4 SERVICE TRUCK Pulse January 2026 5 SERVICE TRUCK Pulse January 2026 ROLLING WITH THE PROS Get Famous... If you’ve ever wondered how to achieve your 15 minutes of fame without having to create a video about your cat, or speed-eating 15lbs of chocolate nachos with a side-order of diabetes, Service Truck Pulse can help. The editor's been there. While his cat isn’t photogenic, and he could only manage to swallow 14lbs of chocolate goodness before falling into his type 2 diabetic nod, your editor wants a safer fame game for you. Via email, send us a photo of your work truck and crew/you at work. Make sure the photo is yours (copyright purposes), and include a note with your name, a sentence of what we are looking and where, and maybe some info about your vehicle., Send the photo and note to the editor at editor@servicetruckmagazine.com. PULSE ANDREW JOSEPH, EDITOR What’s in a name? For some companies, it’s the simplest representation of what they do. For example, LEGO is derived from the Danish “leg godt,” which means “play well.” Years later, they also discovered that in Latin it means “I put together”—a lucky coincidence. Summit Truck Bodies is headquartered in Wathena, Kansas, but owes its roots to the Colorado area. The company designs and manufactures custom service and lube truck solutions—including premium steel bodies, cranes, and integrated accessories—built to order for demanding industries like construction, mining, agriculture, oil and gas, and utilities. For Summit Truck Bodies, no luck was involved in naming the company—it was more about tying in with a specific goal and a location. “We chose ‘Summit’ because it ties our Colorado roots to our goal: reach the highest level of quality every time,” explained Kris Eidsness, the owner who guides the overall operations of KGE Industries, which includes Summit Truck Bodies, Summit Truck Equipment, and Yellow Frog Graphics under the broader umbrella of the Transwest family of companies. “With Transwest headquartered in the Denver area, the Summit name nods to the Rockies and signals the company’s standard: every service body, crane, and lube truck is designed to hit a higher mark in performance, durability, and craftsmanship,” he continued. “It’s also a unifying brand for manufacturing and sales—two divisions operating as one seamless experience.” If you ask Eidsness why Summit exists, he won’t tell you a story about chasing trends or filling a market niche. Rather, he’ll talk about customers—technicians and field service pros who couldn’t find bodies and cranes built the way they actually work. Summit Truck Equipment came first, established in the early 2000s to support Transwest customers with specialized service and lube truck solutions. As demand grew, it became clear that Transwest needed its own manufacturing operation to deliver the level of quality and customization customers were asking for. In 2003, Summit Truck Bodies was established in Wathena, marking the start of a dedicated manufacturing division engineered to design and produce premium service truck bodies, cranes, and lube equipment. “We decided to build the bodies ourselves, because our customers needed stronger, safer equipment tailored to real jobs—not catalog compromises,” related Eidsness. Bodies, Equipment, and Support Under One Roof According to Eidsness, Summit Truck Bodies and Summit Truck Equipment function like the left and right hands of the same craftsman. The manufacturing arm designs, engineers, and builds every body, crane, and drawer system; it also operates a factory direct parts sales and service department for components and technical support. The equipment division works directly with customers and collaborates with design engineering to deliver complete service and lube truck solutions dialed to real world demands. “We’re factory direct—no dealers or distributors—because we want customers talking to the same people who design and build their equipment,” He pointed out that it’s that straight line between operator feedback and engineering decisions that shapes everything: layouts, controls, safety features, and the small details that make a truck feel like a purpose built tool rather than a generic platform. Summit’s operation today includes approximately 150 full time team members consisting of a blend of skilled trades and technical professionals such as welders, fabricators, electricians, painters, and assemblers. In offices and labs, you’ll find design and manufacturing engineers, software engineers, and product development specialists. Sales, marketing, customer service, and administrative teams knit it all into a smooth customer experience. “We design everything with the production process and field use in mind. Knowing how a component is fabricated and serviced helps us make it more reliable and easier to maintain,” related Christian Glasscock, the company’s Engineering Design Manager. Innovation on a Purpose Built Path From those first years supporting Transwest customers, Summit has evolved into a nationally recognized provider of custom service and lube truck solutions. The company expanded its product lines, developed its A chat with Summit Truck Bodies The one-stop shop from concept to delivery. Photo courtesy of Summit Truck Bodies The new Summit Truck Bodies facility in Wathena, Kansas.
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