Stoughton Trailers breaks ground on new HQ

One of the largest truck-trailer manufacturers broke ground on a new corporate headquarters, which will host 200 employees and feature a 28-acre community park.

Jeremy Wolfe

May 10, 2024

2 min read

Left to right: Peter Tan, Strang Inc., Austin Conrad, Strang Inc., Daniele Thompson, St. Marie Law, Bob Wahlin, Stoughton, Ken Wahlin, Stoughton, Reijo Wahlin, Stoughton, Sue Vanderbilt, Stoughton, John Booher, Stoughton, Steve Braatz, CD Smith and Dane Bernau, CD Smith.

STOUGHTON, Wisconsin—Stoughton Trailers, one of the largest North American truck-trailer manufacturers, broke ground on a new corporate headquarters here on May 9.

“Today is a pretty momentous day for Stoughton Trailers,” Bob Wahlin, the company’s president and CEO, said during the groundbreaking ceremony.

The new 53,000-square-foot facility will initially host approximately 200 employees.

“We’ve long grown out of our current headquarters; it’s well overdue for something else,” Wahlin told FleetOwner. “And as we’ve grown out, we’ve kind of spread out. We’ve had parts of our business in different buildings and different locations—even in different cities. We wanted to bring all that back together for collaboration.”

The old headquarters, located three miles across town, will continue to host the company’s engineering, research, and design group, as well as its testing facility. The company will also retain its existing Wisconsin manufacturing facilities in Stoughton, Brodhead, and Evansville, and Waco, Texas.

Renderings of the entry side of the building (top) and parkland side of the building (bottom).

Features of the new headquarters

The new headquarters will sit on an 182-acre property, including 36 acres of ponds, prairie, and wetlands, as well as a 28-acre community park. The property will have paths and bike trails that tie into a local trail system.

The development emphasizes physical, mental, and business health through its design and amenities.

“We’ve designed the building so it’s more narrow so that everybody can get natural sunlight, and every position has a view of the outside and the space around the building,” Wahlin told FleetOwner.

The facility’s amenities will also give employees plenty to do outside a cubicle.

CD Smith will begin work on footings and foundations next week.

“The building is going to include things like a workout gym, an exercise studio/yoga room and activities area, locker rooms, lots of collaborative space, lots of workspace both inside and out, and it’ll have a cafe,” Wahlin said at the groundbreaking.

Wahlin told FleetOwner that the new headquarters will be “really geared toward that newer professional, the younger generation coming in. A place where they can go and work in the cafe or go on the patio outside with their computer. They have choices to just not be locked into a cubicle.”

What’s next for Stoughton?

With the groundbreaking ceremony over, CD Smith will begin work on footings and foundations starting next week. Stoughton Trailers expects the headquarters to be completed next year.

“We hope to move in in September of 2025,” Wahlin told FleetOwner.

About the Author

Jeremy Wolfe

Editor

Editor Jeremy Wolfe joined the FleetOwner team in February 2024. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with majors in English and Philosophy. He previously served as Editor for Endeavor Business Media's Water Group publications.