In the over three decades since the company was first founded, the Iowa-based Stellar Industries continues to grow and evolve along with the industry sectors it serves.
The company’s earliest efforts were focused on the hydraulic hooklift hoist, but since then the manufacturer of mechanic’s bodies, hydraulic truck equipment, accessories, and specialty trailers has slowly added more offerings while becoming a renowned international presence in the service and utility truck field.
The company was founded by Francis Zrostlik, who had previously foundedthe Iowa Mold Tooling (IMT) company, which designs and manufactures a variety of service and mechanic trucks.
Zrostlik was attempting to retire after selling IMT in the mid-80s but wasn’t ready to settle down just yet. He had anocompete clause, so he couldn’t return to the service truck sector, but he remembered seeing hooklifts at European tradeshows that he had visited while with IMT, and decided to start up Stellar Industries to manufacture them in the United States.
In 1993, the no-compete clause ran out, and Stellar quickly bought a small local company that was building tire service trucks. Tim Davison, Stellar Industries’ Vice President of Sales and Marketing, told Service Truck Magazine that it was important for the company to find the right niche—it was not simply enough to create products that other companies were already producing.
“We had to figure out how to make our customers more productive,” explained Davison. “And if we could make them more productive, then that’s a viable reason to switch your allegiance. When you look at
a mechanic’s truck, it’s used by a mechanic, who charges by the hour. The more work they do, the more money they make, and the more the company makes that they work for. So if we could make them more productive, we felt we could create a position in the marketplace—a value proposition for these guys.”
As a result, Davison stated, Stellar Industries focused on innovation. It was the first company to do radio remote controls as a standard feature.
Cranes with a single hydraulic extension were the standard within the industry, so naturally Stellar developed cranes with two hydraulic extensions.
As well, worm drive winches with their slow 15- to 17-feet-per-minute speeds were replaced with planetary winches which could go up to 60 feet per minute. Beyond just the use of more technologically advanced components, the designs them- selves were high-end, as well. For example, the mechanic’s trucks are designed with aluminum extruded tops with mounting rails built in, meaning that there’s no need to drill holes in the top itself to install components, reducing the incursion of water or dust into the body. The result was a product that focused on being high-end, serving customers who were willing to pay more for equipment that would be more effective and last longer, earning them more money in the long run.
“The value proposition at that point was: when I set up to do a job, I can set up faster, I can tear down faster, and I can get my job done quicker and get up to the next job,” said Davison. “And we charged more money for it—we had to because we had all these features. Instantly, we were charging 20- to 25-percent more than our nearest competitor. A lot of our competitors thought we were nuts, but lo and behold, the marketplace started to take hold and we started to grow.”
Over time, the company’s offerings have steadily expanded. In 1999, they introduced telescopic cranes with an industry-first hexagonal-shaped boom design to reduce the jostling of loads. In 2002, they created the American Eagle Accessories Group, which focused on manufacturing truck-mounted air compressor and drawer systems. In 2011, they opened their first service and retail center in Mason City, Iowa. In 2013, they purchased Valley Industries and added lube skids and fuel trailers to American Eagle’s product line.And, just last year, the company purchased the assets of MD Products and Solutions, giving them a foot into the agricultural and utility-focused trailer products market.
Stellar’s home base is in Garner, Iowa, where they have three facilities focused on chassis prep, manufacturing, and inspection. They also have several other manufacturing facilities in other Iowa cities, a plant in Hastings, Nebraska, and a relatively new upfit facility in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Across all those locations, the company employs just over 700 people, including a dedicated team of mechanical engineers and drafting assistants who work together to develop the products. The company does about 60 percent of the installations of their bodies, with the rest handled at distributor locations. Davison roughly estimates that the company produces between 1,000 and 2,000 service bodies per year.
The company’s most recent move is an expansion of its facility in Hastings which produces lube skids, fuel trailers, and lube trailers.
“All three of those products have seen tremendous growth over the last couple of years, so we need to continue that growth,” Davison noted. “We literally just ran out of space.”
Davison related that the biggest challenge for the company in 2022 was sourcing chassis, due to ongoing supply chain issues. Sourcing components was a significant challenge as well, but that has become a little easier as of late, while chassis sourcing remains a problem.
Like many companies who have faced these issues, Stellar has looked at stockpiling parts and supplies at times but that’s not a tenable long-term solution.
“Let’s call it what it is: it’s hoarding,” summed up Davison. “And that’s never a good thing. When you start to hoard, everyone likes it if you’re the guy who’s hoarding. But if it’s the guy who bought in front of you that hoards, now it’s just exasperated the situation for you. When we look at the bigger picture—the macro picture—hoarding is not a good thing for a market. What we need to get to is normal- cy with supply so we’re consistently build- ing supply, but I don’t know when we’re going to get there.”
They also have several other manufacturing facilities in other Iowa cities, a plant in Hastings, Nebraska, and a relatively new upfit facility in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.