Titan Trailers Announces U.K.-Based Assembly Plant

Titan Trailers Inc., based in Ontario, Canada, has announced that it will establish its EU assembly operations in Middlesbrough, U.K.

According to Mike Kloepfer, president of Titan Trailers, the industry reaction to Titan Thinwall trailers in Canada has proven that the company has a future on British carriageways and, potentially, in the rest of the EU.

Some of Britain’s major truck fleets are already hauling using Titan trailers, according to a company release. Yuill & Dodds, Sherwoods Haulage Group and Thanet Logistics Group were among the first to recognize the value of Titan Thinwall trailers, the company adds.

“This facility will put us in a much better position to meet customer demand for our trailers,” Kloepfer says. “Their support showed us that Titan’s premium quality and price/value equation are viable in this market. By bringing our final assembly to Britain, means we will be able to deliver more efficiently and remain competitive in the long term.”

According to the company, the U.K. Titan trailers you see on the road today were fully manufactured in Canada, then freighted over the Atlantic by ship. Many of the components on these trailers have made the trip twice, as Titan has been importing EU-standard running gear and other parts into its Canadian facility to ensure that service support would be available locally for British customers, Titan adds.

According to Titan, Middlesbrough, situated in the Teesside region of Northeast England, was chosen as the location of the new assembly plant for several reasons. “This area is very well founded in industrial manufacturing, and there is an abundance of capable trades people to assemble Titan trailers to the exact specification as the Canadian built trailer,” says Kloepfer. The company adds that the town’s seaport access is vital to getting its materials into the U.K. efficiently and will become more important as it begins expanding its sales effort into Europe.

The start-up of the Teesside facility will be led by a selected crew of assembly and quality assurance technicians from the Canadian plant. Kloepfer says he expects to see the first locally produced Titan trailers in Teesside to be available by October 2009.