PENDER, Neb. — A Nebraska manufacturing company that began making cattle oilers more than a century ago has evolved into a diversified operation serving agriculture, the RV industry and the automotive market.
Mike Hesse, the fourth-generation owner, is helping lead the company into its next chapter while building on the decisions that allowed his family’s business to adapt through changing markets.
The company, originally known as Automatic Equipment Manufacturing, began in Pender in 1925 making cattle oilers. It continues to manufacture cattle oilers and agricultural equipment, including roller mills used in cattle feeding operations.
The company’s biggest shift came during the farm crisis of the 1980s, when Hesse’s father diversified the business by acquiring Blue Ox, a small California company that manufactured RV towing equipment. The four-person operation has since grown into a major part of the business, producing tow bars, base plates, braking systems, weight distribution hitches and other towing products.
Hesse said diversification allowed the family business to move beyond relying on a single industry, while the company’s continued focus on improvement has helped it compete in changing markets.
When Hesse returned to the family business about a decade ago, he said one of the most common explanations he heard for how things were done was, “This is how we’ve always done it.”
That mindset has changed.
“We now look at things from, you know, we want to make it the best,” Hesse said. “If something isn’t necessarily working or if it works, fine, but you can do something better, you’re going to do it better.”
That approach has led to continued investment in the Pender operation. The company recently completed a $14 million plant expansion that doubled its manufacturing footprint from 125,000 to 250,000 square feet. The facility also includes automated equipment and an e-coating and powder-coating paint line.
Hesse said the company has made a deliberate decision to keep its manufacturing operations in Pender rather than relocate to a larger manufacturing center.
The company employs about 130 to 140 people system-wide, with the majority based in the Pender area. Hesse said the rural workforce has been an important advantage for the business, pointing to employees who have stayed with the company for decades.
That investment in people and facilities has helped the company continue growing even as one of its primary markets faces challenges.
Hesse said the RV industry’s retail sales are roughly half of what they were in 2021. Instead of relying on an industry-wide recovery for growth, the company has focused on gaining market share and developing new products.
He said the company has grown its share of the weight distribution hitch market substantially and expects to expand further into fifth-wheel towing products. The company has also expanded into the automotive market through aftermarket receiver hitches.
“I’m not counting on the industry for my growth,” Hesse said. “I’m counting on market share growth for our growth.”
For Hesse, adapting doesn’t mean abandoning the principles that have guided the family business. He said the company continues to operate around three pillars: building quality products, providing unrelenting customer support and always doing the right thing.
Those principles are also part of why Hesse wants the company to remain family-owned.
Hesse said family ownership allows the business to make decisions based on long-term growth rather than quarterly expectations from shareholders. He hopes that approach will allow the company to remain in Nebraska for generations to come.
“My plan is for us to be here forever,” Hesse said.
After 101 years, the company’s story is less about staying the same and more about knowing when it is time to change.
