Rogue Truck Body

Turning Challenges into Trademarks

Rogue Truck Body, family-owned by Keith and Lana Hill, specializes in custom dump trucks and trailers. Not just cookie-cutter models. “Custom,” said Paul Anderson, Rogue Truck Body’s general manager. And for truck drivers who spend more time in their trucks than they do in their homes, custom-built trucks are well worth the effort.

Though Rogue Truck Body was founded in 1991 in California, Keith and Lana decided to move up to Oregon in 1996 and start major operations here. The hustle and bustle of the LA area was getting old and they decided Southern Oregon was a better place for them to raise a family. After years of success, Rogue Truck Body serves most of the West Coast. Today, Keith and Lana’s son, Cody, runs a southern-serving branch in San Diego called Rogue Enterprises, while the Kerby-based facility handles the Pacific Northwest. In the past four years, staff size has doubled, even allowing the company to ship trucks to Hawaii. And the key to this success? According to Paul, it’s the longevity of the product. “We still have trucks on the road that we built in the 90’s. Our goal is to build trucks that last.”

Though there has been an increase in the number of trucks with automatic transmissions, not much else in the welding industry has changed. At its core, welding still requires the same technique that’s been used for centuries. Plenty of the fabricators at Rogue Truck Body started off without much background in the industry, but because of the training process, they were able to learn the intricacies of the job. Rogue Truck Body even works with the local high schools to teach students about welding projects—and the benefit of a two-year degree at Rogue Community College. Of course, some employees will still be hired without that degree, but it certainly makes the ninety-day learning period more successful!

The steel that goes into Rogue Truck Body’s trucks is made in the U.S.A. That’s a fact the drivers appreciate when they’re showing off their vehicles. Rogue Truck Body also takes pride in turning challenges into trademarks. Sometimes they receive requests for designs that might not be possible—but often taking those risks pays off. A challenging truck once became one of the best-selling designs. “We like doing things we didn’t think we could do.”

At the core of the company though, the employees are the priority. Each of the seventy staff members is known by name—and treated like a member of the family. “The question is not how much money we can make, but how many families can we support?” said Paul. “I’ve never worked for a company like this, where the focus is on the employees and not the pocketbook. That’s what’s made us successful.”

Rogue Truck Body has watched fresh-out-of-school hires work hard, buy homes, get married, and have families. With a high-livable wage and the family-owned/family-run mindset, it’s quite clear that Rogue Truck Body has its priorities set. Even Christmas parties aren’t just for the employees—no, the whole family is welcome and there are gifts for the kids. As the company moves forward and works on expansion plans, one thing will stay the same: Rogue Truck Body will keep their standards high—not only for their custom-trucks but also for their company culture and the relationships that keep the business strong.

Rogue Truck Body | 8240 Finch Rd., Kerby, OR 97531 | www.roguetruckbody.com | 541-592-6972