Koenig Body Front Building in 2007 ( 1 of 5 bldgs on property)
In 1932, Robert L. Shoecraft organized Moline Body Co. Moline Manufacturing Co. was a victim of the Depression, in which Shoecraft had been the Sales Manager. So he bought the company, changed the name and started liquidating the inventory. The new business became a truck and equipment enterprise. Then they became a manufacturer of truck bodies when they tool over Davenport Body and Equipment Co. In 1937, Gene Koenig started working for Shoecraft.
Then in 1950, Moline Body became incorporated and Gene was sent to Peoria to find a location to branch out the business. That is when Gene moved to Peoria and managed this location. The original Peoria Store was set up with an office, shop and warehouse. It wasn't long until Gene had his son Phillip working there. Phillip loved what he did for a living. However, in the early 1980's the business hit hard times, and in 1981 Phil Koenig decided to buy the Peoria Store. That is when he renamed the company to Koenig Body and Equipment, Inc. In 1986, Phil also decided to buy the main body shop in Moline. At that time a young gentleman named Phil Force was working for Mr. Koenig, and he had asked Phil if he would move to Moline and run that branch store. Phil agreed and has been there since.
With the Moline store taken care of, Phil turned his attention to the Peoria Store. In keeping with tradition, Phil had already brought his two boys into the business. Mark and Mike may have only been in grade school then but they were learning the truck equipment business. Under Phil's guidance Mark and Mike quickly picked up the ins and outs of the trucking industry.
The sad day came, in 2002, when Phil Koenig passed away. He had left his business to the kids. However, Mike found himself wanting to drive the trucks and work outside, so he started Koenig Trucking and Excavating Co. Meanwhile, Mark grabbed the bull by the horns and is running Koenig Body and Equipment to this day. It was also about this time that the Moline branch was in dire need of more space. So Mark and Phili found a bigger building in Rock Island, which is where they are now.
Since Mark Koenig took over, he has increased our Sales Territories, took on more product lines, hired more people, expanded the facility and still treat his employees more than fair. Just a couple of years ago he installed air conditioning in the shop. And keeping with traditions, Mark has brought his two sons in from time to time to learn the business.
Koenig Body and Equipment has over 25 years of experience in building trucks that push, pull, plow, haul or carry. We install service bodies, dump bodies, both highway and personal plows, spreaders, lift gates, tarper systems, central systems and pre-wet systems. We also sell all the parts, accessories and options to go along with them. No job is to small or to big for us to handle. From installing a light weight plow on a 1/2 ton pick-up to installing a dump body. We are dedicated to customer service and strive to exceed our customers expectations. We have an advanced cylinder repair shop with extremely qualified technicians. In 1999, Koenig Body bought Johnson Hydraulic Cylinder machines and hired one of their best employees, Larry Fauber.
In surfing the internet, I came across an article on Moline Body Co. The author stated that "Koenig Body and Equipment, Inc. is now the Premier Truck Equipment specialists in Central Illinois." For that we say "Thank you". However, only one thing matters to Koenig Body, Mark Koenig(whom has made this company what it is today) and it's employees and that is Customer Satisfaction. We believe that if you make the customer happy, you have done the job right.
While we have been a member on the NTEA for quite some time now. In 2009, we decided become a MVP member.
