Manufacturer Profile - Jerr-Dan

Manufacturer
Profile
Who builds the towing equipment you use? Tow Times Manufacturer
Profiles go behind factory walls at major towing equipment manufacturers
to learn their histories, equipment-building and industry philosophies and
more. See future issues of Tow Times for more Manufacturer Profiles.
Company Name: Jerr-Dan Corporation,
an Oshkosh Corporation Company
Office: 13224 Fountain Head Plaza,
Hagerstown, Md.
Main Assembly: Jerr-Dan Center of Excellence –
Success Drive, McConnellsburg, Pa.
Website: www.jerrdan.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JerrDanCorp
Email: marketing@jerrdan.com
History Lesson
Jerr-Dan’s beginnings reach
back more than a half century to
1959, when farm equipment maker Grove Manufacturing began
developing a carrier for its products. Over time, that carrier would
become known by a variety of
names, including “rollback,” “tiltbed,” “slideback” or “flatbed.”
In 1972, Jerr-Dan Corporation,
a local manufacturer and subcontractor operating at Hykes Road,
Greencastle, Pa., acquired from
Grove the A & I division, under
which the “rollbacks” and farm
equipment were manufactured.
Over the course of the next
four decades, Jerr-Dan developed the industry’s first extruded aluminum deck for a rollback and designed a wheel-lift-type wrecker that is now standard in the towing world. Jerr-Dan was granted dozens
of patents around the world for its products, including the advanced rollback wheel-lift and Dual Angle
Deck.
In 2004, Jerr-Dan was acquired by Oshkosh Corporation, which designs and builds specialty trucks,
truck bodies and access equipment. With manufacturing operations in nine countries, the company
employs over 13,000 people around the world and its products and services are sold in more than 130
countries.
Today, Jerr-Dan’s main assembly is located at the Jerr-Dan Center of Excellence, 221 Success Drive,
McConnellbsurg, Pa. Jerr-Dan continues to be the largest single line manufacturer in North America.
26
towtimes.com • October 2014
Engineering
The main goals for our engineering
team are to design products that promote
safety and efficiency. Their innovations in
the towing and recovery industry are due
in part to Jerr-Dan striving for improvements developed based upon the “Voice
of the Customer.” They received their first
patent in 1979, and their most recent one
in 2014. Over time, Jerr-Dan has developed
dozens of patented products such as
LOCKLINK, Dual Manual Free Spool, Dual
Angle Deck, Steel Beam Technology, RAIL,
etc. Twenty-one people in the engineering
department at Jerr-Dan have over 280
years of combined experience within the
organization. Engineering Methods include
3-D CAD, FEA, Advanced Simulation and
testing.
Aftermarket Support
The aftermarket department is devoted
to customer support, and its six employees
bring a combined 180 years of Jerr-Dan experience to the table. Jerr-Dan’s aftermarket
support uses the Online Express program for
towing and recovery. Jerr-Dan distributors
use this resource for parts orders, warranty
claims and technical information. JerrDan’s parts facility located in Orrville, Ohio,
operates the largest shuttle service delivery
system of its kind in the nation. The facility
stocks over 5,700 Jerr-Dan parts, from nuts
and bolts to full body sides. Distributors are
able to order parts 24/7.
Engineering
circa 1984.
Engineering
today.
See Manufacturer Profile on Page 28
October 2014 • towtimes.com
27
Manufacturer Profile From Page 27
Manufacturing
Safety is the number one priority of the manufacturing team at Jerr-Dan. We have individual team
members with over 35 and 40 years of Jerr-Dan
experience helping to pass along the culture and history to all team members. Our team takes pride in the
trucks they build and the town in which they build them.
Uniquely Jerr-Dan
Unique to Jerr-Dan is the continuous improvement
journey – seeking feedback (both external and internal)
to help us to make improvements in our processes
and the quality of our product with the ultimate goal of
delighting our customers.
An example of continuous improvement today is the
JFB (Jerr-Dan Fire-Service Body) Silver and Gold
Series bodies available on Jerr-Dan’s 50/60 ton rotator.
The JFB Rotator body was motivated by the voice of
the customer requiring increased on-scene performance and functionality. Many of the engineered
storage solutions were inspired by fire-service industry vehicles and technology. The JFB polypropylene
co-polymer constructed body is weather-tight, low
maintenance and has high impact resistance. For more
information on this and other Jerr-Dan innovations and
improvements, visit jerr.dan.com.
28
towtimes.com • October 2014