How important are Knapheide Mfg. utility truck bodies to the success of family-owned Brinkman Plumbing Contractors, a 32-year-old business based in Quincy, Illinois?
Critical enough that owner Jim Brinkman still vividly remembers the day he took delivery of his first new one in 1992. He already owned two used Knapheide bodies at the time and couldn’t wait until he’d saved enough money to buy a new one.“I thought I was in high cotton when I got it,” says Brinkman, who established the company in 1991. “In fact, I still have pictures of that truck. It was a pretty big deal.”
Since then, Brinkman
