Wilson Trailer Company is an Iowa corporation, independent (privately held) cargo trailer manufacturer headquartered in Sioux City. Wilson manufactures (i) industrial road transport trailers for livestock, grain, and the like – flatbed and gooseneck design, aluminum and custom – and (ii) trailer-equipment and accessories such as self-unloadingbelt conveyors.[2][3]
History
Frank Taplin Wilson founded the company in 1883 as a small wagon and carriage shop in the Huron territory, South Dakota. In 1890, he moved to Sioux City, Iowa, to join his brother, George Washington Wilson (1859–1913). Wilson Trailer is still family operated by the fourth and fifth generations.
Frank Taplin Wilson (1863–1947) & Kate Florence Jenkins (1872–1950) co-founder, et ux.
George Washington Wilson (1859–1913) & Fannie Ann Main (1863–1953) co-founder, et ux.
Mildred Ruth Wilson (1897–1981) & Clarence Arthur Persinger (1895–1959) daughter, et ux.
Clarence Wilson Persinger (1923–2010) & Louise Elizabeth Gunderson (1925–2018) grandson, et ux.
Wilson Gunderson (Bill) Persinger (born 1949) & Lynn Humphries great-grandson, co-CEO, et ux.
John Thomas Persinger (born 1959) & Connie Jo Rosene great-grandson, co-CEO, et ux.
Tiffany L. Persinger (born 1977) & Christopher M. Hunt (born 1976) great-great-granddaughter, et ux. Vice President Operations, since February 2021
Big band history – sleeper buses
In the late 1930s, Wilson began manufacturing sleeper buses for big bands, notably territory bands.[4]Lawrence Welk has speculated that he was the first to design and use a sleeper bus.[5][6]