About Talbert
Talbert Manufacturing, Inc. engineers and manufactures to customer specifications a wide variety of heavy haul trailers and specialized transportation equipment. Located in NW Indiana, Talbert has been serving the transportation industry since 1938 covering commercial, military, government, aerospace, and energy applications as well as in-plant material handling movers and manufacturing systems.
Here are some of the products Talbert makes:
- building materials trailers (trusses, beams, concrete commodities)
- pipe hauling (self-loading/unloading) trailers
- recovery trailers (hydraulic sliding axles / hydraulic tail)
- special purpose container chassis
- steering dollies (converters, load-dividers, etc.)
- extendible trailers (flats, step decks, lowbeds, hydraulic necks)
- running gear assemblies (bunk dollies, axle attachments)
- steel dump trailers
- bomb carts
- multi-axle configurations
- hydraulically suspended modular dollies and trailers
- missile trailers and transporters
- nuclear materials trailers and transporters
- hazardous materials trailers
- equipment trailers
- spread axle trailers - east and west coast styles
- utility and tag-a-long trailers
- tilt deck trailers
- low bed trailers of all types
- parts and accessories for all of the above
A brief history of Talbert
Talbert Construction Equipment Co. was founded in 1938 by Austin Talbert in Lyons, Ill. to provide crane and construction machinery rental and heavy haul transport in the Chicago area.
In 1957 a new plant was built in Rensselaer, Ind. devoted to specialty trailer manufacturing. Ultimately, the facility in Lyons was closed as Mr. Talbert and his team focused on production of trailers in Indiana.
Talbert quickly became known for innovation. Ground breaking new ideas were introduced including:
- 1st lowbed removable gooseneck.
- 1st hydraulic removable gooseneck (non ground engaging)
- 1st trailer manufacturer to use high strength heat treated steel (T1A)
- 1st trailer manufacturer to design and incorporate air suspensions
- 1st trailer to use self steering axles.
Several of these innovations were patented, and remain in use today.
