Felling Trailers began as a small welding shop in downtown Sauk Centre, Minnesota, in 1954 (then known as Sauk Centre Welding & Machine Works, Inc.). In the beginning, Sauk Centre Welding catered to local farmers and businesses, doing repairs, small custom welding, and fabrication jobs. In 1974, a young employee (current CEO Merle J. Felling) purchased the business from the original longtime owner.
Seeing a lack of quality workmanship in many of the trailers that were coming through his shop, Merle started making custom trailers for a few of the local farmers. Within a short time others started noticing his quality craftsmanship and Merle launched the Felling Trailers product line in 1975.
From its humble beginnings to the company it is today, one facet has remained the same—putting quality craftsmanship with pride into every custom trailer built. The following are three examples of Felling Trailers’ mission to understand the customer‘s issue, formulate a solution, and deliver the product.
RED HAWK WELL SERVICING
Edgar Hall, maintenance coordinator at Red Hawk Well Servicing in Oxbow, Saskatchewan, Canada, needed a custom, “stripped-down” trailer. Red Hawk Well Servicing builds its own specialized equipment in the oil patch, permanently mounting equipment onto 53-foot, triple-axle trailers. Previously, they would buy a used trailer and completely strip the wiring, lights, and airlines themselves and then rebuild it to fit their equipment.
Red Hawk approached other trailer manufacturers to build a stripped trailer, but no one would do it. Sterling Truck & Trailer, an authorized Felling Trailers, Inc. dealer, worked with Felling to build a FT-80-3-HX trailer frame to Red Hawk’s specifications. Red Hawk was then able to add its diesel motor, pump, and other equipment to it for specific job requirements before sandblasting, painting, and finishing the trailer. Red Hawk has bought three Felling trailers and plans to order more. “Just what the doctor ordered,” says Edgar. “Completely satisfied.”
NORTH DAKOTA GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT
North Dakota Game and Fish Department needed a lighter trailer that could transport both the weight of the equipment they were hauling (skid steers, compact tractor, mini excavator) and the maximum width possible between the fenders for the single rear-wheel pickups to tow the combination. Felling’s custom FT-20IT-I A, which is a 20,000-pound-rated aluminum drop deck gooseneck tilt trailer is providing them with a lighter solution and is allowing them to transport equipment and accessories for the boat ramp repair crew.
Jerry Weigel of North Dakota Game and Fish worked with Felling’s trailer consultants and Titan Machinery in Bismarck, North Dakota, an authorized Felling Trailers dealer, on their trailer needs. “We’re absolutely happy with our Felling trailer,” states Jerry Weigel. “After working with the trailer for one season, which means 15,000 to 20,000 miles, there have been no failures and no issues.”
FERRIS WHEEL COMPANY
A customer that builds amusement park rides was seeking a company that could produce quality trailers that could be paired with its Ferris wheels. Prior to finding Felling Trailers, this customer built their own trailers and found the Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations from state to state and the complexity of building a “mobile platform” beyond their expertise. Felling Trailers designed a lighter and more user-friendly trailer for this customer to use, including:
- Knowledgeable staff that understood how to build custom trailers.
- Ability to incorporate their product in the design process to produce a trailer that was “ready-to-go” when it hit their company, leading to faster output and less cost for their operations.
- Licensed DOT inspectors on staff that understood and stayed educated on the latest laws.
- A high-quality product at a surprisingly low cost.
Felling has now built eight of these trailers for this customer in the past 5 years.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
At Felling Trailers, quality, craftsmanship, and pride are central in all facets of the company.
- Customers can count on Felling Trailers to deliver a quality product that is extremely durable and can stand up to the vigorous demands of the working world.
- Customers can rely on Felling Trailers’ industry leading designs and superior craftsmanship to give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
- Felling Trailers takes tremendous pride in the trailers it builds. From its innovative designs to its world class parts and service department, Felling Trailers stands behind everything that it does to ensure ultimate customer satisfaction.
Since 1974, these three principles have been essential to Felling Trailers and will continue to guide the company into the future. ■
About The Author:
For more information about Felling Trailers’ product lines, call 800.245.2809, or visit www.felling.com.
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Modern Contractor Solutions, July 2013
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