Stellar Industries, Inc., located in Garner, Iowa, was established in 1990 as the first US corporation to design and manufacture a domestic hydraulic hooklift hoist. Since its inception, Stellar has created over 40 different hooklift models featuring single-pivot, double-pivot and sliding jib designs.
In 1993, Stellar acquired a local company that designed and manufactured custom tire service trucks used by commercial, agricultural and OTR tire dealers. Today Stellar offers a countless number of tire service truck combinations that include over 8 different models of tire service cranes ranging in capacities up to 28,000 pounds, a variety of accompanying tire manipulators, and a growing list of service bodies to meet any tire service need.
1999 was the year the Stellar telescopic crane line entered the market with its industry first hexagonal shaped boom design, 20-feet of all hydraulic reach, radio remote control as a standard feature, and a standard planetary winch with line speeds up to 60 ft/min. Today the full crane line is available in models that range in capacities up to 14,000 pounds and 30-feet of reach. Stellar continues to improve and expand its product offerings, such as the addition of the EC Series and TC Series lines, and the Stellar® CDT™ and the Stellar® CDTplus™ crane control technology that offers unique two-way communication and real-time load information with the operator. In addition, Stellar manufactures a complete line of TMAX™ Series service bodies to pair up with the crane line.
In 2002, American Eagle Accessories Group was created after the acquisition of a line of air compressors. American Eagle has since developed into a leading manufacturer of truck-mounted air compressor and drawer systems. American Eagle heavy-duty steel and aluminum drawer systems feature 500-pound capacity ball-bearing slides that carries a lifetime warranty. These can be mounted in a service truck or used as a stand-alone tool chest in the shop. The Aluminum Series also offers a medium-duty drawer system that has many of the same features, but is lighter weight and intended for less strenuous applications.
In March 2008 Stellar acquired the K-PAC solid waste handling equipment product line of Krause Corporation. The acquisition included hooklifts, cable hoists, container carriers and an automatic tarping system. The addition of these products fit well with our current Stellar brand of hooklifts and has opened many opportunities for Stellar in the waste, recycling and demolition markets.
The early months of 2011 brought on a new venture for Stellar. It purchased a vacant facility in the Mason City area and opened the first Stellar service and retail center, Stellar Truck & Trailer. This location serves as a place for customers to come for service and maintenance work on their equipment, as well as an outlet for North Iowa businesses to purchase new truck equipment and accessories as well as get repairs done on existing products.
In 2011 Stellar also purchased the assets of Kiefer Built in Kanawha, IA. Kiefer Built was a manufacturer of trailers best known for their horse and livestock trailer lines and they also had a line of flatbed and utility trailers. Stellar operated under Kiefer Mfg for several years before selling all but the utility trailer line to an entrepreneur in Sneedsville, TN. Today, the Kanawha facility is operating as Stellar- Kanawha providing much needed manufacturing capacity for Stellar as well as continuing to manufacture utility construction trailers under the American Eagle brand.
In 2013, Stellar Industries, Inc. branched out from the Stellar brand of products by purchasing Valley Industries, manufacturer of lube skids and fuel trailers under the LubeMate® and FuelMate® product lines. The manufacturing facility is located in Hastings, NE. It now operates as Stellar-Hastings. The LubeMate® and FuelMate® products are sold under the American Eagle
Accessories Group.
Stellar Industries is proud to be headquartered in the Heartland where it has designed and manufactured its products for over 25 years. Through the use of a continually growing product line and an expanding distributor network, its products have gained an international presence and have become the number one choice in many of the markets it serves. Stellar is also very proud to be an employee owned ESOP company that employs hard-working, dedicated people from the North Iowa area as well as Nebraska.