Generations of Aero

08 JULY 2024

At Aero Industries, we take pride in our American-engineered tarp systems and accessories for the heavy-duty trucking industry. We’ve been creating products for open top trailers, flatbeds, dump trucks, and the refuse and agriculture industries since 1944. Yet the Aero story is about much more than products. It’s about the great people who stand behind every tarp we create.

As a third-generation family-owned business, we hold more than 100 patents. Some say we created the modern tarping industry. We like to say innovation is part of our DNA. We’re proud of our firsts, including early versions of rubberized tarps, side-to-side roll tarps and game-changing systems like the Conestoga.

We’ve earned our reputation as a transportation-industry innovator — and champion — by fighting for legislation to keep drivers safe and loads protected. To us, customers are like family. So are employees. We’ve stood by that commitment for more than 80 years.

To honor everyone we work with, and to celebrate eight decades of success, we’re sharing a series of stories that show how Aero became the resilient company it is today. Get to know our founder, Paul Tuerk, a German immigrant with a bold approach to entrepreneurship. Meet Paul’s creative son and successor, Robert. And hear from Robert’s son, current Executive Chairman Jim Tuerk. Discover the intriguing employees who’ve worked with the Tuerk family through the years, from the mavens of the Specialty Sewing Department to the bright and hardworking crew that migrated to Indianapolis on the Hillbilly Highway.

The Aero story is a tale of creativity under pressure, design breakthroughs and resilient leadership when the going gets tough. When we say, “Whatever your need, Aero has you covered,” we really mean it.

We look out for America’s road warriors with products engineered to last. And we honor our dedicated employees with a community-focused culture, a commitment to family values and space to learn and grow. Thank you for keeping us on the road all these years. We intend to stay a while.

(Image: Aero Industries’ founding father, Paul Tuerk, and his family)

An innovator and a salesman, Robert Tuerk displays a wall of inventory

Aero’s first employee, Margaret Rice

The innovative Conestoga was the industry’s first rolling tarp system

Employees sometimes gathered together for meals like this one in 1960.
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