Coachbult.com - Kidron Inc.



Kidron Inc, - 1946-present - Kidron, Ohio

Kidron - Kidron, Ohio – 1946-present - Truck Bodies with a History of Quality, Craftsmanship. For over a half-century, Kidron Inc. has grown from a small truck body repair proprietorship to a manufacturing company producing refrigerated and dry freight truck bodies and sheet metal products used in North America and, in recent years, throughout the world. In fact, Kidron leads the industry with high value refrigerated truck bodies known for their durability, strength and thermal efficiency on multistop distribution routes.

The company currently employs over 500 people at locations in Kidron, Ohio; Orrville, Ohio; Lakeland, Fla.; and Independence, Kan.

Kidron Inc. had its origin in 1946 in an unused storage barn in the east end of Kidron, Ohio. The business was founded initially as a truck body repair operation and then ventured into building new wood frame truck bodies. As aluminum became increasingly popular in the truck body business, it became a franchise dealer for aluminum truck body kits that were assembled and completed for the local Ohio market.

Kidron's conviction was that a quality product, made with attention to craftsmanship, could best provide service and value to the customer. This approach to manufacturing met with solid market acceptance, and the business grew steadily.

By 1963, the company introduced its own truck body kit which it began marketing to regional distributors east of the Mississippi. In 1982, Kidron introduced its own new and innovative state-of-the-art refrigerated truck body, followed by a semi-trailer with some of the same advantages, first shown in 1984. By this time, active markets had expanded throughout the U.S. as well as into Canada, Mexico and Central America. In 1995, Kidron Inc. was acquired by Transportation Technologies Inc., of Washington, D.C., which also owns Hackney & Sons, the premier manufacturer of beverage truck bodies and trailers. That was followed by the 1997 purchase of Hackney Brothers of Wilson, N.C. - like Kidron, a major supplier of insulated truck bodies to the dairy industry. Subsequently, Hackney Brothers products were merged into the Kidron line, giving birth to the Hackney Ultimate model.Bringing these great traditions under a single corporate umbrella, TTI with the Kidron advantage was able to set a new industry standard for customer satisfaction with greater resources and a clear dedication to developing further innovations in product distribution. Kidron has manufacturing plants in Kidron, Ohio, and Washington, North Carolina. The company has been building van bodies in Lakeland since 1965, but space limitations made it impossible to produce trailers at the Florida plant. The past year has been one of change for Kidron and parent company, Transportation Technologies Inc. Among the tasks the company has undertaken: Purchased Hackney Brothers, manufacturers of insulated bodies directed primarily at dairies. Closed the old Hackney Brothers Body plant in Wilson, North Carolina, and moved production to the Hackney & Sons Plant in nearby Washington, North Carolina. Moved into the new plant in Lakeland.

For more information please read:

www.kidron.com

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