ABOUT USKranz - Since 1863
The nation was still embroiled in the Civil War when the Kranzes set up a blacksmith shop in St. Louis in 1863. This was no ordinary blacksmith shop, because the smiths had a special knack for forging superior horse shoes, and they approached every job with skillful craftsmanship and dedication to quality. Their reputation as the very best blacksmiths around grew quickly. (Click on each photo for a larger, expanded view.)
This was the beginning of a tradition of service that has developed over more than a century and has kept pace with the technological changes which have transformed our society over the years.
From blacksmithing, the Kranz family moved on to carriage- making, applying its old skills and perfecting new ones to build carriages that had no equal in the area. With the advent of automotive power, it was a natural transition for the Kranzes to turn to building fine truck bodies. Early on in the automotive age, companies like Kranz in many cities and towns designed and built truck bodies in small quantities to meet the special need of local truck users. Eventually large manufacturers began to mass produce standardized models of many truck body types and to sell and market them regionally andnationally.
It was a logical step for Kranz to become a distributor of these mass produced bodies, and today Kranz Automotive Body Company represents a number of America's leading manufacturers of truck equipment. Kranz frequently adds an extra dimension to standard equipment by customizing it to the requirements of its customers. Kranz of St Louis is a ship-thru Facility for Dodge trucks and the full size "G" van from GMC/Chevy.In 1998 Kranz of Springfield was opened to better serve our mid-state customers. Expansion continued in the summer of 2003 with the opening of Kranz of K.C. Kranz of K.C. is a ship-thru facility for the new Ford F150 Pick-Up Trucks.
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