Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) — the combined state chamber and manufacturers’ association — on Monday announced Don Wahlin as the newest addition to the Wisconsin Manufacturing Hall of Fame.
Wahlin purchased the remaining assets of a small, bankrupt business in 1961 and founded Stoughton Trailers. Over the course of the next four decades, the company became one of North America’s largest trailer manufacturers.
Wahlin was named an In Business Madison Executive of the Year for Lifetime Achievement in 2021.
Wahlin and his wife, Carol, 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 more.
Wahlin is the hall of fame’s 80th inductee, joining a list of Wisconsinites including the first modern inductee, Ashley Furniture’s 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.
An induction ceremony will be held the evening of Feb. 20 at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee as part of the annual Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year awards.
