SHELBYVILLE, Ind. – An Indiana company is back to making and repairing grain hopper trailers under new ownership with deep roots at the firm.

Drake Trailer, founded in 1995, has a new location in Shelbyville about 15 miles from where it used to operate in Edinburgh.

One of the new owners is Jacob Cord, who worked nights at the company alongside former owner Jerry Drake after high school. 

It’s also where Cord began cutting his teeth in what’s been a long career for him in manufacturing and welding.

“It’s a proud moment to come full circle and contribute to the success of this outstanding Indiana company,” he said.

He and childhood friend, Mark Drake, bought the firm after learning Jerry Drake, who is battling health problems and wanted to retire, was interested in selling. Mark and Jerry are not related.

A deal was quickly struck and the sale was finalized in a few months.

Mark Drake said the former owner, due to health-related issues, went three years without producing a trailer but six have been made since he and Cord obtained their state manufacturer’s license, as required, during the summer.

“We’re fully ramped up now to take any orders. Next year, we’re hoping to double that,” he said.

The trailers sought by farmers with small- to medium-sized operations range from 34 to 40 feet in length with single, double and tri-axle varieties available. Farmers who need hopper trailers to haul corn and soybeans to elevators or grain bins make up the company’s entire customer base.

Partnering in the acquisition is Custom MCK, a steel fabricating and machining company since 1938 that also adds a protective coating to its products. Drake Trailer is now at Custom MCK in a structure added to what was once a three-building campus.

Cord, as operations manager, and Drake, as sales manager, are employed at Custom MCK and use the equipment there to make the trailers.

“We can do everything in-house,” Drake said.

Perry Pepka, owner of Custom MCK, said the collaboration will enhance the service offerings of his company and pave the way for its continued growth.

“The integration of Drake Trailer into the Custom MCK family is a perfect blend of expertise and resources,” he said.

Custom MCK has over 30 full-time employees with most of its customers being large makers of steel.

Drake said its other customers include John Deere, which uses parts made and coated by the company in its farm tractors, along with CAT and International Harvester. 

The new owners were once classmates from elementary school through high school in Shelbyville.

Cord grew up on a small farm and helped with chores while Drake worked on farms doing things like bailing hay and detasseling corn.

They later went separate ways before reuniting years later. Cord went to Vincennes University in the southern part of the state and returned to the Shelbyville area to resume his work in manufacturing. Drake attended the University of Alaska at Anchorage where he had about a 10-year career as a sports anchor at a local television station. He next went to Reno, Nev., for a job in sales to make more money.

Drake said the decision to purchase Drake Trailer was not too difficult given the level of expertise he and Cord have in manufacturing and sales.

He said they were also in a good position financially to carry out the purchase. “We felt like it was a no-brainer to go through that process of purchasing it,” he said.