About Schodorf Truck Body & Equipment
Who We Are
Founded in 1881, Schodorf Truck Body & Equipment has grown over the past 124
years from a rural blacksmith shop to leading manufacturer and distributor of
truck bodies, truck equipment, and truck parts for customers nationwide. A
fourth-generation family business, Schodorf Truck Body is today the United
States’ #1 manufacturer of truck bodies for the glass industry, one of the
nation’s top three builders of forestry bodies, and a leading local distributor
of truck equipment. In addition, we boast unsurpassed service
capabilities and a fully stocked parts department.
Columbus, Ohio-based Schodorf Truck Body has defied the odds to become one of
only a handful of private businesses that have survived and thrived over four
generations.
Headquartered in a 45,000-square-foot facility just outside Columbus’
historic German Village, Schodorf Truck Body today operates under the direction
of three great-grandsons of company founder Andrew Schodorf. Joe Schodorf,
vice president of operations, joins his brother Steve Schodorf, vice
president of engineering, and cousin Paul Schodorf vice president of sales, as
co-managers of Schodorf Truck Body.
Where We Came From
Schodorf Truck Body & Equipment traces its roots to Galloway, Ohio, where in
1881 company founder Andrew Schodorf, an Austrian immigrant, set up shop as A.C.
Schodorf Blacksmith, following a brief stint as a cowboy in Oklahoma. More than
a skilled blacksmith, Andrew also was a successful inventor who set the pace for
future generations. One of Andrew’s earliest inventions was a device that held
wild horses for shoeing. Sold nationwide by traveling hardware salesmen, the
Schodorf rack for shoeing "vicious" horses was patented in 1896—the first in a
long line of Schodorf-manufactured racks.
When Andrew’s son Otto, Sr.—a World War I veteran who served in Europe with
the United States’ fist mortar division—joined his father’s business, the
company changed its name to AC Schodorf & Son. With Andrew and Otto working side
by side, the company’s business gradually evolved from shoeing horses to
building horse-drawn wagons to designing and producing truck bodies.
Driven by an old-world work ethic, AC Schodorf & Son continued to grow in
spite of the odds. During the Great Depression, when so many businesses
faltered, the company survived by trading work for food vouchers from a local
grocery store.
Three of Otto’s four sons—Robert, Paul, Sr. and Otto, Jr.—formed the third
generation of the Schodorf family business. Sadly, older brother Howard was
killed in combat during World War II, and never had the opportunity to work
alongside his brothers, father and grandfather. Robert and Paul joined the
company first. Younger brother Otto joined the company after attending college
and serving as a Marine in Korea—one of the lucky few to survive the infamous
Chosin Reservoir.
Generation three set the stage for today’s Schodorf Truck Body & Equipment.
Widely regarded as the country’s foremost authority on the design and production
of glass hauling truck bodies, Paul, Sr. oversaw manufacturing, and the design
and production of some of the industry’s first tree trimming truck bodies. Otto,
Jr. headed up a growing sales department that distributed refuse equipment,
service bodies, van bodies, beverage bodies, and other types of truck equipment.
Robert managed the company’s thriving service and parts departments.
Today the fourth generation of Schodorf Truck Body professionals, Joe, Steve
and Paul, Jr. are committed to keeping their great-grandfather's 19th century
dream alive—and growing—throughout the 21st century.
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