BUSINESS NEWS
Doonans will celebrate its 50th Anniversary with an open house on Wednesday, Oct. 18. The open house includes tours of the facility from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. At 11 a.m., the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting to commemorate the occasion.
Doonan Trailer Corporation was incorporated on Oct. 17, 1973, by Wendell Doonan. Mr. Doonan started out building grain trailers for local farmers in an outdated service station in downtown Great Bend.
"These doubles [hopper bottom grain trailers] can still be spotted in the fields throughout central Kansas," stated Kelly Zecha, National Dealer Manager, Doonan Specialized Trailer.
Over the years, Doonan Trailer Corporation produced numerous configurations of grain trailers, but it was not until the early 1990s that the company found its true calling. On Aug. 3, 1993, the company completed production of its first 48' x 102' all-steel tandem drop deck trailer (unit #8001) which was sold to Southwest Peterbilt. Southwest Peterbilt had five dealership locations throughout Arizona and New Mexico and eventually became a part of Rush Enterprises, Inc. in 1999.
"We are happy to have played a small part in Doonan's history," said Gary Willis, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Rush Entrprises, Inc.
Since then, Doonan Specialized Trailer, LLC has developed a market niche in the specialty segments of the flatbed, drop deck, and lowbed trailer industries by providing highly customized products to satisfy the consumer's ever-changing needs.
"We wish Mr. Doonan was still here to celebrate these two milestone anniversaries, but I am certain he would be proud of what his legacy has become," saidMike Ruddle, Vice President of Operations, Doonan Specialized Trailer.
To mark the accomplishment, the Company will be installing honorary mud flaps on all new trailers produced for the next year starting Oct. 18.