BREAKING NEWS: Manac buys Trailmobile assets

ST-GEORGES, Que. — As the old Chinese adage goes: with crisis also comes opportunity.

The trailer market in both Asia and North America may be in a slump, but at least one Canadian manufacturer is in growth mode.

Canadian trailer builder Manac of Montreal has purchased certain assets of the now-bankrupt Trailmobile Canada.

Trailmobile Canada officially went into bankruptcy in April after ceasing manufacturing operations in December.

According to a statement from Manac, the purchase includes production equipment and raw-materials inventory but no land or buildings.

Trailmobile had its Mississauga, Ont. headquarters and production facility for sale since early this year, but there’s been no confirmation if a buyer had surfaced.

Manac, which has been in business since 1966, has produced more than 100,000 trailers out of two plants in Canada; specifically in Saint-George and Trois-Rivieres; and two in Missouri.

Trailmobile Canada had been, until 2001, a division of Trailmobile Trailer LLC, which was based in Chicago. That year, the parent company went bankrupt but the Canadian division stayed in business.

In December, Trailmobile Canada’s VP of Sales and Marketing Bert Clay told todaystrucking.com that the company had filed for bankruptcy protection. In March, Clay left the company.