Built to Scale: Accelerating Production at Dorsey Trailer
By switching to Sherwin‑Williams Duraspar® IP coatings and expert support, Dorsey Trailer eliminated finishing bottlenecks, increased production capacity, and unlocked scalable growth without compromising quality.
About Dorsey Trailer
Dorsey Trailer has been building durable, high-quality trailers in Elba, Alabama for more than a century. Now the fastest-growing trailer manufacturer in the U.S., the Company faced new pressure to scale production and meet rising demand. As a custom builder focused on quality, Dorsey needed flexible, responsive finishing support. But inconsistent service, unanswered requests and slow custom color turnaround from its longtime supplier made it difficult to keep up.
Coating Challenges
- Rising demand drove the need to scale production quickly
- Slow finishing processes limited throughput
- Long custom color turnaround times delayed production and delivery
- Limited flexibility constrained custom orders
- Limited supplier support made improving workflow challenging
The Solution
A Smarter Coating System Backed by Hands-on Support
Sherwin-Williams helped Dorsey improve coating performance and operational efficiency with solutions that combined advanced coating technology with on-the-ground expertise:
- Duraspar® IP High Speed Epoxy Primer and Topcoat for improved corrosion resistance and application efficiency
- Ongoing technical support, including regular on-site audits to continually optimize processes
- Hands-on training to streamline workflows and improve consistency
- Local facility capabilities to accelerate custom color matching for low-volume orders
The Results
Faster Throughput, Lower Costs and Scalable Growth
The impact delivered measurable improvements across production, cost and quality:
- Finishing time reduced by 15-30 minutes per trailer, increasing throughput
- Paint usage reduced by 1-1.5 gallons per trailer, cutting material costs
- Turnaround on custom colors reduced by up to 1.5 weeks, accelerating lead times and customer response
- First-pass yield coverage improved, minimizing rework and improving finishing quality
We’re unlimited on growth now that we have Sherwin-Williams as a partner.
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