Beall Corporation is carrying on a tradition of manufacturing excellence that began in the early 1900’s when John S. Beall moved to Portland, Oregon from Texas and became involved in road machinery sales. In 1905, John Beall founded Beall & Company, which was a road building equipment distributor. In the early 1920’s, the firm got into the manufacturing of steel water pipes and petroleum storage tanks. During this time, the name of the company was changed to Beall Pipe & Tank Corporation. In 1924-1925, John E. Beall and G. Franklin Beall, nephews of the founder, joined the firm.

In 1928, Beall Pipe & Tank Corporation began manufacturing truck tank and tank trailers for the petroleum industry. Beall trailers became well known for their functional design, premium quality, and automotive styling. In the hard times of the 1930’s, the company continued to grow and added logging trailers and lowboys to its product line.

In the World War II years, the firm built a great variety of pipe and automotive products for the Allied effort. Then during the 1950’s, the firm moved to a larger plant, and sales continued to grow. By the 1960’s, Beall Pipe & Tank was an acknowledged leader in the pipe and automotive fields and had added plants in Billings, MT; Boise, ID; Denver, CO; and Oakland, CA.

Undoubtedly, the drive and ability of John E. Beall was the prime source of success for the company. A creative person, Beall is credited with various innovations, including:

(1) The first frameless semi trailer tank;
(2) The first successful aluminum truck tank & pull trailer; and
(3) The first all-aluminum single gate bottom dump.

Jerry E. Beall, current Beall Corporation Chairman and son of John, says that the philosophy of the firm has not changed over the years.

"We still offer the customer a custom-built design of premium quality at a fair price. We think of ourselves as automotive stylists, as our equipment must not only be good, it must look good. It helps that our team of craftsmen are second to none in the industry."

A fourth generation of Bealls is represented by James, Mike, Mark and Brent Beall, all sons of Jerry.

Beall has now become a major exporter of all types of trailers, with recent orders from Canada, Chile, Honduras, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, and Taiwan.

Beall Corporation’s headquarters remain in Portland, Oregon. The company now has five factories and eleven sales branches across the United States. Beall products include aluminum and stainless steel tanks, pneumatics, bottom dumps, end dumps, and dump bodies. In addition to manufacturing trailers, Beall also features a full line of heavy-duty parts and service.

Beall factories are currently using 3d modeling (solidworks) and FEA (finite element analysis) along with modern capital equipment to produce the highest quality finished products in the industry. Beall’s goal is to provide the best looking, most reliable trailers on the road. Beall employees take pride in their work, and the company proudly affixes the American flag logo to each trailer, as an expression of that pride.

Beall’s successful business record was also made possible through strategic acquisitions in different geographical locations.

The following purchases were made as described below: