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NATM Board of Directors Tour U-Haul Facilities By Meghan Ryan, NATM Assistant Director
In mid-October, U-Haul International®, Inc. opened its doors and welcomed the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers’ (NATM) Board of Directors to explore behind the scenes of a multi-billiondollar rental moving equipment company. Marco Garcia, Director of Engineering Services for U-Haul, currently serves as the NATM Board Treasurer and invited the entire board to visit the facilities to share some insight as to what goes into running such a large company, as well as the differences in operations as a rental company compared to the sales focus of most NATM member trailer manufacturer companies. “U-Haul Company’s hospitality for the board and NATM was overwhelming,” said NATM President Marty Lorick, President of Triple Crown Trailer. “It was great to tour two facilities and the wellness center to see how committed they are to the safety and health of employees. That same commitment shows in their products and services to the customers as well.”
The board first visited the Glendale Manufacturing Company (GMC) facility in Glendale, Ariz. Cedric Moore, plant president at GMC, lead the highly informational tour of the newer operations plant. The plant offers steel fabrication, welding, powder coating, and other operations that directly feed into the U-Haul production of trailers, tow dollies and U-Box® portable storage containers. Moore explained the importance and efficiency of vertically integrating nearly all steps of the steel fabrication, manufacturing, assembly and finishing under the umbrella of one parent company. Most impressive was the use of automation on the production floor which expedites the process and reduces the reliance on a limited workforce. Similar to all manufacturing industries, the company has struggled with the skilled workforce shortage. Automation has assisted 26
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in alleviating some of the challenges. The facility boasts two Salvagnini L3 Fiber Lasers offering computerized laser-cutting and automatic ordering of raw materials as stock runs low. It also works as a smart vending machine for all production material used in robotic welding and cutting. The facility also has six robotic units handling much of the welding workload while manual welding areas service more delicate assignments. The board then visited the U-Haul Technical Center in Tempe and toured the R&D, test lab, and manufacturing floor. U-Haul has come a long way since its inception in the summer of 1945. U-Haul co-founders L.S. “Sam” Shoen and his wife, Anna Mary Carty Shoen, recognized a need for one-way trailer rentals and bought the first U-Haul trailers from welding shops, or secondhand from private owners. However, that strategy didn’t work. Many of the purchased trailers were unreliable, and there was no uniformity with repairs and general upkeep. So U-Haul quickly changed course and began building its own trailers – a process which it still follows to this day. U-Haul has grown to become the largest rental fleet in the do-it-yourself moving industry with more than 176,000 trucks, 126,000 trailers and 46,000 towing devices. With 77 years of experience in the trailer industry, U-Haul generously shared some of its expertise with the board. While the board had fun looking for the small and elusive “Sammy U” logo, hidden within the large vinyl SuperGraphics® on the sides of the rental trucks and trailers, the attendees were focused on learning something new that they may be able to apply in their facilities or in their work as committee and board members. On the engineering and testing floor, attendees observed the laser equipment used to measure coordinates of an object and produce a draft of the image digitally on the computer for research and reproduction. This same technology can be used as quality-control check for the consistency of parts. www.NATM.com
