The complications of 2020 are still showing their effects on the trailer industry ’ s supply line . However , there is one company that was able to keep a cool head last year and is now fully ready to help trailer dealerships around the country compliment their lineups . NATDA ’ s National Account Manager , Jonathan Spiller , spoke with Polar King Mobile ’ s Executive Vice President Christian Aitken on how refrigerated trailers are growing part of the light and medium-duty trailer industry .
NATDA : How did Polar King Mobile fare in 2020 ? Were there any positives coming into 2021 ?
Aitken : In 2020 , we exceeded expectations with respect to product development , product quality , sales and dealer recruitment – despite the challenges of a global pandemic or the fact that Polar King International only publicly announced the formation of Polar King Mobile in October of 2020 .
Polar King Mobile trailers also gained NSF approval in 2020 . Unique to the Polar King Mobile Trailer construction is NSF listed materials , National Sanitation Foundation , a non-profit organization founded in 1944 , whose goal was to create standards for food safety and sanitation to promote public health . Our trailers also meet and exceed the compliance guidelines set forth by the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers ( NATM ).
This year is looking to be another great year for the entire refrigerated trailer market , us included . Our production has ramped up , we have inventory available and we are seeing increased interest and more importantly awareness from end-users .
NATDA : That ’ s great . What does your inventory and lead times currently look like ?
Aitken : We have consistently managed to keep a full stock of finished , ready-to-ship refrigerated trailers for the available sizes we manufacture , which are eight , twelve and sixteen feet . While we can ’ t guarantee 100 % availability , we are committed to making refrigerated trailer inventory with minimal lead times .
NATDA : Refrigerated trailers , so far , have been something of a rarity amongst dealers . Is there a certain level of product knowledge that dealers may need ?
Aitken : Prospective dealers should not be concerned at all as the refrigeration unit is “ plug and play ” and requires no preventative maintenance .
The only suggested care is cleaning of the unit condenser coils ( outside , underneath the unit ) if operated in high dust or stuffy
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22 NATDA Magazine www . natda . org