It was a momentous occasion for all involved. Wabash, North America’s largest trailer manufacturer, was saying goodbye to its long-serving Chief Executive Officer, Richard Giromini, who was one of the architects of the well-known brand.
That was 2018 and since then, Brent Yeagy, the home-grown talent that filled his shoes, has steered the company, ensuring it not only continued to produce high-performance vehicles and solutions, but also navigate the convergence of physical and digital technologies in the trucking and logistics sector.
Looking back, Yeagy admits that the change in leadership was at a time that required a new mind-set.
“We had to shift our strategy and our operating philosophy to the new and fast-moving forces we would face in the future,” he said. “It required a new way of thinking and doing.”
Yeagy started his career serving in the United States Navy as a nuclear engineering officer. He then went into private industry with Rexnord and DelcoRemy before joining Indiana-based Wabash in 2003. He held a range of positions in the company, each with increasing responsibility, including Vice President of Manufacturing, Vice President and General Manager of Commercial Trailer Products, and then SVP/Group President of that same division. He worked alongside Giromini as Chief Operating Officer for two years until taking on the Chief Executive Officer role.
A market in flux
Positioned at the pointy end of the industry, Yeagy has a bird’s eye view and has seen significant transformation in the US and North American markets in recent years.
The changes, he said, are driven by trends such as the e-commerce boom, decarbonisation, technological advancements, supply chain resiliency, as well as regulatory changes. Then there are trailer lead times, which are close to pre-pandemic levels, so keeping trailers on the road can be a challenge for many fleets due to parts and services shortages.
In response, Wabash is proactively adapting to meet client needs through several key initiatives.
In the first instance, Yeagy explained, it is simply through constant equipment design innovation – developing versatile, efficient and eco-friendly trailers tailored for e-commerce and urban logistics. Secondly, it is integrating technology by investing in telematics and real-time health analytics to improve fleet monitoring, proactive maintenance and operational efficiency.
Wabash is also enhancing its parts distribution and aftermarket support by streamlining its distribution network and expanding aftermarket services to ensure timely access to necessary parts and services.
Finally, Yeagy explained, the company is forming strategic partnerships by collaborating with dealers and other stakeholders to improve parts availability and service offerings.
There is also the impact of cross-border trade and nearshoring trends on supply chains, a shifting landscape that needs close monitoring. In response, Wabash has developed a Trailers as a Service (TaaSSM) platform, which is addressing emerging needs. The all-inclusive, subscription-based offering provides flexible access to trailers and accompanying services.
“By leveraging our traditional sales channels and developing new value-added services, Wabash is committed to staying ahead of market trends and delivering comprehensive solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients,” Yeagy said.
Offerings growth
Wabash National Corporation was founded in 1985 when a small group of transportation professionals decided to join forces with the goal of improving how semi-trailers were designed and built. Over the years it has transformed from semi-trailers to adding adjacent categories.
“Today, we are proud to be the preferred provider of solutions for many of the largest fleets in North America,” said Yeagy. “Our forward-thinking approach has allowed us to anticipate and adapt to changes in the logistics industry, ensuring our customers receive comprehensive, end-to-end solutions.”
In 1996, Wabash revolutionised semi-trailers with a new trailer sidewall technology – DuraPlate®. The composite technology offered durability and damage-resist performance. DuraPlate ®, and next-generation DuraPlate Cell Core ® panels, are today used in dry freight and truck bodies, portable storage containers as well as a growing number of other diverse industries.
Wabash then followed up with EcoNex Technology, a next generation molded structural composite often used in products that transport temperature-sensitive freight.
Panels with EcoNex Technology are lighter in weight, stronger in construction, and more thermally efficient, which means the vehicle requires less fuel. They also have a longer life than panels built with conventional technology.
“Our R&D investments in advanced material technologies reflect our commitment to delivering groundbreaking benefits to the market,” Yeagy said.
Wabash has also focused on trailer aerodynamics, using sophisticated computational fluid dynamics modeling, wind tunnel and track testing. The company was the first OEM to develop a side skirt to alleviate the challenge of improving fuel economy. Today, fleets and trailer operators can save up to 4.2 per cent in fuel with Wabash’s impact-resistant AeroSkirt and AeroSkirt CX with the DuraPlate technology.
In 2023, Wabash opened an advanced manufacturing facility for its dry van trailers, the largest investment in a single operation in the company’s history. The facility features advanced manufacturing technology that enhances the worker experience and ensures a more repeatable process.
Collaboration
After more than a decade of acquiring leading brands, Wabash National unified its family of brands in 2022 under the Wabash name as a way, it said, to serve its customers all while fostering a collaborative culture.
Whether internally or with outside industry players, Wabash views collaboration as another method of dealing with the current disruptions within the logistics industry.
“When you think about all of the players that make up the transportation and logistics markets, they are all facing unprecedented challenges,” Yeagy said. “Everything from disruption of global supply chains as we retreat from an overall globalisation footprint, to advances in technology at a rate that’s unprecedented. When you think about the vulnerabilities that have been created and exposed by recent societal, political, and environmental events, it is really showing weaknesses in the global supply chain. Things are too broad, too intertwined, and changing in such a dynamic way that we strongly believe an ecosystem approach is what’s needed to solve problems at scale.”
Yeagy goes on to explain that Wabash views its own ecosystem as a diverse group of parties looking at problems differently. It believes in bringing different capabilities to the party, and looking at how solutions can be created differently, and combined in a way that’s more powerful than what a company could do on its own or with just a couple of partners.
“With that in mind, we regularly try to bring together our customers, legacy and emerging technology partners, suppliers, dealers and research institutions to explore some of the challenges in the industry and seek new ways to innovate and meet evolving customer needs,” he said.
As an example, in 2022, the company launched Wabash Parts distribution network, a single-channel network that encompassed the entire Wabash aftermarket portfolio. It featured a new e-commerce site with an increased inventory of transportation parts and faster shipping. Earlier this year it made its Wabash Genuine Parts available exclusively through its dealer and preferred partner network.
In 2023, Wabash and the Fernweh Group announced a strategic joint venture aimed at enhancing the digital transformation of the transportation and logistics industry.
Within five months, the company launched the Wabash Marketplace, an end-to-end digital platform that improves the overall experience for dealers, customers, and suppliers through a connected partner ecosystem. This platform will continue to expand in service features and capabilities as new offerings become available to customers.
“Since the launch of the joint venture, we have made considerable strides in expanding our technology roadmap,” Yeagy said. “We are actively working on forging new partnerships with third parties within the logistics ecosystem. These partnerships are crucial in reducing friction for our customers and suppliers, ensuring a smoother exchange of services and solutions.”
Looking to the future
Wabash is focusing on several key strategies to address ongoing freight challenges and enhance operational efficiency for fleets as it continues to serve a growing field of industries including food and beverage, pharmaceutical and biotech.
Its priority is to strengthen its relationships with dealers and partners by streamlining parts distribution through a single-channel system as well as leveraging technology to improve efficiency and reduce downtime. It is also looking to breaking down internal barriers and collaborating with dealers to ensure timely parts availability.
Additionally, Wabash is expanding its Trailers as a Service offerings and real-time trailer health analytics to enable proactive maintenance and reduce operational burdens on trucking companies. Recognising the industry’s driver and capacity shortages, Wabash’s TaaS model provides greater flexibility and efficiency, helping fleets manage volatility and meet growing demands such as drop-and-hook loads.
“These strategies position Wabash to not only address current industry challenges but also to support evolving logistics trends,” Yeagy said. “This will ensure sustained growth and innovation in the transportation sector.”
Wabash is also committed to innovation with a number of projects involving educational institutions like Purdue University and the University of Delaware.
“We are constantly growing our technology ecosystem and our academic partnerships through projects where we have the opportunity to advocate for our customers in areas that we know are going to require disruptive innovation, such as vehicle electrification,” he said.
Looking forward, Yeagy said he is most excited about what the company is becoming, describing it as evolving into an entity that has a more diverse team, is more process disciplined, more innovative and ultimately a company that is rising to meet industry challenges.
While that is something to be proud of, Yeagy said his biggest pride is much more specific.
“It’s the people I work with,” he said. “We ask a lot, and they show up and deliver daily. I can’t say enough about how proud I am of all of them.