After dedicating most of their lives building and developing trailers for various manufacturers , Bryan Johnson and Joe Kiefer saw the gradual erosion of relationships after good companies were consumed by corporate interests . So they went out on their own and developed a new company where employees and customers are absolutely first . With a group of hand-picked individuals with hundreds of years of combined trailer experience , they turned their frustration to fabrication and began building trailers in October 2019 .
The Company , located in southern Michigan , saw the fruits of their relationships early on with dealers quickly signing , personnel lining up to be the first employees , and suppliers offering new ideas to help expedite the startup process . It turns out , the industry was more than ready for a refreshingly different experience .
With everything going according to plan they never expected disaster would strike just 14 months into the operation when , on Valentines Day 2021 , a fire destroyed the facility bringing the entire operation to a screeching halt . Rather than fleeing for jobs , nearly everyone maintained their commitment to making Darkhorse successful by volunteering to rebuild the operation in a new facility . Exactly four months after the fire , Darkhorse was up and running again . Customers and suppliers rushed to offer assistance which helped bring manufacturing back to full capacity within just two months .
Darkhorse continues its original foundational concept of being an employee driven , customer service company . You can expect a friendly voice on the phone , prompt quotes , accurate lead times , and honest answers to your warranty questions . In fact , odds are quite high that one or both owners will help your driver at load-out ensuring the trailers you receive are of the highest quality . At Darkhorse Cargo , relationships matter .
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