Heil shows trailers

Officials at Heil Trailer International hope a new transportation storage device will increase company sales and lay the groundwork for more environmentally friendly transport methods.

Chattanooga-based Heil Trailer International, which produces and sells dry bulk, crude oil and petroleum trailers, plans to introduce a new transportable silo this week, which officials said can replace the use of plastic and cardboard boxes when sorting and moving goods.

“There is a ton of waste involved in storing and moving,” said Andy Fincher, president of Heil. “Instead of transporting in disposable containers, it’s reusable.”

Goods like flour, plastics and dry cement can easily be transported using the silos, which pressurize with air, Mr. Fincher said.

The company plans to showcase and discuss new ideas at an Innovation Exchange at the Chattanooga Convention Center on Wednesday and Thursday, Mr. Fincher said.

The meeting, which is closed to the public, will draw an estimated 300 attendees from a dozen countries, said Bill Harris, marketing manager at Heil. Attendees include Heil distributors, suppliers, customers and employees.

“It is a really good opportunity for Heil and the suppliers to be able to talk to the customers about what the latest advances are in the industry,” said Mr. Fincher.

Mr. Fincher, who has worked at Heil for 14 years and served as president since 2005, said the company had record production in 2007.

According to Trailer Body Builders, a trade publication, Heil produced 4,750 trailers in 2007, an increase from 4,500 trailers produced in 2006.

More than a quarter of a million trailers are manufactured each year in the United States, and 10,000 tank trailers are produced nationwide each year, said Mr. Harris.

In the tank category, Mr. Harris said Heil is the 10th largest manufacturer.

Heil custom builds trailers for major oil companies, common carriers and private companies. Heil Trailer International has 1,100 employs worldwide and five manufacturing facilities, Mr. Harris said. It began as Heil Railjoint Co. in Milwaukee in 1901, he said.

The company was bought in 1993 by Dover Corp., a $6 billion company, Mr. Harris said. It was divided into two businesses, Heil Trailer International and Heil Environmental, a company that produces garbage trucks, he said.

Thirty people are employed at Heil Trailer International’s corporate office in Chattanooga, and more than 300 work at its flagship plant in Athens, Tenn.