LANDOLL CORPORATION  HISTORY

         Don Landoll, his partner and one hired man opened Quick Service Welding Company  on  December 16, 1963.   The business began as a typical welding, radiator repair, and black-smith shop.  However, Don said, "From the beginning, we had the idea we wanted to design and manufacture things of our own."

In the summer of 1967, Don's partner returned to work for the Railroad and  Don  became the sole owner of the Quick Service Welding Company.  Shortly thereafter (1968), Don designed his first branded products, a slip-in livestock rack for pickup trucks and a chisel plow for use by local farmers. 

These products were good, but they were very seasonal.  There are certain business principles that Don has always believed in, one of those being the benefit of diversification.  The other is the importance of generating an opportunity by solving someone else's problem.  These principles have served Landoll well.   The company was diversified with the addition of more farm equipment and equipment trailers, in 1969.

In 1970, an innovative traveling axle ground-loading trailer was designed.  Landoll was granted numerous patents for this new design.   This ingenious trailer is the backbone of the current Landoll Corporation trailer line.

To produce the new trailer and tillage lines in the mid 70's, a WWII radio shop was renovated to accommodate the growing business.  Within the same complex as the Radio shop the Company remodeled what is today the Sales Office at 1700 May Street.  In 1975 the Company was incorporated and changed the name to Landoll Corporation.

By the early 1980's the Corporation's involvement in the towing industry dramatically increased. Towing and recovery companies had become primary customers for the Model 317 trailer and "Centerfold" car carrier.

To accommodate the company.s growth  in  1982, Landoll Corporation built a 94,000 square foot building (Shop 10).  In 1983, Landoll Corporation established an agreement with FMC Corporation to manufacture and assemble aircraft deicers.   By 1984, Landoll Corporation had successfully bid and received a contract to build 391 deicers for the United States military.  This project was so successful that the Landoll Corporation was recognized by the Small Business Association (SBA) as the National Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year in 1986.  This award recognizes integrity, reliability, initiative and capability, and is  only bestowed on one business in our nation annually.

In 1985 the company added 40,000 square feet to Shop 10 designated as  the "Deicer Line", and in 1986 the 28,000 square foot Machine Shop was added. Today Shop 10 has 162,000 square feet under roof.

Landoll Corporation continues to diversify.  The Company  manufactured special tank transport trailers for the  US Army to support our troops in Desert Storm.  Landoll accepted an order on December 22, 1990 and shipped 22 trailers by January 6, 1991.  Landoll began manufacturing heavy duty wreckers for the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) military project in 1992.  The company  began building specialty warehouse forklifts, under the Bendi and Pivot Mast trade names in 1994.  Landoll  Corporation received the Pro Patria award in 1996, for support of the National  Guard and Reserve.

In 1994 Landoll Corporation initiated a major expansion of 110,000 square feet (Shop 20).  In addition, a Powder Coating paint system  was designed along with other  major capital equipment purchases.  This expansion gave Landoll Corporation 350,000 square feet of manufacturing under roof on 22 acres, along with state-of-the- art equipment.

Landoll Corporation "kicked off" 1996 with the formal launch of a Total Quality Initiative (TQM) to continually improve products, services and processes.  In 1998 a milestone achievement was reached when Landoll was awarded ISO 9001 Quality System Certification.   As a result of this achievement, the Department of Defense Contract Management Command (DCMC) presented Landoll Corporation with the government's Quality System Qualification Certificate. 

Also in 1998, Don Landoll was recognized as the mid-western recipient of the prestigious Ernst & Young  Master Entrepreneur of The Year Award.

In July of 1999, after several months of design engineering, Landoll Corporation unveiled an innovative series of Hydraulic Traveling Tail Trailers equipped with many .value added. features.  The immediate customer response and potential overall impact on the market has made this series of trailers the most successful product introduction in company history.

Likewise, October 1999 marked the Material Handling Product Department.s introduction of six new Bendi models to the forklift line.     Once again customer acceptance and dealer enthusiasm soared. 

In May of 2000, as the agricultural economic depression continued Landoll Corporation seized the opportunity to enter an agreement with AGCO Corporation of Duluth GA to produce and market their tillage implements.  Through the agreement Landoll was also afforded the market exposure of AGCO.s vast dealer network.

In 2001, Landoll Corporation won the Governor's Exporter of the Year Award from the state of Kansas.  This award is presented to a Kansas Company that has demonstrated exceptional marketing prowess outside of the United States.

In April of 2003,  Landoll acquired the Drexel Forklift product line, and is now manufacturing the highly reputable SwingMast line of  trucks.

From the mere beginning of a three-man shop, to today's 400 plus employee base servicing customers world wide with diverse products, Landoll Corporation's growth has been steady and strong.