Wabash National Corp. on Monday, July 28, announced that it has completed the acquisition of certain operating assets of Benson International — a manufacturer of aluminum flatbeds, dump trailers and other truck bodies — for about $5 million. The transaction was financed from available credit facilities. Benson International has served the transportation industry for more than 45 years, providing custom-built and prefabricated products.
“We are excited to have the Benson product portfolio as part of the Wabash family,” says Dick Giromini, president and chief executive officer of Lafayette, Ind.-based Wabash National. “We now can offer a premier all-aluminum platform trailer line that provides customers with a lower-weight, lower-fuel-consumption alternative that complements our Transcraft portfolio of steel and combo flatbed offerings.”
Giromini says Wabash National now has access to the previously untapped dump trailer market, and now has the capability to produce a wide variety of custom-designed steel and aluminum dump trailers and platform bodies, all built to customer specifications. “This acquisition allows Wabash National to continue to diversify our revenues within the broader trailer market,” he says. “Benson truly fits our drive to solve customer requirements through innovation, quality and performance.”
Wabash National Chief Operating Officer Joe Zachman says the transaction also provides the company with a leased 180,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Cadiz, Ky., and also provides access to an experienced and motivated work force, as well as a strong dealer network. “The combination creates a company with the scale and scope to compete effectively in this increasingly important segment of the trailer market,” Zachman says.
