NEWS - Manufacturing

SBJ Staff Report

Oct 17, 2011 - Great Dane Trailers announced Friday that Jim Pines, Executive Vice President of Sales and Operations will step down from his role at the end of 2011 in order to devote his full attention to personal and family business concerns. Pines’ announcement comes in the wake of the tragic accident in September that took the life of his father, the founder of Pines Trailers and long-time COO of Great Dane, Phill Pines.

“I was saddened by Jim’s decision to leave Great Dane,” said Bill Crown, President and CEO of Great Dane Trailers. “Our families have been partners for twenty-five years, and as I told Jim, Great Dane will not be the same company in his absence. That said, all of us at Great Dane respect and support the tough decisions Jim needs to make at this difficult time.”

Mr. Pines’ responsibilities will be taken on by other members of the Great Dane Executive team. Dean Engelage, Executive VP Strategic Planning, will assume responsibility for the Sales organization, and Rick Mullininx, Executive VP Engineering, will oversee the Warranty and Quality departments. In addition, Sam Gupta has been promoted to Executive VP Manufacturing and will report directly to Bill Crown.

“This Company has been a huge part of my life for twenty-five years, and it will be difficult to step down,” said Jim Pines, “but I now have other priorities that require my full attention. I will always feel deeply connected to the employees, the customers, and the business of Great Dane Trailers. I have enjoyed being a part of building this organization and I am confident that I leave it in good hands.”

Great Dane Trailers, a manufacturer of dry van trailers, refrigerated trailers, platform trailers, and refrigerated truck bodies, has long been regarded as the industry leader in technology, innovation and quality. The company has division offices in Savannah, GA, and Chicago, IL, with manufacturing plants strategically located throughout the United States including a recently completed facility in Statebsoro.

 With distribution points across North and South America, Great Dane utilizes a network of company-owned branches and full-line independent dealers as well as parts-only independent dealers.

The company’s former President and COO, Phillip Pines, died Sept. 5 in a plane crash near Racine, Wisconsin. Pines began his career in the trailer industry in 1958 working alongside his father, Leo Pines, at their Monon Trailer dealership. There, he and his father began refurbishing used trailers and soon after started their own trailer company, Pines Trailer Corporation in 1965.

Pines led his family-owned business, Pines Trailer Corporation, for 25 years before forming a Partnership with the Crown Family in 1988. In January 1997, the partnership acquired Great Dane Trailers, and he assumed the role of President and COO of Great Dane Limited Partnership. Pines retired at the end of 2010.

Chris C.F. Hammond, Jr., former President and Chairman of the Board of Great Dane Trailers, Inc., passed away Monday, Jan. 3, 2011 in Savannah at 98. Shortly after graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech in 1934, Mr. Hammond began his career in the truck trailer industry. In 1937, he became the first true salesman for Great Dane Trailers, building relationships with customers throughout the Southeast. Some of those customers continue to remain 100 percent loyal Great Dane fleets.