What Kaufman Trailers does

Kaufman Trailers is a privately held, founder-owned American trailer manufacturer founded in 1987 and headquartered in Lexington, North Carolina. The company designs, fabricates, and sells a broad portfolio of heavy-duty trailers — spanning utility/landscape, equipment, single and multi-car, flatbed, gooseneck, dump, enclosed, air brake pintle, drop deck, detachable gooseneck (35–55 ton), log, and skid steer configurations — through a factory-direct channel that bypasses dealer markups. Underlying technology centers on heavy-duty channel iron framing, proprietary sealed modular wiring harnesses with lifetime LED lighting, scissor-lift hydraulic dump systems, and low-profile deck designs.

The company operates five manufacturing plants across North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, and Nebraska, with the Beaver City, Nebraska facility expanded to 48,800 sq ft of steel storage and stacking capacity. Customers typically pick up trailers directly from a plant or receive nationwide delivery via independent Trailer Delivery Services; supplemental revenue streams include in-house trailer financing and an online parts store (kaufmantrailerparts.com). The 251–500 employee organization serves roughly 10,000+ customers annually across landscaping, construction, auto transport, heavy haul, agriculture, paving, logging, and individual consumer segments in the continental United States.

Kaufman's go-to-market is a high-touch inside-sales motion (866 phone line, online chat) supported by content marketing through an active blog and social channels. Pricing is publicly disclosed on a per-unit basis ranging from $6,090 for entry-level skid steer trailers to $28,490 for heavy-duty air brake pintle models. The company carries no disclosed private equity, venture, or institutional investment and is described in source material as one of the largest U.S. trailer producers.

Name

Kaufman Trailers

Legal name

Kaufman Trailers

Website

https://kaufmantrailers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Kaufman Trailers is a privately held American manufacturer of heavy-duty utility, equipment, dump, car-haul, and gooseneck trailers, founded in 1987 and operating five plants across NC, SC, OH, and NE. It serves 10,000+ customers annually via a factory-direct model serving landscaping, construction, auto transport, and individual buyers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Trailer Sales: Primary revenue from direct sale of trailers to customers. Factory-direct model with no dealer markup. One-to-one sales approach.
2. Trailer Financing: Financing options offered to make trailer purchases more accessible to customers who cannot cover cost upfront.
3. Parts & Services: Parts store and service department to facilitate after-purchase needs. Includes online parts store at kaufmantrailerparts.com.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Kaufman Trailers is a factory-direct manufacturer of heavy-duty and utility trailers, producing a comprehensive lineup including utility/landscape, equipment, car haulers, flatbed, gooseneck, dump, enclosed, air brake pintle, drop deck, detachable gooseneck, log, and skid steer trailers. The company operates five manufacturing plants across the U.S. and sells direct to customers without dealer markup, offering nationwide delivery and an online parts store.

Product overview

Kaufman Trailers is a factory-direct trailer manufacturer offering a comprehensive portfolio of heavy-duty trailers with no dealer markup. The product line includes Utility/Landscape Trailers, Equipment Trailers, Single and Multi Car Trailers, Flatbed Trailers, Gooseneck Trailers (in flatbed, equipment, tilt, landscape, car hauler, and detachable configurations), Dump Trailers (in light, medium, and heavy duty including gooseneck styles), Enclosed Trailers, Air Brake Pintle Trailers, Drop Deck Trailers, Detachable Gooseneck Trailers (35-55 ton capacity), Log Trailers, and Skid Steer Trailers. The company operates manufacturing plants in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Nebraska, serving industries including landscaping, agriculture, construction, auto transport, paving, heavy haul, and logging/forestry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Utility / Landscape Trailers Versatile trailers designed for hauling mowers, ATVs, tools, and equipment for landscaping and general utility purposes.
• Equipment Trailers Heavy-duty trailers built to haul skid steers, mini excavators, tractors, and compact equipment.
• Single Car Trailers Trailers designed to safely transport one vehicle at a time with choice of slide-in ramps or tilt functionality.
• Multi Car Trailers Vehicle transport trailers available in sizes ranging from two-car hauler up to six-car carrier configurations, including wedge car trailers.
• Flatbed Trailers Open-deck trailers for hauling oversized or bulky loads, available in various configurations including standard, tag-along, and gooseneck styles.
• Gooseneck Trailers Trailers offering better stability, tighter turns, and higher hauling capacity through a gooseneck hitch design that attaches to the bed of a pickup truck. Available in flatbed, equipment, tilt, landscape, car hauler, and detachable gooseneck configurations.
• Dump Trailers Hydraulic-powered trailers designed to quickly lift and unload materials like gravel, dirt, or debris. Available in light duty, medium duty, heavy duty, and heavy duty gooseneck configurations.
• Enclosed Trailers Fully covered trailers protecting cargo from elements, available in 5', 6', 7', and 8.5' widths in standard, deluxe, and premium grades.
• Air Brake Pintle Trailers Heavy-duty flatbed trailers with air brake axles and pintle pull hitch for commercial hauling applications. Feature 17.5 in. low profile load range H radial tires and Hutchens slipper spring suspension.
• Drop Deck Trailers Open-deck trailers built for reliable hauling of equipment and heavy loads with a lower deck profile for increased load capacity.
• Detachable Gooseneck Trailers Heavy-duty trailers built for hauling with capacities from 35 to 55 tons. Feature detachable gooseneck front end that can be hydraulically lifted and detached for front loading of equipment.
• Log Trailers Specialized trailers designed for transporting timber and long logs.
• Skid Steer Trailers Trailers built specifically for loading skid steers, mini excavators, or rubber tracked loaders with lower deck height. Available in wood floor or diamond floor versions with 10,000, 15,000, or 17,000 GVWR capacities.
• Trailer Financing Financing options offered to make trailer purchases more accessible to customers who cannot cover cost upfront.
• Parts & Services Store Online parts store and service department to facilitate after-purchase replacement parts and accessories for Kaufman trailers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 39 years in business since 1987
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Diamond C Trailers: Diamond C manufactures flatbed, equipment, dump, gooseneck and utility trailers through a dealer network, with overlapping product configurations and end-user segments as Kaufman.
• Carry-On Trailer: Carry-On produces utility, landscape, equipment, enclosed and cargo trailers primarily through mass-retail channels, overlapping with Kaufman's lower-ASP utility and equipment segments.
• PJ Trailers: PJ Trailers manufactures utility, equipment, dump, flatbed, gooseneck and tilt trailers sold through a large US dealer network, directly competing with Kaufman across the same commercial and consumer hauling segments.
• Bravo Trailers: Bravo manufactures enclosed cargo, snowmobile and ATV trailers with overlapping enclosed-trailer configurations and powersports end markets as Kaufman's enclosed segment.
• Lamar Trailers: Lamar Trailers builds heavy-duty steel dump trailers, equipment trailers, and flatbeds competing head-to-head with Kaufman's dump and equipment lines for construction and heavy-haul buyers.
• Wells Cargo: Wells Cargo is a long-established US enclosed/cargo trailer manufacturer with comparable product breadth in enclosed and utility segments, competing in similar commercial and consumer end markets.
• Haulmark Industries: Haulmark is a major enclosed/cargo trailer manufacturer with comparable enclosed-trailer SKUs and GVWR ranges to Kaufman's enclosed lineup, targeting contractors and powersports users.
• Stryker Trailers: Stryker (formerly Cam Superline) manufactures steel utility, equipment, dump and specialty trailers sold through dealers, comparable to Kaufman in build quality, GVWR options and target customer.
• Load Trail: Load Trail produces steel utility, equipment, dump, car hauler, gooseneck and specialty trailers with comparable GVWR ranges to Kaufman, targeting the same equipment-hauler and construction end markets.
• Big Tex Trailers: Big Tex is one of the largest US trailer manufacturers, producing a broad lineup of utility, equipment, dump, flatbed, gooseneck and car hauler trailers overlapping almost entirely with Kaufman's product portfolio and serving similar landscaping, construction, and equipment-hauler end markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kaufmantrailers
• Facebookfacebook.com/kaufmantrailers
• Instagraminstagram.com/kaufmantrailers
• Xx.com/kaufmantrailer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kaufman-trailers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Kaufman Trailers