Hendrickson - Manufacturing Today

Hendrickson
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manufacturing-today.com SUMMER 2013 VOLUME 1
hendrickson’s current
leadership still holds true
to the principles established
by its founder 100 years ago.
Hendrickson
www.hendrickson-intl.com / 2012 revenue: $1 billion+ / HQ: Itasca, Ill. / Employees: 3,500 / Specialty: Heavy-duty suspensions and axle systems
Gary Gerstenslager, president and CEO: “Being successful means that Hendrickson has great products that lead the industry.”
CenturyOld
Sensation
hendrickson celebrates its
100th year of manufacturing
excellence and market-leading
innovation. by chris petersen
When inventor and businessman
Magnus Hendrickson founded his
namesake company 100 years ago on
May 1, 1913, it would have been hard for
him to imagine exactly how successful
it would become over the course of the
next century.
Hendrickson was an innovative
company from the start, but over the
years it continued to develop a strong
reputation as one of the leaders in
heavy-duty truck and trailer suspensions; auxiliary lift axles systems; axles;
springs and bumpers for commercial
trucking industry.
Today, as the company marks its
centennial, Hendrickson holds the
pinnacle spot in many of the markets
it serves, and President and CEO
Gary Gerstenslager says it has every
intention of holding onto that position for another 100 years.
Hendrickson’s global footprint
includes facilities in the United
States, Canada, Mexico, the United
Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, India, Japan,
China and Australia.
The company’s origins can be traced
back to 1913, when Hendrickson Motor
Truck Co. was established. The
Chicago-based manufacturer that
built trucks equipped with cranes to
haul stone and other building materials. In 1926, the company developed
the first of many innovative additions
to the truck market in the form of its
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Hendrickson
hendrickson has been a
major name in the truck
manufacturing industry for
a century.
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first tandem walking-beam truck suspension. The company says the “walking beam” design that mounted the
axles on each end of an equalizing
beam distributed the truck’s load more
evenly and resulted in improved traction and a smoother ride.
As the company continued to gain
ground in the suspension industry,
Hendrickson drew the attention of
The Boler Co., which already owned
successful manufacturers of leaf
springs and metal bumpers.
The Boler Co. purchased
Hendrickson in 1978, and the company’s capabilities allowed Hendrickson
to expand its product offerings to
include related lines such as trailer
suspension systems, auxiliary axle
systems, springs, metal bumpers and
other heavy-duty truck components.
In time, Hendrickson sold off its truck
Hendrickson
manufacturing operations to concentrate on suspension systems and related business lines, and today this
remains its focus.
Gerstenslager says the company
holds the leading market position in
North America in heavy-duty, tandem
drive suspensions for vocational
trucks, heavy-duty air-ride suspensions and axle systems for trailers,
parabolic tapered springs, and heavyduty air suspension and mechanical
systems for auxiliary axles.
“The fact that Hendrickson has been
a successful manufacturer for 100
years is a testament to the quality of
the company’s products as well as the
quality of its ideas,” he says. “Being
successful means that we have good
products that lead the industry in technology and creates value for the OEM,
fleet and owner operator.”
“we started out in the
early ’90s with the
focus being on quality and consistency, so
the first and the hundredth spring or suspension had the same
characteristics.”
-Gary Gerstenslager
Being the Best
The reason Hendrickson has been in
business for 100 years is simple,
Gerstenslager says: “Our products
are simply the best available.”
He further states, “the company
has devoted considerable time and
efforts to making sure our products
are the most durable, lightweight and
competitively priced in the market.”
Much of that is credited to the company’s manufacturing process, which
Gerstenslager says has been completely optimized to produce the best
product in the most cost-effective
manner possible.
“We started out in the early ’90s
with the focus being on quality and
consistency, so the first and the hundredth spring or suspension had the
same performance characteristics
and quality throughout the manufacturing process,” Gerstenslager says.
This has been accomplished primarily
through
automation,
Gerstenslager explains. By automating most of the welding and spring
manufacturing processes, the company has effectively removed human
error from the production process-
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Hendrickson
hendrickson’s product lines
boast some of the most efficient and effective designs
in the industry, it says.
es. Although Hendrickson’s primary
goal was always to improve the overall quality and performance of its
products,
Gerstenslager
says
increasing automation had the welcome side effect of reducing production costs throughout its facilities.
“The value we bring to the end-user
is really innovated, lightweight,
durable ride solutions, allowing the
customer to carry more cargo and
experience more up-time – all this at a
competitive price,” he adds.
Forward-Thinking
Hendrickson’s manufacturing operations are among the most effective and
efficient in the industry, but
Gerstenslager says the company has
never been one simply to rest on its laurels. The company’s biggest challenge,
he says, is to stay one step ahead of the
competition and maintain its position
as one of the most innovative manufacturers in the truck and trailer sector.
“Our history has always been one of
innovation and providing unique
solutions to the industry, and those
are the things we focus on,”
Gerstenslager says.
In recent years, Hendrickson has
invested heavily in its research and
development, opening new laboratories and devoting significant
resources to next-generation product development.
One of the most recent examples
of innovation in the company’s
product line is its PRIMAXX® EX
heavy-duty vocational air suspension. Available for commercial and
military applications, the PRIMAXX® EX system offers maximum
stability and handling, according to
the company, while also doing more
than other suspension systems to
protect the vehicle and driver.
The PRIMAXX® EX system is
designed for 100 percent off-road
use and features the company’s
QUIK-ALIGN® axle alignment
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Hendrickson
hendrickson says it strives
to develop innovative
products that bring endusers peak performance.
Marking the Occasion
CEO Gary Gerstenslager says Hendrickson plans to celebrate its 100th anniversary in a big way. Internally,
the company will be presenting associates with commemorative gifts, and it will hold a banquet dinner later
this year for some of its OEM and fleet customers to celebrate the company’s success. Additionally,
Gerstenslager says parent company The Boler Co. is preparing a book about Hendrickson’s history.
More importantly, Gerstenslager says, Hendrickson plans to mark the occasion of its 100th anniversary
by maintaining its position as one of the most forward-thinking manufacturers in the industry. “I think our
vision is two-fold,” he says. “We’re going to participate in a more global market because it is growing, and
we’re going to continue to advance the state of the art in our current industry across all the lines that we
market in today.”
system that allows for fast and
easy adjustments without the use of
shims. The system’s triple-torquerod configuration reduces stress on
the axle and maintenance requirements, the company adds.
Hendrickson also points to one of
its road-proven products, known as
INTRAAX®, as a primary example of
the innovation and skill the company
brings to the marketplace. According
to the company, INTRAAX is the first
fully integrated top-mount air suspension/axle/brake system in the market
today. End-users continue to prove
INTRAAX’s reliability and performance by piling up thousands of miles
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on tens of thousands of trailers worldwide every year. INTRAAX is ideal for
platforms, tankers, dumps, grain
haulers and specialty trailers, according to Hendrickson.
Working Together
Being an essential part of customers’
equipment isn’t just an aspiration for
Hendrickson – it’s the company’s
entire mission statement.
“It’s essential for Hendrickson to
develop innovative products that fit
customers’ unique requirements and
make life easier for them and adding to
their bottom line,” according to
Gerstenslager.
That’s especially true in today’s economic climate, where the company
and its OEM customers have to compete with low-cost global manufacturers while also working within the confines of increasing regulations.
Although Gerstenslager says the company understands the need for some
regulation, it is constantly working to
make sure those regulations don’t
interfere with its ability to serve its
customers throughout the transportation industry.
“The biggest concern we have is
keeping [the] U.S. manufacturing
base competitive,” Gerstenslager
adds. “Some regulations are beneficial while some implemented over
the last few years have already had a
negative impact on competitiveness.
In the end, we want a win-win for us
and the customer long-term.”
Future Growth
Looking forward to the next hundred years, Hendrickson is uniquely
positioned for growth while continuing to be an innovative and manufacturing leader of ride solutions to
Hendrickson
“our executive management team at hendrickson believes in
nurturing creativity
as well as cuttingedge manufacturing
technologies.”
-Matt Boler
the global commercial transportation industry. Hendrickson’s parent
company has a great deal of confidence in its ability to expand, and
has faith that Hendrickson will continue to be the go-to brand name in
the industry for many more decades
to come and a market leader in multiple sectors.
“We’ll manage our growth in a number of ways,” says Matt Boler, president and CEO of The Boler Company.
“Our philosophy has always been to
hire talented people around the globe,
invest in state-of-art tools and equipment and empower our associates to
do their jobs.
“At the same time, our executive
management team at Hendrickson
believes in nurturing creativity as
well as cutting-edge manufacturing
technologies,” Boler adds.
“Finally, our growth strategy is a
blend of organic growth by capturing
global market share as well as further
acquisitions that complement our
core competencies,” Boler says.
“I am excited as I look forward to
the future and the endless opportunities that Hendrickson is positioned
for,” Boler concludes. mt
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