​The 2019 Trailer Safety Week (TSW) went off without a hitch June 2-8,2019. This national awareness campaign, which aims to educate end-users on trailer safety including safe towing practices and maintenance, saw incredible growth in its second year.

​Trailer Safety Week 2019 was a success thanks to onsite event hosts Lane Trailer Mfg. Co. and Midsota Manufacturing, the many TSW Allies and the hard work of the NATM staff.

The week featured two successful events at Lane Trailer Mfg. Co. in Boone, IA and Midsota Manufacturing in Albany, MN on June 7. Attendees included consumers, trailer dealers, government officials, state troopers and DOT representatives. Both events featured U-Haul’s trailer demonstrator, an interactive module wherein a car, towing a trailer on an elevated treadmill track is loaded with weights to show the dangers of improper loading and trailer sway.

Lane Trailer focused its efforts on reaching out to the local university, Iowa State. All trailers used by Iowa State undergo annual DOT inspections done through Lane Trailer. In working with the grounds keeping crew using those trailers and local clubs, Lane utilized the event to teach both university employees and students about safe trailering practices.
Representatives from Iowa State University were very interested in the trailer safety resources available, like NATM’s Towing Safety brochures. These materials complimented presentations by Colin Holthaus, NATM Technical Director, and Lane Trailer. Lane brought a trailer into the showroom for the presentation, pointing out safety features and allowing for attendees to ask questions using the actual trailer for demonstration.
​
NATM Technical Director Colin Holthaus, thrilled with event turnout, said “it was great to see the local community at Iowa State turnout for this event. This was a new population of attendees, everyday trailer users, and it was great to be able to spread trailer safety awareness. It was also neat to talk directly to consumers about the work my compliance team and NATM does by partnering with companies like Lane Trailers in helping companies build compliant, safe trailers. NATM and our members work really hard at trailer safety and to see that paying off in discussions with end-users was great to experience.” 

 “As a company, we are committed to safety in our facility and for the trailers we manufacture,” said Midsota co-owner and NATM Board Member Joel Bauer. “We thought it is essential we get on board with the national event to promote trailer safety.”

Midsota’s event was a huge success and featured local and national legislators and staff. Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-6) spoke of the importance of safety and recognized that trailering is not simply loading, hitching and taking off but executing safe trailering practices correctly. The impact of compliant trailers and safe towing practices is not limited to the trailer owner.

“It’s not only the $50,000 investment in the motorcycle or the load on the trailer– it’s everyone on the road,” said Congressman Emmer. Emmer previously toured the Midsota facility in May of 2018 after the company was named St. Cloud Area Small Business Owners of the Year.

Newly-elected State Representative Lisa Demuth of Minnesota’s District 13A also spoke to attendees about the important role that companies such as Midsota play on the local economy. Eric Sundby of the Minnesota State Patrol gave a highly popular and well received presentation on what is looked for during a DOT trailer inspection and driver CDL requirements followed by a Q&A session.

Midsota co-owner Joel Bauer and NATM Executive Director Kendra Ansley gave presentations about the company’s and NATM’s dedication to trailer safety and audience made up of end-users, business owners, trailer dealers, and members of the local community were directed to various safety resources including those housed on NATM’s TrailerSafetyWeek.com website.
​
After the presentations, Midsota gave plant tours of the facility and served lunch. Multiple informational tables were set up for attendees including U-Haul with their popular Trailer Demonstrator; Lippert Axles; NTI Tires; NATM and Midsota. 

In addition to the two onsite Trailer Safety Events hosted by NATM trailer manufacturing members, Trailer Safety Week saw enormous growth with online participation. Trailer Safety Week Allies utilized the TSW Communications Kit which is full of pre-crafted marketing materials to effectively communicate the importance of trailer safety. Allies played an important role in helping generate awareness and drive traffic to TrailerSafetyWeek.com. TSW Allies ranged from police departments and insurance companies to trailer manufacturers, suppliers and dealers as well as various companies in the transportation industry.

Through the #TrailerSafetyWeek social media campaign, and with the help of more than 150 TSW Allies, the importance of safe trailering reached thousands across several social media channels. Countless social media posts were created and shared on Facebook in hopes to better educate end-users on important safety measures to take when trailering. In addition to this, NATM created several #TrailerTipOfTheDay informative videos featuring the NATM Compliance Team. These videos featured trailering tips every trailer user should know and reached over 16,000 people on Facebook alone. You can view these videos on NATM's Facebook page. TSW Allies’ efforts led nearly 500 new visitors to TrailerSafetyWeek.com throughout the week—a testament to the impact Allies have on generating safe trailering awareness.

Trailer Safety Week has continued to be a step in the right direction for the trailer industry. With the support of event hosts, an effective social media campaign, countless TSW Allies and coverage in several news publications, this safety awareness campaign allowed safe trailering to become more visible to the general public.

“The National Trailer Safety Week was once again a huge success thanks to the support of NATM members across the country,” said NATM Executive Director Kendra Ansley. “NATM is already looking for new ways to further expand the reach of our efforts next year. Various companies in the trailer industry are regularly contacting the Association to learn more about participating and the staff is using this momentum and excitement to begin planning for next year’s Trailer Safety Week that will be held June 7-13, 2020. We are encouraging all types of members to participate as much as they would like. Suppliers and trailer manufacturers can share the event’s logo and resources as Trailer Safety Week Allies, or even host an event.”
​
Those interested in joining this trailer safety movement can find more information at https://www.trailersafetyweek.com/interest or by contacting the TSW team at TrailerSafetyWeek@natm.com. 

NATM continuously aims to provide exceptional membership services and benefits. One way the Association attempts to do this is by conducting a membership survey to both trailer manufacturer and supplier members upon their 18-month association membership anniversary. The goal is to better understand the current climate of the industry, and tailor educational events around these focus areas.

There are several common themes that have surfaced in recent months when asked about challenges or barriers that members are experiencing:

• Employee policies
• Retention strategies
• Benefits structure
• Pay scales
• Pros/cons of piecemeal approach

This summer, NATM has rebranded the NATM Regional Educational Workshops as the Workforce Development Summit. Using this member feedback, NATM is excited to announce two workshops for Fall of 2019.

For additional information, please contact NATM Membership & Events Director Kelli Maydew at kelli.maydew@natm.com or (785) 272-4433. ​

NATM’s second annual national Trailer Safety Week is just around the corner, June 2-8, 2019. This year, the Trailer Safety Week team is excited to announce an expansion in programming to include an educational webinar for trailer manufacturers and dealers for those who are unable to attend an event in person.
 
The webinar will be Tuesday, June 4th at 1 pm central. Webinar participants will learn more about Trailer Safety Week, general safe towing practices, resources available for dealers and manufacturers to distribute to their end-users and about NATM and its Compliance Verification Program. The presentation will also focus on tire recordkeeping and the role of dealers and end-users in the process as well as provide a government affairs update and more.
 
June is prime time for hauling trailers, which makes it the perfect month for this awareness campaign, but can also make it difficult for dealers and trailer manufacturers to get away from their businesses. This presentation, about an hour in length, is a perfect opportunity to learn more about trailer safety and resources that can be passed along to consumers without leaving the office.  
 
Sign up today and NATM will send you a reminder and webinar credentials closer to June 4th.

​Interested in hosting an event or becoming a Trailer Safety Ally by participating in the safety movement online? Visit www.trailersafetyweek.com/interest to sign up today!

​Is your HR manager overwhelmed trying to manage the ever-changing world of labor laws and regulations? From OSHA reporting to benefits administration to equal employment opportunity complaints and many other issues, where do you turn to provide accurate resources to help your HR manager perform the job without spending a fortune on legal and/or consulting fees? Register for this free webinar to learn more about the Trailer Makers Insurance Toolkit and how NATM members can get the Toolkit for 50% off. Below are just a few of the helpful resources you will find in the Toolkit.

• A wide range of HR forms and notices on topics such as FMLA, COBRA, HIPAA
• A tool to record and report your OSHA Incidents
• Workplace policy templates including a Hand-Held Mobile Phone Policy, Telecommuting Policy, Reference and Background Check forms, and many others
• A tool to help manage open enrollment process for employee benefits from start to finish

​

For more information about the event and to register please contact Andrew Dearing and Josh Gurley.

Josh Gurley, CIC, MWCA
Trailer Industry Risk and Insurance Advisor
jgurley@trailermakersins.com
 
Andrew Dearing, CIC, MWCA
Trailer and Truck Body Industry Risk and Insurance Advisor
adearing@trailermakersins.com