Trailermaker named of one of 50 top companies

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Wabash National Corp. been named one of the 50 best manufacturers in the U.S. by IndustryWeek magazine.

IndustryWeek’s 50 Best Manufacturing Companies is an annual listing of top performers selected from the 500 largest publicly traded manufacturing companies. The list considers financial measures that pertain to operational efficiency and market success.

“We are honored to be included in this group of world class manufacturers,” said Dick Giromini, Wabash National President and CEO. “This recognition validates our approach and commitment to continuous improvement, and clearly reflects the exceptional dedication and hard work of our associates during the past few years.”

According to IndustryWeek, the publication selected this year’s top performers by comparing financial performance during the past three years (2003 to 2005) in revenue growth, return on equity (ROE) and profit margin.

“In addition to the market metrics, manufacturing specific metrics were chosen to address the capital/asset intensive nature of manufacturing. These include asset turnover, inventory turnover and return on assets (ROA).”

Wabash National was included in the listing with such companies as Harley-Davidson Inc., Paccar Inc, Dell Inc, Qualcomm Inc., and PepsiCo Inc.

Headquartered in Lafayette, Ind., Wabash is one of the leading manufacturers of semi trailers in North America.