Innovation, visual storytelling and expanding digital content is likely to drive Hitch-Hiker Manufacturing Inc. this year as it differentiates itself in the concessions trailer industry, its principals say.
Founded in 1969 and based in New Middletown, Ohio, Hitch-Hiker has spent more than five decades shaping the look, function and success of food concessions across North America, says vice president Holly Swartz, who owns the company with her husband, Jeff.
With 15 employees, the company specializes in custom concession trailers designed for fairs, festivals and carnivals. Hitch-Hiker’s designs help vendors serve more guests more quickly, while presenting a polished and visually compelling brand.
One of Hitch-Hiker’s most significant innovations began in 2005, when Jeff Swartz identified the potential for LED signage in concession marketing at a time when static signs dominated the midway. Hitch-Hiker invested heavily in research and development to make digital signage viable for a mobile, outdoor industry.
In 2021, Hitch-Hiker debuted its first full digital-sign concession trailer for a customer selling ICEE drinks. “Demand grew so rapidly that two additional, trailers were commissioned to keep pace,” Swartz says. Since then, digital-sign trailers have become one of Hitch-Hiker’s fastest-growing business segments.
Pictured: Hitch-Hiker Manufacturing Inc., New Middletown, has pioneered trailers for the concessions industry using digital signage.
