Great Dane completes purchase of Trailmobile Trailer plants

SAVANNAH, Ga. (July 9, 2002) — The parent of van trailer manufacturer Great Dane Trailers said it has completed its acquisition of two plants owned by bankrupt Trailmobile Trailer LLC.

Great Dane Limited Partnership acquired raw material inventories, machinery, and equipment at Trailmobile plants in Jonesboro, Ark., and Charleston, Ill. The purchase includes the intellectual property of the company.

Great Dane chief operating officer Phil Pines said production of Great Dane van trailer would begin in Jonesboro in the fourth quarter of this year. “Due to the current weak market conditions of the trailer industry,” he said, “there are no immediate plans to open Charleston.

The purchase of Trailmobile Trailer LLC is the second major acquisition by Great Dane in less than a year. In November 2001, the company acquired the Danville, Pa., and Abbeville, S.C., plants of Strick Trailer Corp.

Trailmobile Trailer LLC, which filed for bankruptcy last December, was an affiliate of Trailmobile Canada Ltd., this country’s largest producer of dry-freight vans. Trailmobile Canada continues to produce trailers at its plant in Mississauga, Ont., and is majority owned by Chicago-based Trailmobile Corp.