As a family owned Minnesota trailer manufacturer, Felling Trailers supports its dealers, employees, and community the same way it builds trailers: by showing up, doing the work right, and standing behind the people who count on it. This year, that meant presenting dealer awards in person and joining dealer open houses across the country, training and thanking the team members who build every trailer, and opening the shop doors to students, schools, and nonprofits right here in Central Minnesota.
If you bought a Felling trailer from your local dealer this year, worked a shift on the shop floor, or had a student come home from a tour with stories to tell, you’re part of this story. Since 1974, Felling Trailers has believed a trailer is only as good as the people behind it. Here’s a look back at some of the people and moments that made 2026 one to remember.
How Felling Supports Its Dealers
Dealers have a lot riding on the trailer brands they carry. Their customers count on them for the right trailer, honest answers, and service long after the sale. They deserve a trailer manufacturer that has their back. Across Felling’s dealer network, that means building trailers dealers can stand behind, recognizing the work they put in, and showing up in person when they open their doors.
Recognizing Top Dealers
Felling’s Diamond and Platinum Dealer Awards recognize dealers for outstanding sales and service. Between April and July, the Felling sales team presented the 2025 awards in person, with a handshake and a thank-you. In total, 9 Platinum-level dealers and 26 Diamond-level dealers received an award.
Diamond Dealer Award Recipients:
- Chattanooga Trailer & Rental, Inc.
- Farm-Rite Equipment of Willmar
- Floyd’s Truck Center
- Hills Machinery
- Knapheide Trailer Sales
- Minnesota Equipment
- Richmond Machinery
- Vermeer Texas-Louisiana
Platinum Deal Award Recipients:
- Buck & Knobby Equipment Co.
- Lano Equipment, Inc. (Anoka, Loretto and Shakopee locations)
- Tracey Road Equipment
Some award presentations happened during dealer events. Justin Williamson presented Farm-Rite Equipment of Willmar’s award at its open house, and Merle Felling and Nathan Uphus presented Gary Lano with Lano Equipment’s award at the Loretto Customer Appreciation Day. These dealers are the face of Felling Trailers in their communities, and the Felling team is grateful for every one of them and the hard work they put in.
Showing Up at Dealer Events
When a dealer opens its doors to customers, Felling wants to be there. In May, Terry, a Felling sales representative, spent an afternoon at the Stephenson Equipment, Inc. Open House in Baltimore, Maryland, with a drop deck tilt trailer on display for customers to check out.
In September, Felling joined James River Equipment to help celebrate 100 years in business at open houses in Baltimore, Maryland; Stephenson, Virginia; and Delmar, Maryland. Customers stopped by to look over the trailers, ask questions, and talk shop. For the Felling team, meeting the people who put these trailers to work every day is the best part of events like these.
This fall, Felling joined Tracey Road Equipment to be a part of Taste of Tracey Road in Syracuse, New York, just months after Tracey Road earned its Platinum Dealer Award. Between the food trucks, equipment displays, and familiar faces, the day felt more like a community celebration than an open house. It was a great chance to catch up with longtime customers and meet the contractors and operators who keep the industry moving.
How Felling Supports Its Employees
Every Felling trailer passes through many hands before it heads to its new home. The people who build Felling trailers want what most of us want from our work: the skills to do it well and the sense that their effort is noticed. That starts on day one at Felling. Every new team member is trained, regardless of department, and much of that training happens at the Merle J. Felling Weld Training Facility in Sauk Centre. New team members don’t have to figure it out on their own; they learn alongside people who already know how to do it well.
Felling’s gratitude continues with simple thank-yous. At the end of August, the company celebrated all team members with a catered meal from Smoke N Motion BBQ, sweet treats from Beautiful Chaos Baking Co. and tables and chairs from Special Day Rentals. It was a small way of saying a big thank-you to the people who keep Felling running every day. Without everyone working together, Felling wouldn’t be the company it is today.
How Felling Supports Its Community
For a small town Minnesota trailer manufacturer, community starts close to home in Sauk Centre, Litchfield, and the Central Minnesota towns where the Felling team lives and works. From local schools to nonprofits, Felling’s community involvement stays focused on the people right here in its own backyard.
Trailer for a Cause
Since 2013, Felling team members have voted each year on a nonprofit to receive the proceeds from the Trailer for a Cause auction. This year, they chose Henry’s Heroes, a Central Minnesota nonprofit that supports families through the emotional and financial challenges of a NICU stay.
“When our team cast their votes, and Henry’s Heroes rose to the top, I wasn’t surprised. As a mother, I was moved.”
-Brenda Jennissen, President of Felling Trailers
The 2026 trailer, a custom FT-12 Pan drop-deck and Felling’s largest-capacity Trailer for a Cause to date, was on display at Henry’s Heroes’ 4th Annual Walk in June. The online auction ran Sept. 24 to 30, ending on Neonatal Intensive Care Awareness Day, with 100% of the profits going to Henry’s Heroes. PPG, Peterson Mfg., Ram, Dexter, Demco, Taskmaster, Fastenal and Ratner Steel joined Felling in sponsoring the build. Before this year’s auction, Trailer for a Cause had raised more than $57,000 for nonprofits.
Summer Weld Camp
Many students never get the opportunity to pick up a welding torch. Summer Weld Camp gives them a safe place to do just that. In 2026, the beginner friendly program ran Monday through Thursday from July 6 to 15 at the Merle J. Felling Weld Training Facility, with registration offered through local community education. Attendees were introduced to welding along with workplace safety, manufacturing processes, and print reading, the kinds of skills used on a real shop floor every day.
Summer Weld Camp is just one way that the facility serves the community. Through a partnership program called Careers in the Community, local high school students can also train there, learning from the same setup Felling uses to train its own team.
Student Tours
It’s hard to picture yourself in a career you’ve never seen. Students deciding what comes after graduation often don’t know what modern manufacturing looks like. That’s why Felling opens its doors, so students of all ages can see it for themselves.
In May, students from the West Stearns CEO program toured the facility. Brenda and Paul shared insight into the trailer industry and how the Felling team keeps finding ways to improve processes and keep things running smoothly. The students walked away with a few lessons of their own, including that Felling trailers are working around the globe and that growth happens when you experience challenge.
October is Manufacturing Month, and Felling spent it showing students the work up close. Students from Holdingford High School and Sauk Centre 5th graders both toured the plant to see how trailers are built. Thank you to Alexandria Technical and Community College and the Central Minnesota Manufacturers Association for organizing both visits.
Scrap Steel for Local Schools
Felling regularly donates scrap steel to local schools for their Industrial Tech classes so students have real material to work with. One of the team’s favorite results this year came from Linus D., a freshman at Sauk Centre High School. He designed a sign based on a video game he plays, drew every piece by hand on the computer and had a finished project after a couple of days of work. His reaction said it best: “Mom, Felling Trailers donated a bunch of metal, so I get to design & make a sign for free!”
What Comes Next
When dealers grow, team members build their skills and local students see a future in the trades, the whole community is stronger, and that’s what being a Minnesota trailer manufacturer means to Felling. Thank you to everyone who stopped by a booth, toured the plant or bid on this year’s trailer. The Felling team is already looking ahead.
About Felling Trailers, Inc.
Felling Trailers is a family-owned and operated Full-Line Trailer Manufacturer located in Central Minnesota. Started in 1974, Felling Trailers, Inc. has grown from a small shop to a factory and office complex that today covers over 400,000 square feet. Felling’s pride and differentiation is its customized trailer division. Its engineers utilize the latest Industry-leading design techniques, and its experienced metal craftspeople use cutting-edge technology to turn its customers’ conceptual Trailer needs into tangible products. Felling has been providing innovative trailer solutions to the transportation industry for over 50 years. Felling Trailers’ current capabilities allow them to provide a high-quality product that is distributed across North America and internationally. Felling Trailers, Inc. is an ISO 9001 Quality Management System Certified company, a WBENC-Certified WBE company, and an Equal Opportunity Employer.
For more information, contact 1-800-245-2809, [email protected], or visit our website. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
