Hendrickson makes a lot of suspensions. Thousands each year, for trucks and trailers alike. For more than a century the company has served as the flagship in suspension and lift axle products for the commercial vehicle industry, a position Hendrickson doesn’t take lightly.
But to truly know Hendrickson is to know the company is far more than just suspensions. From its impressive collection of brands and expansive product reach, today Hendrickson is one of the most diverse manufacturers and suppliers in the commercial vehicle industry.
During recent media events in November at the company’s Canton, Ohio, manufacturing plant and last week at its corporate headquarters in Woodridge, Ill., Hendrickson showcased that ever expanding influence, highlighting how the company continues to evolve ‘beyond suspensions’ to be a complete solutions provider and innovator in the production and development of commercial vehicle applications.
“Hendrickson is not just a suspension company, it’s an innovation leader in complete ride systems, reliability and life cycle efficiency,” the company says.
Unique business units deliver complete solutions
That comprehensive focus can be seen in Hendrickson’s corporate structure.
The business features six business units — Truck, Trailer, Brake & Wheel End, Specialty, Aftermarket Parts, Vehicle Technology Group — each of which serve to expand its product portfolio of complete ride control systems.
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Hendrickson’s core strength remains suspension systems, but the company’s leaders say its distinct business units enable Hendrickson to have expert teams dedicated to all of its burgeoning solutions, such as braking components, tire information, active analytics, genuine aftermarket parts and more.
“That’s our message going into the new year — to show everything we provide into the industry,” says Dustin Lancy, director of Global Branding and Communications. “We offer complete ride control solutions and products across the truck and trailer sector.”
A cutaway image of a Hendrickson HXL7 wheel end for trailer applications.Hendrickson
Trailer business unit an unsung, and growing, sector
Lancy’s reference of both equipment types is essential, and notable, adds David McCleave, director of Aftermarket. He says a lot of people think of Hendrickson as a truck suspension provider and it is, particularly for straight trucks and vocational equipment, but its trailer division is twice the size of its truck team.
McCleave references the company’s wheel end components, tire pressure monitoring solutions and more as the scope of Hendrickson’s beyond suspension trailer offering. He says the company’s trailer product line covers nearly all of the safety and stability solutions required on today’s trailers and continues to expand.
And that’s a message the company is eager to share with truck dealers and service shops.
“We think that’s where we have the biggest upside,” McCleave says. “If you’re a dealer and you’re already supporting the truck, why wouldn’t you also want to take care of the thing it’s pulling?”
McCleave and Lancy also note the bifurcated sales opportunities the company’s trailer products bring to the marketplace. Because Hendrickson’s genuine wheel end and suspension systems are designed, built and tested to be installed together as first-fit solutions to maximize the safety and performance of trailers, they provide dealers an advantage in spec’ing conversations.
Additionally, with all those same components available through the company’s aftermarket operation, McCleave says distributors and installers can reference the performance advantages achieved by replacing like-for-like whenever possible.
“We engineer safety-critical systems that are designed to function together,” he says.
A snapshot of Hendrickson's aftermarket parts offering.Hendrickson
Aftermarket unit bringing ‘Preferred’ options to marketplace
Hendrickson also is actively engaged in strengthening its aftermarket distribution capabilities to ensure its ability to support customers who understand its genuine parts message. The company recently opened a parts distribution center in Kendallville, Ind., and McCleave says bolstering efficiency and fill rates out of the facility is a top priority for 2026.
Its distribution channel is another focus through the company’s new Preferred Retailer program.
McCleave says the Preferred Retailer program is an exciting new feature designed to strengthen connections between the vendor and its distributors while also enhancing its resource center to support those who back its brands.
To join the program, distributors will be expected to stock a certain threshold of Hendrickson products and commit to prioritizing those products in customer interactions and, in return, they will receive technical training, point-of-purchase displays and other sales and marketing resources beyond conventional purchasing.
McCleave says 90 locations have already joined the program and he hopes the network can reach 400 locations by the end of 2026.
“We want operations who will be great ambassadors for the Hendrickson brand,” he says.
Hendrickson's tire pressure monitoring and tire inflation systems are among the company's many data-generating products.Hendrickson
From sensor to solutions: Hendrickson’s data journey
Hendrickson, like many companies across trucking and the larger economy, also is deep in its data journey. Lancy says as Hendrickson’s technology offerings have advanced, so too has its ability to acquire data about its systems for its users.
He says Hendrickson understands the value data can provide customers, but also recognizes the data overload many fleets and owner-operators feel these days due to the sheer amount of data available from sensors on their equipment. Lancy says Hendrickson is focused on making sure the raw data it provides customers is understandable and actionable.
“We want to give them data so they see what’s going on,” he says.
Preparing for the inevitable production upturn
Finally, Hendrickson also remains focused on its OEM partnerships and production capabilities.
The company isn’t anticipating a booming year for new truck and trailer production in 2026, McCleave says, but it has spent a lot of time and resources investing in its production efficiencies in 2025 to best position it for the next market turnaround.
A new foundry for the company’s Motor Wheel brand recently opened in Chattanooga, Tenn., and improvements have been made or are scheduled at other Hendrickson locations.
“We are going to continue to invest. Now is the time to invest, and we won’t shorten up our capital next year,” McCleave says. “We are working to have capacity so when build [rates] come back we have capacity available to support that.”
