1,000+
Trailers per year at full capacity
75+
Years of Steel Warehouse experience
18
Locations across North America & Brazil
1994
SmithCo founded in Le Mars, Iowa
About SmithCo
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Le Mars, Iowa, SmithCo builds more side dump trailers, and offers more models than any other company in the industry. Greg Smith started the company to build a side dump trailer that could meet the Federal Bridge Formula, eliminate the tip-over risk of end dump trailers, and increase efficiency and revenue in construction.
From three trailers and three employees in its first year, SmithCo grew to 250 trailers annually within four years and, since moving into its current facility in November 1999, can now produce more than 1,000 trailers per year at full capacity. SmithCo trailers are trusted by contractors and haulers across road and building construction, aggregate production, agriculture, demolition, mining, government, waste handling and environmental clean-up, and erosion control.
These are markets where abrasion, impact loading, and punishing jobsite conditions are everyday realities. That means the raw material going into every trailer must perform from the very first weld to the last mile on the road, a standard that has made SmithCo the industry leader in side dump technology, with trailers that consistently achieve the highest resale values in their category.
The Challenge
SmithCo had always purchased some steel from Steel Warehouse, but the relationship deepened significantly when the company began reevaluating its supply chain. SmithCo’s order book can shift on short notice and customers may change trailer options, sizes, or model mix right up until the moment they place an order. That unpredictability used to mean SmithCo had to warehouse large quantities of raw material at a third-party processor, tying up capital and floor space.
What SmithCo needed was straightforward: a supplier whose logistics were solid, whose responsiveness was fast, and whose operation had enough flexibility to accommodate the unpredictable nature of trailer manufacturing—without forcing SmithCo to forecast months ahead or carry costly buffer stock.
The Solution
SmithCo partnered more closely with Steel Warehouse, a family-owned steel processor and service center with more than 75 years of experience and 18 locations across North America and Brazil. Steel Warehouse now supplies two critical products to SmithCo—abrasion-resistant (AR) plate used to fabricate the dump tubs, and beam flanges that form the top and bottom of the trailer’s I-beams. Both are high-demand, high-specification materials where consistency matters as much as availability.
“That has been a huge savings in cash outlay and inventory costs.”
Results
Half a dozen sizes of finished material now sit in inventory at Steel Warehouse—cut, leveled, and ready to ship the moment SmithCo releases an order. SmithCo no longer must forecast months ahead or warehouse raw material at a third-party processor; it simply waits until its customers decide what they want, then pulls the precise material it needs. As the SmithCo team describes it, “That has been a huge savings in cash outlay and inventory costs.”
When SmithCo transitioned to coil-based abrasion-resistant plate supplied by Steel Warehouse, the cost difference was immediate and meaningful. Compared with traditional plate sourced on the open market, the coil product consistently comes in at a lower price point—and ongoing benchmarking confirms it remains the more economical option, a competitive advantage that flows directly to SmithCo’s bottom line and to its customers.
Every component on a side dump trailer starts with raw material, and good material in means fewer stoppages, fewer rejects, and a better trailer rolling off the line. The dump tub, the largest, most visible, and most abused part of the trailer, is fabricated almost entirely from Steel Warehouse product.
Built to Perform. Backed by Steel Warehouse.
Watch how Steel Warehouse’s high-strength and abrasion-resistant steels power real-world performance at SmithCo — and how real-time inventory helps them avoid shortages, meet tight deadlines and stay ahead of demand.
Beyond Supply: Quality and Partnership
The depth of the partnership shows up in SmithCo’s most demanding application: the beam flanges. SmithCo uses automated welding fixtures to assemble its I-beams, guiding the weld along the edge of the flange. That edge must be clean and straight, no jagged surfaces that would cause chatter, no warping or tipping that would throw off the weld path. SmithCo counts on Steel Warehouse’s quality assurance team to deliver bars that meet that standard load after load, month after month, and that consistency directly supports SmithCo’s production speed and finished-product quality.
When asked what advice they would give to someone evaluating steel suppliers, SmithCo’s team does not hesitate. They point to the combination of reliable products, honest business practices, and the kind of people you want to work with over the long haul.
“Good people, down-home people, down to earth”—that is how the SmithCo team describes Steel Warehouse, a company with good products and a team with solid integrity.
For SmithCo, the relationship with Steel Warehouse goes beyond the transaction: from just-in-time supply to lower material costs to the quality that keeps a production line running and a finished product at the front of its industry.
At Steel Warehouse, steel is just the start of the story.
Why Choose Steel Warehouse
Trusted by industry leaders worldwide for reliable steel solutions and unmatched service excellence
16 Locations
Family-owned & Operated
75+ Years of Experience
Technical Experts
16 Locations
Strategically positioned to support your production wherever you operate.
Family-owned & Operated
A legacy of trust, built on quality and service.
75+ Years of Experience
Where generations of steel knowledge meet modern capabilities.
Technical Experts
Hands-on support from people who know your process.