Tommy Gate Celebrates 50 Years In Business

WOODBINE, IA -- Woodbine Manufacturing Co., producer of the Tommy Gate hydraulic lift, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The company is planning to celebrate the occasion in March at the NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, and at a town-wide event later this summer in its hometown Woodbine, IA.

Established in 1965 by Delbert "Bus" Brown, Tommy Gate's manufacturing facility resides on the same plot of land where it began. It has since undergone many expansions and now occupies more than 200,000 square feet and houses the company's production, administrative, engineering and customer service departments.

The first Tommy Gate units were specifically designed to mount on pickup trucks and assist Midwestern farmers with their daily tasks. Early stories recount Bus Brown loading his own pickup trailer with up to five liftgates at a time and driving off into neighboring counties only to return once they had all been sold.

In the decades that followed, the increasing popularity of vending machines, video arcade cabinets and many other applications fueled the growth of the liftgate industry and of Woodbine Mfg. Co. The evolution of work trucks and vehicle applications also necessitated additional liftgate lines to be developed.

Today, the family-owned company has more than 125 employees and produces six different liftgates lines sold by more than 900 national distributors on six continents.

"I'm very proud of Tommy Gate, all of the loyal employees, many of whom have been with us for over 20 years, the consistent customer base that we have, and the town for supporting our company and our progress," said Woodbine Mfg. Co. president Lila Brown-Blandford. "We have very simple values, but they include hard work, integrity and making sure the very best product possible is manufactured."

Photo: The 200,000-sq.ft. Tommy Gate factory in Woodbine, IA, houses the company's production, administrative, engineering and customer service departments.