About Us

Co-founders L.G.(Lawrence) and Richard Unverferth often looked for ways to make their own and their Kalida, Ohio neighbors' farming operations more efficient. In this picture from 1938, Richard (seated) is working on one of their first innovations to mechanize the thinning of sugar beets. The beet blocker was one of their first forays into farm equipment before the official founding of the company.

Shortly after graduating high school, Richard enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in submarine service until 1947. After the end of World War II, jobs were scarce with the return of all the servicemen. Richard and his father, L.G., armed with their passion for farming and helping other farmers, began making tractor step plates and control levers in the family barn. The two, along with other family members, would make as many tools as they had materials, and load them into the trunk of Richard's car. Richard would then traverse across the countryside promoting and selling these goods. On his return trip to Kalida, he purchased raw materials to manufacture the next batch with the proceeds from the sales. Thus, in 1948, the foundation for Unverferth Manufacturing was firmly laid.

In the early 1950s, the resourceful Unverferth duo invented and began producing dual wheels for farm tractors. A small machine shop was built and the business was now firmly established. The network of dealers grew, as did sales.

In 1964, after using several rented spaces for warehousing and production, building commenced at the present Kalida, Ohio site to combine offices, production and warehouse space. The company continued to focus on dual and custom-built agricultural wheels throughout the decade, and added running gear in the mid 60s. The passion of the Unverferth family for developing and introducing new products to the marketplace led to the addition of the Hammer and Gump wheel line in 1965.

The Unverferth product line expanded in the 1970s to include Unverferth McCurdy gravity boxes, farm wagons, grain and bale elevators and refuse containers.

The tillage lineup of products began in 1979 with the acquisition of Grover Manufacturing. This product lineup featured the popular Harogator spike-tooth tillage tool. Products such as the Culti-Planter field cultivator and Unverferth Grain Carts all premiered during the 80s. Wheels have always been at the heart of the company and the 1980s were no exception with the introduction of high-clearance narrow wheel conversions.

1984 brought the introduction of the Rolling Harrow soil conditioner to the Unverferth lineup of branded products. This innovative product quickly gained a reputation as being the most reliable and effective soil conditioner on the market for one-pass seedbed preparation and is still a prominent product today.

In 1988, Unverferth expanded manufacturing westward with the purchase of Brent Industries which has become a major facility producing Unverferth branded products amongst others.

In 1993, the Unverferth family acquired the Killbros Company from the Kill family in Delphos, OH. This facility today produces a wide range of products, including the innovative Unverferth Seed Runner and Seed Pro seed tenders.

Reduced tillage practices gained ground during the 1990s and Unverferth led these new practices with innovative Zone-Tillage products, Zone-Builder subsoiler, drill fills for no-till drills, and a no-till version of its popular Culti-Planter, just to name a few.

As the new millennia began, bulk seed was becoming more popular. Seeing a need to gently handle this bulk seed more safely and efficiently, the Seed Runner bulk tender was born and introduced in 2006. Its revolutionary self-filling conveyor design has earned several patents through the years. 2010 Seed Pro bulk box tender.

In 2010, Unverferth introduced the Xtreme front-folding single-auger grain cart with a patented u-joint auger that maximized auger side-reach and height in a front-folding single-auger design. The Equalizer tracked undercarriage was also introduced that pivots front to rear and side to side for maximizing ground contact and flotation across the field.

The middle part of the decade brought the debut of the NutriMax liquid fertilizer applicator, which was built specifically for large farming operations that wanted to take control of the fertilizer application programs. The NutriMax featured a heavy-duty coulter design and a narrow transport width for easy movement from field-to-field.

With the success of the NutriMax applicator in the marketplace, Unverferth expanded further into fertilizer equipment with the purchase of Pro-Force dry spreaders and introduction of the Renegade NH3 applicator. Building upon our strong tillage heritage and experience, the Raptor strip-till tool debuted in 2021.

Unverferth Manufacturing Co., Inc. celebrates 75 years of business. Continuing our committment to maintaining a family-owned atmosphere and promoting innovative agricultural equipment to help our farming neighbors be more efficient.

75th Anniversary Website

From the innovative beginnings in a small farm shed, to the current-day, state-of-the-art production facilities, Unverferth Manufacturing is poised to continue growing. We look to the future and continue building upon our co-founders’ sound philosophy of manufacturing and marketing innovative products to help our farming “neighbors” be as efficient as possible. The Unverferth lineup of branded products focuses on serving a wide range of farming operations all over the world and includes products such as grain carts and wagons, fertilizer application equipment, header transports, seed tenders, tillage equipment and agricultural dual and replacement wheel systems