CURT
Custom-fit receiver hitches made in Eau Claire, Wisconsin — raw steel in, finished hitch out
🇺🇸 American Manufacturing
Our assessment
Company details
Where CURT products are made
Engineering, fabrication, welding, finishing, testing and shipping of custom receiver hitches all happen at Eau Claire. Fabrication runs cell-based bending, cutting and laser work; welding is a mix of manual and robotic.
The signature co-cured finish is a process, not a coat of paint: mechanical and chemical descale, full submersion in liquid A-coat, then a black powder-coat topcoat, cured together. A hitch travels 2,300 feet over four hours to get through it.
Every hitch design is tested to SAE J684 at a dedicated engineering facility. On a part whose failure mode is a trailer separating at highway speed, in-house destructive testing is the substance of the product.
The Eau Claire, Wisconsin headquarters, the 1993 founding date and the Lippert Components ownership are all published by CURT on its own site. The origin language is quoted precisely because its scope matters: CURT’s own wording is “all CURT custom receiver hitches are made in the USA,” and every instance on its site carries the custom-fit qualifier. Its towing electrical, brake controls, bike racks, cargo carriers, locks and axle components carry no US-origin claim, so the emblem reads American Manufacturing. The other locations CURT lists — White GA, Lancaster TX, South Bend IN, North Las Vegas NV, Brandon SD, Edmonton AB and Brampton ON — are distribution warehouses, not plants.
The story
CURT started in 1993 as a trailer ball distribution business run out of the back of a car. It began manufacturing shortly afterwards, and in 1999 built a 75,000 square foot facility in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to serve as its headquarters.
The product that defines it is the custom-fit receiver hitch — a hitch engineered for one specific vehicle rather than a universal bracket. That approach multiplies the engineering work enormously, because every model year is a new part.
By 2002 the range had expanded into fifth wheel hitches, bike racks and cargo carriers. The company trademarked its position as The FIRST Name in Towing Products.
In 2017 CURT Group formed, gathering ARIES, LUVERNE, RETRAC and UWS alongside CURT, and in 2019 the group joined Lippert Components. The hitch manufacturing stayed in Eau Claire.
Why they matter
A trailer hitch is a structural part whose failure mode is a loaded trailer coming off a vehicle at speed. Testing every design in-house to SAE J684 is not a marketing line; it is the reason the part is trustworthy.
Custom-fit is also the harder, more domestic-friendly choice. A universal hitch can be made anywhere in volume. A hitch engineered for one vehicle in one model year needs the engineers, the fixtures and the welders in the same building as each other.
And CURT is unusually disciplined about the scope of its own claim. Every made-in-USA statement on its site carries the words “custom receiver hitches.” A company that will not let its own marketing round up is a company worth taking at its word.
Shop CURT products
Browse CURT hitches and towing products stocked on the Buy American Campaign store.
Frequently asked questions
Are CURT hitches made in the USA?
CURT states that all of its custom receiver hitches are made in the USA, at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and have been since 1993. Its towing electrical, brake controls, bike racks, cargo carriers and trailer parts carry no US-origin claim.
Where is CURT located?
CURT Manufacturing LLC, 6208 Industrial Drive, Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701. Its other US and Canadian locations are distribution warehouses rather than plants.
Who owns CURT?
CURT is a CURT Group brand, alongside ARIES, LUVERNE, RETRAC and UWS, and joined Lippert Components in 2019.
How are CURT hitches tested?
Every hitch design is tested in-house to the SAE J684 standard at a dedicated engineering facility.