In 1983, Jeff Cornelius created his very own manufacturing
company, developing a line of products that were designed more
for farm-implementation. His product line morphed and grew to
include over-the-road trailers, flatbeds and livestock trailers. The
manufacturing facility matured over the years with Cornelius
adding an actual assembly line, rather than simplistic bay building.
While the company, CornPro Trailers Inc., flourished through
the ‘90s and into the ‘00s, Cornelius eventually came to the
decision to step away from the trailer industry for good in 2005.
Cornelius decided not to place an ad for a potential suitor, but
to look within the local area. It was within his own operation
that he found his personal CPA, David Frette. After calling David,
he simply told him, “I’m selling the company and you’re going to
buy it.”
Understandably, the comment elicited a polite, “no thank you.”
However, being Cornelius’ CPA meant that David knew a great
deal about the company, including its brand, its people and, most
importantly, its finances. He connected with his brother, Gerry,
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found a way to buy the company and has been running it ever
since.
Now, almost fifteen years later, the company has evolved
even further under the tutelage of the Frettes. 2019 aims to
be another year of change with the company going through a
massive rebranding process, led by none other than David’s son,
Brian.
The rebranding will incorporate a redesigned website, renovated
literature, a reorganization of the company’s terminology and -
most noticeably - a brand new logo. CornPro’s current iteration,
a slightly altered version of the ‘90s classic, has served the
company well. With changing times, though, Brian and his team
are determined to keep CornPro ahead of the curve.
“A script font is typically seen as a more delicate type font. It
doesn’t purvey strength,” Brian says of the old logo. “The new
logo is more of a bold, thicker, heavier font. We’re building a
strong product and we wanted a logo that reflects that.”
NATDA Magazine www.natda.org