Fruehauf Trailer Company

Fruehauf returns to US, manufacturing trailers in Kentucky

Fruehauf North America recently held a grand opening for the company’s $15 million plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, signifying the iconic semi-trailer manufacturer’s return to production in the United States.

The 125,000-square-foot facility will house dry van manufacturing and assembly operations, with a goal of building 5,000 trailers annually, said Eugenio Clariond, chairman of Fruehauf North America.

“[The Bowling Green] facility adds 5,000 units of capacity for a total of 13,000 units for...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fruehauf-opens-kentucky-manufacturing-plant

FreightWaves Classics/Pioneers: August Fruehauf and his trailers changed trucking (Part 3)

A Fruehauf refrigerated trailer manufactured for Pevely Select Milk. (Photo: singingwheels.com)

In Part 1 of this article some of the early history of August Fruehauf and the Fruehauf Trailer Company was highlighted. In Part 2, an overview of the various types of trailers that Fruehauf pioneered was provided. In Part 3, the company’s later history and legacy are explored.

Recognition of Fruehauf Trailer Company

In the November 3, 1950, issue of TIDE (“The Newsletter for Advertising Executives”) the following appeared: “How important is Fruehauf Trailer Company in the trailer industry? To...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicspioneers-august-fruehauf-and-his-trailers-changed-trucking-part-3

FreightWaves Classics/Pioneers: August Fruehauf and his trailers changed trucking (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this article, an overview of how August Fruehauf began the Fruehauf Trailer Company was provided. In Part 2, information about the various types of trailers that Fruehauf pioneered are provided. FreightWaves Classics thanks Ruth Ann Fruehauf for her contributions, as well as the Fruehauf Trailer Historical Society for information and photographs that contributed to this article.

Different types of trailers

The following paragraphs provide information on the key types of trailers...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicspioneers-august-fruehauf-and-his-trailers-changed-trucking-part-2

FreightWaves Classics/Pioneers: August Fruehauf and his trailers changed trucking (Part 1)

The first Fruehauf "semi-trailer" was created in 1914 for a Detroit lumber merchant. (Photo: singingwheels.com)

Many people will call an 18-wheeler a “truck.” But it is actually a tractor-trailer, made up of the tractor (the power source) and a trailer of one kind or another.

The three most common types of trailers are dry vans, refrigerated trailers (reefers) and flatbeds. There are hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of trailers on roads and highways across the United States each and every day.

Trucks on the road. (Photo: saferoads.org)Tractor-trailers on the road. (Photo: saferoads.org)

But how were trailers first developed, and by whom?

Ea...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicspioneers-august-fruehauf-and-his-trailers-changed-trucking-part-1