FARMINGTON HILLS, MI  - Dakota Bodies, Inc. (Watertown, S.D.) won The Work Truck Show 2011 Editors' Choice Award for its new Component Body. Impressed by the Component Body's flexibility and versatility, a panel of trade media editors and fleet managers attending the event named it the most innovative product introduced at the Show, which was held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, IN, March 8-10, according to the Association/

The panel chooses the Editors' Choice Award winner from products introduced through the Work Truck Show New Product Spotlight and New Product Media Guide programs. Judges selected the Component Body as the winner from a field of 90 entries. The Component Body is sold as a service body kit that upfitters can assemble in 16 different configurations to meet a customer's specific needs. Components are huck-bolted together, making them easily interchangeable. The Component Body is available in galvanneal, aluminum or stainless steel, with a pre-assembled powder-coated finish.

The Component Body has advantages for both upfitters and end-users. Because a single kit can be configured into 16 different bodies, upfitters drastically reduce their inventory costs and are able to provide a customized body to end-users within a very short time. The Editors' Choice Award judging panel was also impressed by the service and maintenance benefits of the Component Body. If a component gets damaged, it can be replaced, without the need to buy a whole new body.

"We are delighted to win the Editors' Choice Award," says Dan Dahl, sales manager for Dakota Bodies. "It's very difficult as a body manufacturer to come up with a new product that will really grab the attention and satisfy the needs of a lot of people in this industry.  We were really pleased with the large number of people who came to our Work Truck Show booth because they were very interested in the Component Body."

The Work Truck Show 2011, North America's largest work truck event, was held in conjunction with the 47th Annual NTEA Convention. Produced annually by the NTEA, the Work Truck Show showcases over 500,000 square feet of Class 1-8 vocational trucks and equipment. The event also features more than 40 educational and technical training programs. The Work Truck Show 2012 returns to the Indiana Convention Center. It will be held in conjunction with the 48th Annual NTEA Convention March 6-8, 2012, with educational sessions kicking off March 5. Online registration opens at NTEA.com in October. For more information, visit www.ntea.com or call 1-800-441-NTEA (6832).

For more information about Dakota Bodies, visit www.dakotabodies.com.