Founder of Trail King Industries Passes Away

September 7, 2016 - Gordon Thomsen, founder of Trail King Industries and Thomsen Enterprises, passed away on August 28, 2016.

Gordon was born on a farm near Spencer, Iowa in 1927. The youngest of four children, he attended country schools and graduated from Spencer High School in 1946. While farming was the career choice for many of his family members and friends, he put his energy into sales, first for a car dealership in Spencer, and then continuing with sales positions at J.I. Case, Minneapolis Moline, Brady Manufacturing and Long Manufacturing Company.

After relocating to South Dakota in 1970, he became general manager at Dakota Manufacturing, and five years later, he started Western Ag-Sales. Trailers had become the company’s main product, and in 1977, due in part to a friendly banker and the Small Business Administration, the Trail King of today began to take shape.

Some of Gordon’s accomplishments included:  SBA Small Business Person of the Year in 1980 and again in 1990, SBA’s Exporter of the Year in 1994 for his work with the SD Export Council, honored as South Dakotan of the year by the USD School of Business in 1986, Community Service Award in 1998 by Mitchell Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of TTMA (Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association) and The Lifetime Achievement Award from Specialized Carriers and Rigger Association.

In addition to the industry he served for many years, he is remembered by Shirley (Borchard), and his children: Jackie Morrison (Don Lura) of Mitchell; Suzanne Thomsen of Tucson, AZ; Bill Thomsen (Julie Fliegel) of Del Mar, CA; Jerry Thomsen (Pam Thomsen) of Mitchell and Jenny Trom of Columbia, MO. He is also survived by 12 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

Learn more about the life of Gordon Thomsen.