The History of Nelson Manufacturing Company

Jack and Virginia Nelson founded Nelson Manufacturing in 1947. He was a civil engineer and she was a high school home economics and English teacher. Together they lived in several areas of the country before settling in Ohio.

Jack Nelson worked as an engineer for La Crosse Trailers in La Crosse, Wisconsin. After leaving La Crosse, he worked for a time with the Army Corps of Engineers helping to design and build a bridge connecting the Florida Keys. Realizing that what he enjoyed most was designing and building trailers, Nelson decided to strike out on his own.

He took out a map of the United States and plotted a central location between the major cities of Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Columbus. The Nelsons decided to move to Leipsic, Ohio.

Jack and Virginia saved up enough money to buy a 1946 International tractor and a small trailer. They loaded the trailer with watermelons and headed north. The Nelsons were able to talk a local automobile dealer into loaning them the use of the second floor storefront in Leipsic where the melons could be sold. These profits bought them enough steel to build the first Nelson Trailer.

Building a trailer on the second floor was the easy part. Backing the trailer out and down to ground level was another matter. They soon found a new location down the street where Nelson and five employees set up shop building lowboy trailers.

1947 - Company founded in Leipsic, Ohio by Jack & Virginia Nelson

1952 - Company moved to Ottawa, Ohio

1961 - Company moved to a new 28,000 sq ft plant 2 miles East of Ottawa

1962 – Nelson designs and builds the first “crane boom carrier” or “boom dolly”

1963 – Nelson designs and builds a 215 ton capacity trailer for export to Turkey

1979 – Jack and Virginia Nelson pass away in an airplane crash

1979 – John Nelson becomes the sole owner of Nelson Manufacturing

1985 – Company designs and builds its first “multi-axle” trailer with hydraulic steering for Miller Transfer and Rigging

1988 – Company designs and builds its first 19-axle trailer for Miller Transfer & Rigging

1990 – John Nelson passes away in an airplane crash

1990 – Long time employee’s George Rellinger, Virgil Niese and Bob Luttfring take ownership of the company.

1991 – The Nelson plant expands with a 13,000 sq ft addition

1994 – The Nelson plant expands again with a 16,000 sq ft addition

2004 – Tony Niese takes over his father Virgil’s ownership stake in the company

2006 – Bob Luttfring relinquishes his ownership in the company leaving George Rellinger and Tony Niese as the current owners.

2008 – Nelson Manufacturing completes a new 65,000 sq ft fabrication facility adjacent to the existing facility giving the company nearly 130,000 sq ft of fabrication, office and storage area.

As the transportation industry has developed, so has the Nelson Manufacturing Company. The company which started out as a regional supplier of lowboy trailers has grown into the most progressive and innovative trailer manufacturer in the industry. Today, customers from around the globe look to Nelson Manufacturing for superior craftsmanship, quality, and safety in specialty trailers, which have set the standard for the industry.