Fred Gerling, Father of the Expando Chassis, Dies at 79

10/12/2024

Fred Gerling, Father of the Expando Chassis, Dies at 79 His commitment to next-generation design helped transform truck operations By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Tuesday, December 10, 2024 - 11:11 am

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Fred Gerling, creator of the expanding production truck and founder/president of Gerling & Associates, died Dec. 7 at the age of 79. A memorial service will be held on Jan. 25, 2025, at 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Snyder Funeral Homes, Lasater Chapel, 11337 Upper Gilchrest Rd., Mount Vernon, OH 43050.

Fred Gerling, here at the 2016 NAB Show, was a constant presence in the outdoor exhibit area for decades.

Nearly every production-truck company in the U.S. tapped into Gerling's team as his commitment to innovation and his excellent trailers and chassis transformed the business and allowed engineers and staff at the nation's leading vendors to focus on the technical equipment and infrastructure. The chassis was designed to be light and flexible, allowing truly innovative workspaces and next-generation technology to be deployed with ease by such companies as NEP, Game Creek Video, and Mobile TV Group.

We have been very blessed, Gerling told SVG in 2012. We're delivering an average two projects every week, and, when you're doing that high volume and you're working with the greatest engineers in the world, they come in with these great ideas, and they challenge you. The gift of having that quality of people affiliate with your company is priceless. They come in and say, You know, if we did this, it would be a little bit better.' It's really remarkable. We challenge each other, and that makes everyone better.

Gerling's talent for sales and entrepreneurship led him to a career in the broadcast-television-equipment industry. In the early 1970s, he worked for Jimmy Rea Electronics and, in 1988, founded Gerling & Associates in Sunbury, OH. He began with just six employees in a small, rented space, and, through his dedication and leadership, the company grew to become the leader in manufacturing television-production vehicles across North America and beyond. His wife and, eventually, three of his children grew the company into a monumental success, which included an expansive manufacturing plant where mobile facilities for television production and mobile command centers were born, assembled, and eventually hit the road.

Gerling took immense pride in building an independently owned, family-run business, a legacy that continues under the leadership of CEO Jennifer Fenton; Director, Sales, Shannon Gerling; and new Treasurer BJ Gerling. For over a decade, his daughters have been at the helm of Gerling & Associates, ensuring that Fred Gerling's vision endures.

Born in 1945, Gerling grew up as one of four children on Buckeye Lake, OH. He developed a love for water activities early on, excelling at water skiing and ice skating during his youth. Married in 1974, Gerling and his wife, BJ, spent many years farming their land and shared a passion for travel and adventure, particularly annual family skiing trips to the Rocky Mountains. He took up flying in the 1970s and, an experienced pilot, continued to fly complex aircraft until the age of 77.

He is survived by his wife, BJ; children Christopher DeVol, Shannon Gerling, Jennifer (Dusty) Fenton, Molly Krownapple, and John Paul Gerling; and nine grandchildren.

Pat Sullivan, Game Creek Video, founder and president, says Gerling was an important, and unique, figure in the sports broadcasting industry.

He perfected the expanding side production trailer which has made the larger productions that we do possible, says Sullivan. Gerling and Associates built 93 trailers for Game Creek Video and each one has been an improvement on the prior unit. Unlike many manufacturers, G&A improved their workmanship instead of cutting corners to shave costs. In large measure, that has been the result of Fred's willingness to listen and BJ, Jennifer, and Shannon's management of the company over the last few years. We are grateful for that and we are confident that it will continue. We will miss Fred but every time a new Gerling and Associates mobile unit arrives at Game Creek I will smile and remember the good times we had together.

Condolence messages can be sent to [email protected].

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Fred Gerling, Father of the Expando Chassis, Dies at 79

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