2. Great Dane’s Heritage
Established in 1900
Original Savannah Plant
The Steel Products Company produced about
12,000 trailers on government contracts during
WWII. The company was awarded the Army-Navy
“E” for excellence in quality and construction five
separate times.
1930s
1940s
1930 Flatbed Trailer
The Bunker-N-Blower
1950s
Great Dane has always offered the
broadest line of products.
1931 Dry Freight Van
Earliest Reefer Design
The Steel Products Company pioneered the
refrigerated trailer industry. In the early ‘40s it
The
built the first produce van with a wet ice bunker
and a gas engine and blower system, which was
soon followed by the first factory finished
refrigerated van.
Bunker-N-Blower
1960s
Great Dane entered the piggyback and
container market, completing its first
piggyback trailer order in 1961 and its first
maritime container order in 1963.
3. Great Dane’s Heritage (continued)
Savannah was Great Dane’s only
plant (though expanded several
times) until the 1970’s. In this
decade Great Dane purchased its
first platform trailer plant in Memphis,
TN.
1970s
Great Dane built the Brazil, IN Plant,
which has been enlarged several
times, to manufacture van and
refrigerated trailers.
Great Dane built the Savannah,
GA
Corporate Headquarters building.
1980s
Great Dane purchased Timpte’s
refrigerated trailer plant in Wayne,
NE and enlarged it 5-fold.
In 1997, Great Dane Trailers
merges with Pines Trailer and joins
the Crown Family of Companies.
1990s
In the early 90’s, Great Dane
purchased a large facility in Terre
Haute, IN and converted it to produce
van trailers. A 500,000 sq. ft. parts
distribution center was installed shortly
after the plant purchase.
In 2001, Great Dane purchased the
Danville, PA plant from Strick.
2000s
In 2002, Great Dane purchased
Trailmobile’s Jonesboro, AR Plant.
In 2004, Great Dane purchased Wabash’s
flatbed plant in Huntsville, TN.
The Bunker-N-Blower
4. Great Dane’s Heritage (continued)
Great Dane opened a new 450,000
sq ft state-of-the-art reefer facility
in Statesboro, GA in April 2012.
This plant can produce more than
5,000 trailers annually.
Automation highlights at the
Statesboro, GA plant include robotic
welding, torque tooling, automated
trailer assembly, and ergonomics
Statesboro Plant Green Initiatives
• Climate controlled working
environment
• Energy-efficient lighting
• Low-water consumption programs
• Load monitors used to ensure optimal
energy consumption
• Optimized material handling system
for reduced waste and increased
efficiency
2010s
Chinese Joint Venture
Great Dane enters into a joint venture
with Chinese truck body
manufacturer, Ice Bear and Baird
Capital Partners Asia. The joint
venture will help Ice Bear expand its
manufacturing facilities in Henan and
Shanghai, as well as help capitalize
on the growing need for cold chain
solutions in China.
Great Dane Introduces its
national account parts and
service program, AdvantEdge
Introduced in August 2010,
AdvantEdge allows customers
access to Great Dane’s extensive
branch and dealer network and
features many benefits like 24/7
online access, consistent parts
pricing and standardized labor
times.
Great Dane Enters Truck Body
Business
Great Dane acquires Johnson
Refrigerated Truck Bodies in
October 2010 expanding its
product offerings in refrigerated
transportation equipment.
The Bunker-N-Blower
The new Innovation Campus
includes the renovation of the current
corporate office space and three
new-construction buildings: an
engineering building, research and
design lab, and road simulator
building.
