Smithway

What Smithway does

Smithway Inc. is a privately held, family-owned manufacturer of custom-built, environmentally-controlled chick transport systems, founded in 1980 and headquartered in Fairview, North Carolina. The company originated from Smith Farms (founded 1973) when founder GD Smith developed a trailer to better protect chicks during a 3-hour haul to Central Soyer in Monroe, NC; commercial demand from other hatcheries led to Smithway's incorporation in 1980. The business has since passed to the founders' four sons (Tony, Rocky, Scott, Rod) and into a third generation of family involvement.

The product portfolio comprises five core lines: self-contained Chick Trailers (24–53 ft) built on Great Dane shells, insulated Truck Bodies built on Morgan shells for domestic and international deployment, the Chicks on Wheels Pallet System (wheeled aluminum pallets holding up to 12,000 chicks each), Curtain Trailers for side-loading of cages, and Mini-Haulers including Sprinter van conversions. All units integrate dual-generator power, air conditioning, electric heat, and logic-controlled environmental systems. The proprietary Touchview platform provides a 6-inch color touchscreen with optional Touchview Extreme remote access (web, tablet, smartphone), GPS tracking, automated 10-second interval trip data logging, text/email alarms to up to six recipients, and remote diagnostics and software upgrades.

Revenue is generated through direct, quote-based sales of custom-built equipment to hatcheries and integrated poultry producers across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and international markets, supplemented by distribution of Moffett forklifts and related accessories. The company sells exclusively through a direct sales-led motion with no published pricing; international shipments are routed via cargo ship with destination chassis mounting. Customers include a roster of tier-1 North American poultry operators — Pilgrim's, Tyson, Perdue, Cargill, Cobb-Vantress, Aviagen, Wayne Sanderson Farms, Cal-Maine, Butterball, Jennie-O, Koch Foods, Maple Leaf Foods, and others — with multi-decade relationships cited (e.g., 23 years with Cobb-Vantress). The company is not externally funded and operates with 11–50 employees.

Name

Smithway

Legal name

Smithway Inc.

Website

https://smithwayinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smithway Inc. designs and manufactures custom-built, environmentally-controlled chick transport systems — trailers, truck bodies, pallet systems, curtain trailers, and mini-haulers — for poultry hatcheries and integrated producers across North America and international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Fairview

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Chick Transport Equipment Sales: Sale of custom-built environmentally-controlled chick transport trailers, truck bodies, pallet systems, curtain trailers, and mini-haulers. Products are built to customer specifications with various customization options. International shipping available for export applications.
2. Parts and Accessories: Distribution of Moffett forklifts and related accessories as a Moffett distributor.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Smithway designs and builds custom, environmentally-controlled chick transport systems for the poultry industry, including self-contained trailers (24–53 feet), insulated truck bodies, "Chicks on Wheels" aluminum pallet systems, curtain-sided trailers, and compact mini-haulers. Each unit integrates dual diesel generators with emergency backup, HVAC, electric heat, and logic-based controls, with the proprietary Touchview monitoring system providing real-time and remote visibility into temperature, humidity, and equipment status. The company sells directly to poultry hatcheries, breeders, and integrated producers domestically and internationally.

Product overview

Smithway Inc. offers a comprehensive portfolio of environmentally-controlled chick transport systems designed for the poultry industry. The product line consists of Chick Trailers (self-contained trailer units from 24-53 feet), Truck Bodies (insulated units on Morgan shells for domestic/international use), Pallet Systems (Chicks on Wheels wheeled aluminum pallets holding up to 12,000 chicks), Curtain Trailers (new curtain-sided designs for easy loading), and Mini-Haulers (compact units for smaller vehicles). All units feature sophisticated logic-controlled environmental systems including dual generators, air conditioning, and electric heating. The optional Touchview Monitoring System (with Touchview Extreme remote access) provides real-time monitoring and GPS tracking as an add-on module across the product range. The company was founded in 1980 and partners with Great Dane Trailers for chassis and Morgan for truck body shells.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chick Trailers Self-contained, environmentally-controlled trailers for transporting day-old chicks, ranging from 24 feet to 53 feet in length, powered by diesel generators with emergency backup. Designed for poultry hatcheries, breeders, and integrated producers needing reliable climate-controlled transport over multi-hour distances.
• Truck Bodies Insulated truck body units built on Morgan truck body shells, featuring dual generators, air conditioning, electric heat, and logic-controlled environmental systems for domestic and international chick transport. Sold to poultry customers for mounting on customer-supplied chassis.
• Pallet System (Chicks on Wheels) Wheeled aluminum pallet system allowing chicks to be loaded at the hatchery, rolled directly into transport units, and offloaded with forklifts at delivery. Each pallet can hold up to 12,000 chicks, reducing labor requirements during loading and unloading. Identified as the #1-selling unit.
• Curtain Trailers Newly innovated curtain-sided trailers allowing easy side loading of cages while providing protection from the elements, suitable for birds of various sizes. Built to complement Smithway's environmentally-controlled chick transport product line.
• Mini-Haulers Economical mini truck bodies designed for smaller loads, mountable to van and truck chassis, including conversions for Sprinter vans. Targeted at poultry operations needing compact, lower-capacity transport solutions.
• Touchview Monitoring System Touchscreen-based proprietary monitoring and control system providing real-time access to temperatures, humidity, HVAC pressures, amperages, generator vitals, and alarms across Smithway transport units. Includes optional Touchview Extreme for remote monitoring via smartphone, tablet, or computer with text/email alarm notifications (up to 6 recipients), remote technical support, GPS tracking, and automatic trip data logging at 10-second intervals stored on USB.

Quantifiable outcome

• Each pallet can hold up to 12,000 chicks
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Great Dane TrailerscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerStrategic partnership for chick trailer production. Great Dane provides the trailer shell which Smithway then upfits with their proprietary environmental control systems, generators, HVAC, and Touchview monitoring technology. This produces what Smithway describes as 'the most durable and longest-lasting chick trailer available.'
• Morgan Truck BodiescoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerPartnership for truck body shells. Morgan provides the base truck body which Smithway insulates and lines at their facility, then upfits with environmental control systems. The partnership enables international shipping since bodies can be placed on cargo ships for export.
• MoffettminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSmithway is a distributor of Moffett forklifts, offering hydraulic mounting kits on their pallet systems to allow customers to haul forklifts from house to house for delivery operations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Great Dane Trailers: Great Dane Trailers is Smithway's OEM partner for chick trailer shells and one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of commercial truck trailers. While Great Dane supplies the platform that Smithway upfits, it operates in the same truck trailer manufacturing category and could theoretically vertically integrate into specialized live-poultry transport.
• Morgan Truck Body: Morgan Truck Body is Smithway's core OEM partner for insulated truck body shells used in the international chick transport offering. Morgan is a leading North American manufacturer of refrigerated and specialized truck bodies, overlapping directly with Smithway's refrigerated/insulated body product line.
• Pezzaioli (Gruppo Pezzaioli): Pezzaioli is an Italian specialist manufacturer of livestock transport trailers with sophisticated ventilation and climate-control systems. It is the European analog to Smithway — a niche specialist serving live-animal transport with proprietary environmental controls — and competes for international poultry and livestock customers.
• Featherlite Trailers: Featherlite is a U.S. manufacturer of specialty aluminum trailers including livestock and animal transport configurations. Its specialty trailer focus and aluminum construction overlap with Smithway's approach, though it serves broader livestock and equine markets rather than specializing in live chick transport.

Broad incumbents

• Wabash National: Wabash National is one of the largest North American manufacturers of commercial truck trailers, including refrigerated and specialty trailers. While not focused on live-poultry transport, Wabash operates in the same truck trailer manufacturing category and represents the kind of broad incumbent that could enter the poultry niche.
• Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company: Utility Trailer is a major U.S. manufacturer of refrigerated and dry van truck trailers serving logistics and food distribution customers. Its refrigerated trailer product line overlaps with the environmental-control technology Smithway applies to chick transport, making it an adjacent competitor in temperature-controlled transport equipment.
• CIMC Vehicles: CIMC Vehicles is a global leader in trailer manufacturing, producing refrigerated, dry van, and specialty trailers across multiple continents. Its global scale and refrigerated trailer capabilities position it as a broad incumbent that could potentially serve large international poultry customers seeking standardized transport equipment.

Others

• Thermo King: Thermo King (a Trane Technologies brand) is the dominant manufacturer of transport refrigeration units for trucks and trailers. Smithway's environmental control systems incorporate HVAC/refrigeration components that could overlap with Thermo King's product domain, making it a key component supplier/adjacent technology provider to Smithway's offerings.
• Carrier Transicold: Carrier Transicold is the second major player in transport refrigeration, providing container and trailer refrigeration systems globally. Like Thermo King, it supplies the underlying refrigeration technology that Smithway integrates into its custom chick transport trailers.

Regional players

• Hartmann Spezialfahrzeugbau: Hartmann is a German manufacturer of specialized livestock transport vehicles with advanced ventilation and climate systems. It serves European poultry and livestock markets with comparable custom-built solutions, making it a regional peer competing in international but not U.S. poultry transport.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Smithway