“We were the closest Lamar dealer to its factory in Paris, Texas,”
says Paul Stoll of his relatively new company’s beginnings. “We
specialized in fuel tanks up until Lamar, along with several other
companies in the past, decided to quit building them.”
So, Paul’s dealership began exploring the idea of building fuel tank
trailers themselves. For them, there was no better place to turn
than the company that had been supplying them for several years.
“We went to Lamar to talk to them about it,” he says. “They were
more than happy to turn it over to us, letting us continue and
improve upon their design.”
Stoll credits part of the success down to the company that passed
on the model.
“We’ve had good luck with the design. Lamar perfected the design
that didn’t have trouble leaking.”
As the name implies, Stoll says, for now, the company is aiming
for the farming industry. With growing farms and people leasing
ground further away from their headquarters, he says it’s becoming
increasingly troublesome for farmers to get fuel out to equipment
during harvest.
“We want to fill that void,” Stoll admits.
After building a few trailers and connecting with former Lamar
dealers, Stoll says they realized there was potential to turn it into
a legitimate business. While he doesn’t expect the company to
be too big, simply due to the demand for fuel tanks versus other
trailers, he says the company believes there is a very supportive
niche out there.
The concept of manufacturing only started last November, but
Farm Boss Trailers had trailers rolling off the lot as early as
January. Firmly planting themselves in the industry by hiring
experienced individuals, including someone involved in research
and development at another manufacturer.
“We haven’t built a tank that’s leaked,” says Stoll, “and we’re going
to hit 200 units soon. It’s not a huge number, but it’s substantial
for a new company with about five employees.”
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For now, Farm Boss Trailers is focusing on three models – a
990-gallon, 590-gallon and a 350-gallon. To Stoll, they’re well-built
trailers with strong tanks at fair price points. To dealers, shipping
units in for their inventory is made even easier due to Farm Boss
Trailers central location in Paris, Texas.
“A semi-truck can carry six of the biggest units we build,” Stoll
explains. “Shipping all the way to California is only about $500 a
unit from our location. So, anywhere from $300 to $500 a unit is
kind of average cost per unit for shipping.
Small company or not, Farm Boss Trailers is providing dealers with
only the best-quality fuel tank trailers. Proven designs, experienced
staff, managed expectations and a “put in the work” approach has
– within only a year – given Farm Boss Trailers a great start on the
niche it’s trying to help.
NATDA Magazine www.natda.org