Manac Celebrates 50 Years Of Innovation
By Steve Pollock
SAINT GEORGES, QC… Manac Trailers was founded by Marcel Dutil in Saint-Georges, Quebec, Canada in 1966. The company was born as a solution to its parent company, Canam Steel’s (the 2nd largest steel producer in North America) transportation needs. The first Manac trailer was built in Marcel’s barn 50 years ago. In the first year of production, Manac built 11 trailers. Today Manac has over 1,200 employees and 4 manufacturing plants in Canada and the USA, distributing semi-trailers of all types to customers throughout all of North America.
Manac is a name to be proud of, as it is Canam spelled backwards, a tribute to the company’s heritage and close ties to the steel fabricator Canam Steel. Canam provided design & fabrication of the steel used in construction of the Mets and Yankees baseball stadium, which was delivered on Manac Trailers, of course.
From highway trailers to heavy haul, construction and specialty forestry trailers, Manac offers its customers a full portfolio of trailers. Flatbed trailers are available in steel and aluminum, as are combos and extendables.
Manac dry vans offer a number of standard innovations that include a 24” steel rear floor extension, uniformly engineered landing gear structure, interchangeable front corner caps and outboard mounted roof rivets.
Manac also builds a complete line of forestry trailers, including chip van trailers, log trailers and lowbeds for use throughout North America.
Two of Manac’s most recent innovations include the Legend SD Platform Series and Lightweight Logger Line. Manac’s Lightweight Logger uses high tensile, high strength steel to provide a superior strength-to-weight ratio. It is the only logger to offer a hot dipped zinc coated galvanized option. Another unique feature is that the 102” x 96” bunks are bolted on so they can be relocated, added or removed as needed. The Legend SD Platform Line from Manac balances durability and lightweight. It is available in flatbed or stepdeck configurations. Legend SD trailers use high strength steel flanges and a variable thickness plasma cut web on the main beams, carefully configured to nose depth, center depth and rear depth. The Legend’s floating upper steel coupler improves strength and longevity. The coupler plate assembly is plug welded to the main beam web, stiffening the beam while still allowing the main beams to articulate independently. Full length W-shaped braces add strength while providing efficient load distribution. Cross members are made of 4” high strength galvanized steel or can be ordered in aluminum for additional weight savings. The galvanized bumper assembly is bolted on for easy replacement.
After 50 years, Manac continues to be innovative in their trailer designs, embracing new technologies and welcoming suggestions from their customers to continually build better trailers that balance value with durability. All Manac trailers can be custom spec’d by the customer, regardless of how many trailers they order.
Manac builds trailers for nearly every application, including vans, flatbeds, and specialty trailers such as dumps, low beds, grain hoppers, chassis, chip and loggers. In the USA and Canada Manac trailers are marketed under the following brand names: Manac®, CPS®, Peerless®, Darkwing®, Duraplate®, Ultravan™, Scona®, and Liddell Canada®.
Manac, North America’s leader in trailer design and innovations, has over 80 dealers throughout the USA and Canada, offering complete sales, parts and service support for Manac Trailers. For additional information, visit www.manac.us or call 877-466-2622.
Manac is taking the opportunity to launch its official 50th Anniversary slogan, “Transporting you further with our expertise”, which pays tribute to all of the company’s employees, clients and business partners who have joined Manac on their incredible 50 year journey and will ensure the company’s continued success in the years to come. Various activities will be held at each of Manac’s plants and will trace back Manac’s history and celebrate its entrepreneurial spirit and leadership. More details can be found at www.manac50.com.
Manac President and CEO Charles Dutil states, “With our exceptional group of shareholders, our passionate employees and loyal clients and business partners, we have everything we need to continue moving the company forward.”