SmithCo

What SmithCo does

SmithCo, Inc. is a privately-held, Iowa-based designer and manufacturer of custom side dump trailers, founded in 1994 in Le Mars by Greg Smith and operating from a 70,000-square-foot production facility dedicated exclusively to side dump trailer manufacturing. Side dumps are SmithCo's sole product focus, and the company offers more trailer models than any competitor in the category, with the SX Standard Series (SX1 through SX7), the Medium High (MHVSR) and Super High (SHV) Volume Series, the Off-Road CP Series including The BRUTE CP30, the Feedlot Series, the Mine Series, the Double Tub Series, A-Trains & B-Trains, Truck Mount Box bodies, and a Used Inventory program. Manufacturing technology includes a computerized plasma cutting system, a 500-ton press brake forming 3/8-inch AR450 plate up to 20 feet, custom 64-foot automated frame rail welding tables built with Iowa State University engineering students using Bug-O Side Beam Automatic Welding Systems and Miller liquid-cooled welders, Yaskawa welding robots installed in 2023, a 55-foot climate-controlled paint booth, a Hi-Def Plasma burn table, and a new laser cutting table added in 2026. Proprietary engineering includes the four-hinge-point frame design, a watertight tub architecture with no gates or seams, an engineered tub slap dump cycle, AR450 SX tub construction with no center divider and radiused corners, custom bridge law drawings per jurisdiction, and a patent-pending kingpin housing design introduced in November 2024.

SmithCo serves construction, agriculture, mining, government and municipalities, waste transportation, demolition, and snow removal customers, with primary verticals being construction, mining, and agriculture. Named end users include SMB operators such as Schmillen Construction (200,000 tons of broken concrete hauled over three years without trailer failure), WB Contracting, V McGee Trucking, Mike Peterson, and Global CM, alongside enterprise fleets such as Illinois Cement Company (12 Double Tub trailers running 15 loads per shift, two shifts per day) and Minnesota Business Enterprises (over 100 side dumps across multiple manufacturers, with SmithCo as the trailer of choice). Government buyers include Winnipeg Airports Authority and the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project. A customer survey reports 93% satisfaction, with 90% rating trusted reputation as above average or excellent.

Revenue is generated through custom-configured, quote-based one-time trailer sales with 4-6 week lead times, augmented by used trailer sales and trade-ins (from any brand), parts and service, the HGACBuy cooperative purchasing contract (PW10-25, serving 49 states and 9,800+ government members), and a lease-to-own financing referral program through Amur Equipment Finance. Distribution combines direct inside sales staffed by district sales managers, an authorized dealer network spanning at least 13 U.S. states, the HGACBuy government channel, and direct used-trailer sales. SmithCo has been recognized as an industry leader in customer surveys, has the highest resale value in the category, and has been featured in Forbes, Equipment Today, Trailer Body Builders, Construction Equipment, Engineering & Mining Journal, and Heavy Equipment Guide.

Name

SmithCo

Legal name

SmithCo, Inc.

Website

https://sidedump.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SmithCo, Inc. is a privately-held Iowa-based manufacturer of custom side dump trailers serving construction, mining, agriculture, government, waste, demolition, and snow removal customers. The company operates a 70,000-square-foot dedicated facility producing more trailer models than any competitor in the side dump category.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Side Dump Trailer Manufacturing

NAICS

Truck Trailer Manufacturing (336212), Industrial Truck, Tractor, Trailer, and Stacker Machinery Manufacturing (333924)

SIC

Truck Trailers (3715), Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip (3530)

akta.pro primary industry

Truck Trailer Manufacturing (Dry Van/Reefer/Flatbed/Tanker) (IMACABAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dump Truck Leasing & Rental (TLABABAH)

Keywords

• Side dump trailers
• Custom trailer manufacturing
• Heavy haul equipment
• Construction dump trailers
• Agricultural dump trailers

Headquarters

HQ city

Le Mars

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Side Dump Trailer Manufacturing Sales: SmithCo generates revenue primarily through one-time sales of custom-manufactured side dump trailers (SX, MHV, SHV, CP, Feedlot, Mine, A/B-Train, Double Tub, and Truck Mount Box series). Each trailer is built to a customer-specified configuration with lead times of 4-6 weeks; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Customizations (tarp lockouts, Bluetooth/remote controls, custom colors, lift axles, disc brakes) drive upsell.
2. Used Trailer Sales and Trade-Ins: SmithCo is one of the only side dump manufacturers that accepts trade-ins of nearly any brand and sells used trailers (as-is to DOT-ready), creating an incremental recurring revenue stream and customer upgrade path.
3. Cooperative / Government Contract Sales (HGACBuy): SmithCo sells to local, state and federal government entities through the HGACBuy cooperative purchasing contract (PW10-25), which serves 49 states and over 9,800 members, providing pre-negotiated procurement terms and bypassing individual competitive bidding.
4. Parts and Service: SmithCo operates a Parts & Service department (managed by Rudy Diaz) supporting both new trailer builds and aftermarket service, warranty work, replacement parts, and trailer customization/repair for existing SmithCo trailers.
5. Lease-to-Own Financing Referral (Amur): SmithCo offers customers access to a lease-to-own financing program through Amur, enabling qualified buyers to acquire trailers with structured financing rather than outright purchase.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

SmithCo designs and manufactures custom side dump trailers for hauling bulk materials across construction, mining, agriculture, waste transportation, demolition, and government applications. The company produces more side dump trailers and offers more trailer models than any other company in the industry, building to customer-specified configurations with 4–6 week lead times from a 70,000-square-foot Le Mars, Iowa facility with capacity of 1,000+ trailers per year. Product lines include the SX Standard Series (SX1–SX7), Medium High (MHVSR) and Super High (SHV) volume tubs, Off-Road CP Series (including The BRUTE™ CP30), Feedlot, Mine, Double Tub, A-Trains & B-Trains, and Truck Mount Box configurations, plus used inventory and parts/service.

Product overview

SmithCo is a single-vendor manufacturer of side dump trailers (no software platform) whose product portfolio is organized as a family of physical trailer models rather than a software-plus-modules architecture. The core lineup comprises the SX Standard Series (sub-models SX1 through SX7, with the SX7 being the industry's first 7-axle side dump offering 40-ton capacity), the Medium High Series (MHVSR Tub) and Super High Series (SHV Tub) higher-volume variants, the Off-Road CP Series (including the flagship The BRUTE™ CP30 construction pup, the CPSHV20, and the CP20), the Feedlot Series for agricultural multi-tub hauling, the Mine Series (Tipper and Double-Tub Mine Trailers, including the first mining side dump with hydraulic suspension), the Double Tub Series, A-Trains & B-Trains, and Truck Mount Box configurations. SmithCo also offers Used Inventory, the partnership-enabled Terra EV all-electric 80-ton off-road haul unit, and a patent-pending kingpin housing design. All trailers are backed by SmithCo's manufacturing, parts, service, warranty, and HGACBuy cooperative purchasing programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The BRUTE™: SmithCo's rugged re-engineered CP30 construction pup off-road side dump trailer introduced in March 2025 and named a 2025 Contractors' Top 50 New Product by Equipment Today.
• SX Series

Products and services

• SX Series (Standard Series) Side Dump Trailers SmithCo's flagship workhorse side dump trailer line including SX1, SX2, SX3, SX4, SX5, SX6, and SX7 variants. Constructed of AR450 material with no center divider and radiused corners for clean-out; available in single through seven-axle configurations; can dump to either driver or passenger side; the SX7 offers 40-ton haul capacity. Roughly 70% of SmithCo's manufactured trailers use the SX series tub.
• MHVSR Tub (Medium High Series) Medium High Volume Side Rectangle (MHVSR) tub side dump trailer offering higher volume capacity with thinner-walled tub construction than the SX series, optimized for lighter or wetter materials while maximizing payload.
• SHV Tub (Super High Series) Super High Volume tub side dump trailer providing the highest volume offerings in the SmithCo lineup for lighter-density materials where higher capacity is required to reach payload targets.
• CP Series (Off-Road Series) Off-road / construction pup side dump trailer series including The BRUTE CP30, CPSHV20, and CP20. Designed for off-highway use and not constrained by highway width/height limits, making them larger and well-suited for construction, mining, agriculture, and on-site material movement.
• The BRUTE™ CP30 Re-engineered, more robust version of SmithCo's original CP30 construction pup off-road trailer, introduced March 2025. Designed for faster load times and more strategic dumping on construction sites while saving on maintenance costs and requiring minimal training. Named a 2025 Contractors' Top 50 New Product by Equipment Today magazine.
• Feedlot Series Side dump trailer series purpose-built for feedlot and agricultural operations, featuring multiple tubs on a single frame for higher aggregate volume when hauling manure, silage, and other low-density wet agricultural payloads.
• Mine Series Mining side dump trailer line including Tipper Mine Trailers and Double-Tub Mine Trailers. Custom designed for mining operations to maximize efficiency and safety, suitable for both long-distance hauling and frequent on-site cycles. Includes the industry's first mining side dump with hydraulic suspension engineered by Simard Suspensions.
• Double Tub Series Double-tub side dump trailer configuration designed to haul heavy loads such as crushed rock from quarries to processing facilities, providing high combined capacity across two tubs.
• A-Trains & B-Trains Tandem side dump trailer train configurations operated by SmithCo-built hydraulic valving and operated in tandem for high-capacity hauling applications.
• Truck Mount Box Custom SHV-style truck-mounted side dump bodies built onto truck chassis (including custom quad-axle box truck configurations) for haulers who need a side dump without a separate trailer, commonly used for specialized payloads such as coal ash.
• Used Inventory & Trade-Ins SmithCo's used side dump trailer inventory program offering trailers in conditions ranging from as-is to DOT-ready and upgraded, including trade-ins from nearly any brand of side dump trailer.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% customer satisfaction (Satisfied or Very Satisfied)
• +12 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature11 records

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Timpte Industries: Timpte is a leading manufacturer of aluminum grain trailers and dump trailers, including side dump configurations, with strong presence in agricultural and construction hauling. It directly overlaps SmithCo's agricultural and bulk material trailer markets with comparable product offerings.
• Benson Truck Bodies: Benson Truck Bodies manufactures dump bodies, dump trailers, and refuse bodies for the construction, waste, and aggregate industries. It competes with SmithCo in dump trailer categories, particularly for SMB and government buyers in similar end markets.
• Travis Trailers: Travis Trailers is a Texas-based manufacturer of end dump and side dump trailers for the construction, aggregate, and mining industries. It competes with SmithCo in the southern U.S. market with overlapping product configurations and customer segments.
• Heil Trailer International: Heil Trailer is one of the largest North American manufacturers of dump trailers, refuse bodies, and bulk transport trailers. It directly competes with SmithCo in dump and side dump configurations for construction, waste, and mining customers, and operates at significantly greater scale across multiple product lines.
• East Manufacturing: East Manufacturing is a Randolph, Ohio-based manufacturer of aluminum and steel dump bodies, dump trailers, and platform trailers. It is one of SmithCo's closest direct competitors in the side dump and end dump trailer category, serving overlapping construction, agricultural, and waste transportation customers with similar product types.
• MAC Trailer: MAC Trailer is a major manufacturer of aluminum dump trailers, side dump trailers, and transfer trailers serving the construction, agricultural, and waste hauling industries. It competes head-to-head with SmithCo in the side dump category across the U.S. with a broad dealer network.

Others

• Simard Suspensions: Simard Suspensions is a Canadian engineering firm specializing in heavy-duty hydraulic suspension systems. SmithCo partners with Simard to integrate hydraulic suspensions on its Mine Series side dump trailers (the first mining side dump with hydraulic suspension, unveiled at MINExpo 2021), making Simard an enabling technology partner rather than a competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Talbert Manufacturing: Talbert Manufacturing is a well-established manufacturer of heavy-haul, lowbed, and specialty trailers for construction, military, and mining applications. It overlaps with SmithCo's mining and heavy-haul trailer offerings but at greater scale and with a broader specialty trailer portfolio.
• Great Dane Trailers: Great Dane is a major North American trailer manufacturer with a broad portfolio of dry vans, refrigerated trailers, and platform trailers. It does not specialize in side dumps but operates at significantly greater scale than SmithCo in the broader trailer industry.
• Wabash National Corporation: Wabash National is one of the largest North American trailer manufacturers, producing dry vans, refrigerated trailers, platform trailers, and specialty trailers. As a broad industry incumbent, it overlaps with SmithCo in the trailer manufacturing space and could expand into side dump offerings given its scale and engineering depth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SmithCoSideDump

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SmithCo