Great Dane is revamping its entire product line as part of a strategic alignment that’s an outgrowth of its acquisition of Johnson Refrigerated Truck Bodies two years ago.“The last two years have been filled with tremendous change for us as a nation and as a company,” said Bill Crown, Great Dane’s president & CEO. “In addition to a turbulent global economy, our own corporate leadership team weathered an unexpected transition. Instead of allowing circumstances to determine our future, we accepted these challenges… by setting a new benchmark for quality.”
The product overhaul includes changes to its dry van, flatbed and refrigerated trailers, the company said:
- Everest TL and Everest SS dry van trailers have been engineered to satisfy the long-haul truckload reefer market, with the Everest CL as a high-spec offering for grocery and multi-temp products.
- Champion SE dry van specs are now designed for heavy-duty productivity with fleets in mind; Champion CL is a versatile freight van that can be highly specified to meet various needs, while Champion CP boasts Great Dane’s proven composite panel technology.
- Freedom SE is a heavy-duty all-steel flatbed trailer with available straight, drop or extendable body styles, while the Freedom LT combination steel and aluminum trailer is exceptionally lightweight but built for performance; the versatile and ultra-lightweight Freedom XP flatbed is 1,000 lbs lighter than its combination counterpart.
Significant improvements to base model trailers include Great Dane’s all-new EnduroGuard– a reinforced, corrosion-resistant rear frame on dry vans designed for strength; along with all LED lamps with dual intensity lights and PunctureGuard as the standard lining on all refrigerated trailers.
Great Dane is even overhauling its iconic chrome Great Dane dog and red oval logo, adding a reflective background and polished chrome rim. All trailers, regardless of model, will now be adorned with a redesigned
red wing plate, the company said, with the new red oval garnishing the rear doors of refrigerated and dry van trailers in lieu of a parallelogram.
The signature hand-written Great Dane font has also been replaced by a sleeker, more contemporary typeface, noted Dean Engelage, executive vp-- sales & strategic planning.
“The needs of our customers in the trucking industry have evolved over that time just as our capabilities and technologies have,” he said. ”In response to those changing needs, we challenged our engineering and manufacturing groups to not only streamline our products but to incorporate the very latest high tech innovations into our base models.”
