Craftsmen Industries, Inc. was started in 1982 by Joe Helmsing with 8 original employees. From the earliest days on “Howard Street” in Downtown St. Louis, the company sold and repaired trailers, truck equipment, and customized transportation vehicles. Over the past three decades, the Craftsmen Companies have grown to more than (250) employees at (4) locations in the Midwest offering a variety of additional products and services including custom painting, vehicle graphics, large format printing, exhibits, mobile displays, and industrial vehicles.

In 2006, after 25 years of continued growth, Craftsmen Industries spun off the transportation business creating Craftsmen Trailer, LLC. Craftsmen Trailer moved into a New 32 Bay Facility on 34 acres located on Highway 370 in St. Charles, MO dedicated to the company’s traditional semi-trailer operations. Craftsmen Trailer is a full-service trailer dealer that represents Utility, Reitnouer, East, Kentucky, Jet, Maxon, Waltco, Morgan and Bibeau.

In 2007, Craftsmen Trailer opened its second location via acquisition of Utility Trailers of Sikeston, Inc. Craftsmen Trailer’s second full service location is conveniently located at the intersection of I-55 and I-57 in Sikeston, MO. Over the past decade, the Sikeston location has grown and now offers (8) Service Bays, a Retail Parts Showroom, Daily Parts Delivery and much more.

In 2015, Craftsmen Trailer opened its third full service location via acquisition of Thompson Utility Trailer in Davenport, IA. This location is conveniently located just off I-80 in the Heartland of America serving eastern Iowa and North-Central Illinois. Just 2 years later, Craftsmen opened a new (12) Bay Facility on 14 acres to further support the customers in this area.