Lincolnshire-based tipper and rigid trailer manufacturer Fruehauf has been placed into administration.
Hauliers and commercial vehicle suppliers said ongoing delays to orders had already led to a major trailer shortage across the entire supply chain.
Fruehauf is understood to produce around half of the tipping trailers sold in the UK.
Quantuma’s Carl Jackson and Tauseef Rashid have been appointed as joint administrators of the firm, along with Brian Johnson of UHY Hacker Young. They are looking at either a sale or a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).
Founded in 2010 and based at a 64-acre site in Grantham, Fruehauf also provides quality control systems and employs around 100 staff.
Financial results for the year ending 30 September, 2019 showed post-tax losses of £439,661 and turnover of £23.7m.
"This will have a serious effect on trailer supply," Colin Smith of Colin N Smith Haulage in Buckinghamshire told motortransport.co.uk.
"A lot of people are in the same boat who have ordered a trailer and can't get one. It’ll make a mega difference all round.
"We had two trailers on order. We had a new one from Wilcox at the end of June and were also hoping to get the Fruehauf but they rang to say they they were in administration."
David Taylor, chairman of Driffield-based commercial vehicle supplier DG Taylor, said the news was "disastrous".
"We are sat here with orders for 78 trailers, all sold, so we’ve got the unenviable task of telling people that Fruehauf is now in administration and when they’re going to get them we don’t know.
"Everybody is more than upset, they’re angry about it because they need trailers for the harvest etc and there's none about.
"The impact will be substantial. I would guess they produce 50% of the tipping trailers sold in the UK.
"With the trailer shortage you’re talking about flatbeds, curtainsiders and skeletal. There’s thousands of those sold in the UK every year whereas on the tipping trailers I don’t think there’s more than 1,000 to 1,200 sold."
DG Taylor has been dealing with Fruehauf since 1978, during which time it has had three different owners.
"It’s not altogether a surprise," Taylor added. "It’s a very difficult situation. But personally I think a buyer will be found and they’ll start producing again. They’re one of the most famous names in trailer building going back to 1901. People will want to get hold of the name. I’m pretty confident it will be bought, it’s such a big brand name. I’m sure someone will come and get it."
A Fruehaus spokesperson said: "The company has been placed into administration for a temporary period while we try to appoint an investor. Nothing changes, we’re still operating."
