as Wabash's president, and Hoover and Klimara as vice-presidents of sales and finance, respectively, Wabash began to grow rapidly. Its client list soon expanded to includeHeartland Express Inc.,Schneider National Inc., andDart Transit Co.
In 1986, the company generated sales of $70 million from more than 15,000 trailers. That year the company also purchased a more suitable factory in the same area for about $2.5 million.
On May 8, 2012, Wabash National completed the acquisition of Walker Group Holdings for $376 million.[7][8]
On September 27, 2017, Wabash National completed the acquisition of Supreme Industries, Inc.[9][10]
Products
[edit]Wabash National's product lines include a variety of dry freight vans, refrigerated vans, converter dollies, platform trailers, liquid tank trailers, intermodal equipment, engineered products and composite products. They also make high-quality laminated oak flooring used extensively in dry van trailers, truck bodies, and containers.
Facilities
[edit]Wabash National is headquartered inLafayette, Indiana,also the site of its main production facility. Additional manufacturing plants are located inCadiz, Kentucky;Harrison, Arkansas;Kansas City, Kansas;Portland, Oregon;New Lisbon, Wisconsin;Fond du Lac, Wisconsin;andSan Jose Iturbide, Guanajuato, Mexico.After the investment of a manufacturing facility inLittle Falls, Minnesota,Wabash National plans to "expand production operations for molded structural composites (MSC)."[11]
The company operates a network of dealerships inNorth Americacalled Wabash National Trailer Centers.
References
[edit]- ^abc"Wabash National Corp, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Feb 28, 2018".secdatabase.RetrievedMay 10,2018.
- ^"Wabash National Corporation | Products and Services".wabashnational.Retrieved2017-07-11.
- ^"Wabash Strategic Segments | Diversified Products".wabashnational.Retrieved2017-07-11.
- ^"Wabash National Co, Form S-3ASR, Filing Date Feb 27, 2017".secdatabase.RetrievedMay 10,2018.
- ^"Wabash National Co, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Nov 7, 2017".secdatabase.RetrievedMay 10,2018.
- ^"Wabash National Corporation | Our History".wabashnational.Retrieved2017-07-11.
- ^"Wabash National Corp, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date May 14, 2012".secdatabase.RetrievedMay 10,2018.
- ^"Wabash National Corp, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Apr 13, 2012".secdatabase.RetrievedMay 10,2018.
- ^"Wabash National Corp, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Sep 27, 2017".secdatabase.RetrievedMay 10,2018.
- ^"Wabash National Corp, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Aug 9, 2017"(PDF).secdatabase.RetrievedMay 10,2018.
- ^Stelsel, Dana (February 9, 2017)."Wabash National Corporation to Expand Operations to Minnesota with Advanced Composites Manufacturing Facility".Wabash National Corporation.RetrievedJune 30,2017.