{"id":15319,"date":"2025-02-17T13:33:50","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T14:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=15319"},"modified":"2025-02-17T14:57:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T14:57:09","slug":"don-wahlin-of-stoughton-trailers-inducted-into-wisconsin-manufacturing-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=15319","title":{"rendered":"Don Wahlin of Stoughton Trailers Inducted into Wisconsin Manufacturing Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.wmc.org\/press-releases\/don-wahlin-of-stoughton-trailers-inducted-into-wisconsin-manufacturing-hall-of-fame\/<\/a><\/p>\n

MADISON<\/strong> \u2013 Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) \u2013 the combined state chamber and manufacturers\u2019 association \u2013 announced on Monday the newest addition to the Wisconsin Manufacturing Hall of Fame, Don Wahlin.<\/p>\n

Don Wahlin, a Wisconsin native, purchased the remaining assets of a small, bankrupt business in 1961 and founded Stoughton Trailers. Over the course of the next four decades, Wahlin\u2019s visionary leadership, business acumen, and patient wisdom built the company into one of North America\u2019s largest trailer manufacturers. Eventually, Stoughton Trailers grew to become the largest manufacturer in its home county.<\/p>\n

Wahlin is the 80th inductee, joining an impressive list of Wisconsin industry titans including the first modern inductee, Ashley Furniture\u2019s Ron Wanek, and historical inductees such as Jerome Case, Patrick Cudahy, Kurtis Froedtert, Henry Harnischfeger, Samuel Curtis Johnson, John Kimberly, Walter Kohler, Oscar Mayer, George Mead, Frederick Miller, Charles Nash, Gustave Pabst, F.J. Sensenbrenner, Arthur O. Smith, and Reuben Trane.<\/p>\n

WMC\u2019s predecessor organization, Wisconsin Manufacturers\u2019 Association, started the then-called Industrial Hall of Fame in the 1950s \u201cto honor those individuals who made significant contributions to the state\u2019s industrial history.\u201d In 1970, for an unknown reason, the Hall of Fame was discontinued. However, in 2024, WMC, in partnership with First Business Bank, made the decision to reconstitute the program in order to showcase Wisconsin\u2019s growing manufacturing legacy and celebrate the innovators and entrepreneurs who have contributed to the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wisconsin Manufacturing Hall of Fame distinguishes and honors the legacy of the leaders who have built Wisconsin,\u201d said WMC President & CEO Kurt R. Bauer. \u201cWe are lucky to have a rich heritage of manufacturers who have impacted our economy and expertly lead companies, all while investing in their communities through philanthropy and civic engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to his industry leadership, Wahlin served as a pilot in the Air National Guard for 23 years and raised eight children with his wife, Carol. Together, they also founded The Wahlin Foundation to invest in local communities. The foundation has contributed to projects such as the Stoughton Youth Center, the VFW Memorial Park, the Evansville Aquatic Center, the Stoughton Hospital, the Stoughton Library, and much more.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon Wahlin was an obvious addition to the Hall of Fame,\u201d Bauer said. \u201cHe is a champion of industry, leadership and philanthropy, and a great servant to our country and his family. His legacy will undoubtedly endure for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply honored and humbled to be inducted into the Wisconsin Manufacturing Hall of Fame,\u201d Wahlin shared. \u201cNone of this would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our talented team of employees, and the support and continued leadership of my family. It\u2019s a true privilege to join these Wisconsin icons as an inductee.\u201d<\/p>\n

The induction ceremony<\/a><\/span> will be held the evening of Feb. 20 at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee as part of the annual Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year (MOTY) awards.<\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

The post Don Wahlin of Stoughton Trailers Inducted into Wisconsin Manufacturing Hall of Fame<\/a> appeared first on WMC Wisconsin’s Chamber <\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.wmc.org\/press-releases\/don-wahlin-of-stoughton-trailers-inducted-into-wisconsin-manufacturing-hall-of-fame\/ MADISON \u2013 Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) \u2013 the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15319"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15320,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15319\/revisions\/15320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}