Fontaine Fifth Wheel – A Marmon | Berkshire Hathaway

Fontaine Fifth Wheel is the world’s largest dedicated fifth wheel manufacturer and innovator of the only self-adjusting fifth wheel lock in the industry: the Fontaine No-Slack®. With ISO/TS 16949:2009 certified manufacturing facilities worldwide, the company divides its global organization into three operating groups: North America, South America and Europe. Fontaine Fifth Wheel North America is based in Jasper, Alabama. In addition to corporate headquarters, the Jasper campus includes the largest research and development facility in the world focused exclusively on fifth wheel coupling technology. Here, engineers refine existing product lines while imagining, designing and prototyping the fifth wheels of the future. The solutions that we offer are developed with an absolute focus on the customer and are tailored to meet the specific requirements of a wide range of standard through severe service applications. The stationary, sliding and blocked fifth wheels that we deliver feature advanced No-Slack® automatic slack adjustment. This is important for our customers because one of the main causes of fifth wheel wear is slack between the kingpin and the lock. This slack transmits shock waves throughout the chassis as the vehicle travels the highways under load. This, in turn, causes components to wear out and fail prematurely; and the constant pounding is annoying and uncomfortable for drivers. Fontaine No-Slack® technology solves this problem by adjusting fifth wheel slack automatically to achieve a snug, secure connection that accommodates for wear. Customers benefit from this advanced technology that extends product life while reducing maintenance to give fleet managers a lower operating cost per mile and drivers a smoother, more comfortable ride.