The History and Innovation of Felling Trailers: From the Beginning to Today
Felling Trailers, Inc. History started in a small welding shop in downtown Sauk Centre, MN in 1954 (then known as Sauk Centre Welding & Machine Works, Inc.). In the beginning, Sauk Centre Welding catered to local farmers and businesses doing repairs and small custom welding and fabrication jobs. In 1974, a young employee (now Chairman of the Board Merle J. Felling) purchased the business from the original longtime owner.
Filling the Gap for Customizable Trailers
Seeing a lack of quality workmanship in many of the trailers that were coming through his shop, Merle started making custom trailers for a few of the local farmers. Within a short time, others started noticing his quality craftsmanship, and Merle launched the Felling Trailer product line in 1975. Over the years, Merle continued to add to the Felling Trailers product line. In 1985, Felling Trailers moved to its present location at the Southeast Corner of Highway 71 and Interstate 94. In the mid-1990s, the facility went through a series of expansions to the production, office, and yard areas, increasing its footprint to nearly 175,000 sq. ft.
Opening a second location
In 2012, Felling Trailers opened a second production facility in Litchfield, MN. With the addition of the new location, the overall total production and office space grew to over 250,000 square feet.
Moving Forward
Back in Sauk Centre, Felling Trailers acquired neighboring properties to the east and south of the existing facility in 2015 & 2016. This enabled the production areas to expand and give each department room to work at optimal efficiency. As the production space and team were growing, so was the office staff. In 2018 the company broke ground on its corporate headquarters. The new office complex was designed with ample room for existing and new team members. It also provided space for Felling’s Parts & Service department to transition the previous office space into a trailer parts retail store. With this addition, the overall footprint of Felling Trailers, Inc. had grown to 349,000 sq. ft.
Quality ~ Craftsmanship ~ Pride
The Felling Style ~ Since 1974
Felling Trailers has grown because of its commitment to quality craftsmanship and customer satisfaction. Become a Felling Trailers customer and you will experience the Felling style.
