Farming Roots in Rural Kansas
1870-1946
The Applequist Family traces its roots back to Jonas Applequist and his wife, Lena, who left Sweden and came to the United States. For generations the family had worked as farm laborers on large estates. Due to their inability to own land, and their desire to practice their faith freely, they immigrated to the United States in 1868 and settled in Kansas in 1870.
Roy’s Great-Grandfather Jonas acquired a homestead site in a developing Swedish community near Assaria, a few miles south of Salina, Kansas. When the family arrived at Salina’s train station, they did not speak English. They had little money and all of their possessions in one large trunk. They hired a man with a wagon to drive them and their trunk to their new homestead.
It was late October and the family was in dire need of a warm shelter for the winter. While pondering their difficult situation, the family noticed smoke coming up from over a nearby hill. They went on foot to the source of the smoke and discovered a family of Swedes from their hometown in Sweden. These wonderful neighbors offered to shelter both families through the first difficult winter in their two-room dugout.
The following years were filled with ground-breaking hard work.
There was a deposit of sandstone near their property. They traded the stone from some nearby hills for wood from a sawmill, 4 miles away, on the Smoky Hill River near Assaria. This resource-trading made it possible for the family to build a small stone house with a wood roof and a new wooden barn. They also faced the daunting task of breaking sod for the first time so they could plant their crops. This was all done with a horse drawn one-bottom plow.
Quintin, Roy’s Father, was born in 1919, on the family homestead behind the wood stove. He was part of the second generation of Applequist’s to be born and raised on the homestead.
Growing up during the Great Depression wasn’t easy. Through working on the farm and in a machine shop, Quintin developed the abilities and determination that helped him to become a skilled machinist.
During World War II, Quintin lived in Wichita, Kansas, where he helped build prototype tooling for Cessna aircraft. It wasn’t long until he was drafted into the Navy. Due to this machining experience, after bootcamp he was sent to Norman, Oklahoma to receive further training as a machinist. He finished at the top of his class of several hundred sailors which allowed him to stay stateside as a part of the school’s staff for the rest of the war.
Robert Bearing Div.
The Applequist Family Enters the Manufacturing Business
1946-1976: Roberts Industries, Inc.
After World War II, Quintin and his wife, Florence, moved back to Salina, Kansas where he opened his own machine shop, Applequist Tool and Machine. He designed and built tooling for many agriculture companies such as Hesston Corp. It wasn’t long before he started to build his own products, which were first generation rotary mowers and grain augers.
Quintin Applequist
Quintin identified a need for quality grain auger tubing and invested everything he had in building an auger tube rolling mill. His design proved to be better than the competitors in the industry and his fledgling company was able to continue to grow.
In the early 50’s, one of Quintin’s ball bearing suppliers went out of business. This opened an opportunity for him to buy this business and move it to Salina, keeping the name; Roberts Manufacturing. This company was destined to grow and become his main business. It wasn’t long before Quintin needed a source of reliable cast iron housings for his ball bearings, so he opened Salina Foundry. In 1972, these three businesses were merged to create Roberts Industries Inc.
In 1976, after 30 years of business, Roberts Industries had grown to 425 employees.
In 1976, Roberts Industries was sold to Federal Mogul Corp. in Southfield, Michigan, a Fortune 500 company. In his retirement, Quintin collected antique REO cars, opened a bed and breakfast, and spent a lot of time in Colorado.
A&L Div.
Salina Foundry Div.
The Applequist Family Starts its Second Manufacturing Business
1976-2016: Great Plains Manufacturing Inc
Roy Applequist was born in 1946, as one of the first members of the baby boomer generation. Roy grew up working in his father’s business where he developed a passion for manufacturing. During his college years, Roy spent much of his free time helping his father to design a new ball-bearing manufacturing plant. After graduating from North Park University in Chicago, he returned to Kansas and joined up with his father full time.
The weekend after arriving home in Salina his father’s foundry manager quit. Roy was asked to manage the foundry. Over the next several years, Roy learned a lot about the manufacturing business and the importance of team building.
Roy Applequist
When Roberts Industries was sold in 1976, Roy decided to start his own business and be an entrepreneur like his father. Roy saw an opportunity to build improved farm equipment. He interviewed about a hundred Kansas farmers and discovered the need for a high-quality folding grain drill.
On April 1st, 1976, Roy founded Great Plains Manufacturing, in the same building his father started Roberts in 30 years prior.
In his first year, Roy built and tested his first prototype. In 1979, Roy moved the business to Assaria, and in 1980, Great Plains produced over 225 30ft folding grain drills. In late 1981, he needed more space to produce his growing product line, so he expanded production to an additional facility in Salina, Kansas.
The mid 1980s’ were difficult years in the farm economy, which led the company to develop another product line. Land Pride was founded to produce smaller implements for the landscaping and dirt-working markets.
In 1995, the corporate headquarters was moved from Assaria to a newly-built office building in Salina, KS. Great Plains continued to grow and develop new products. The company built a fleet of over 75 trucks to deliver its products and bring back raw materials. Besides selling products in all 50 states, the company also exported products worldwide. Great Plains Acceptance Corp. was created to provide financing to farmers and dealers.
By 2016, Great Plains had plants in Assaria, Kipp, Salina, Abilene, Lucas, Tipton, Ellsworth, and Enterprise. Manufacturing in these rural North-Central Kansas towns proved to be a successful strategy for Great Plains.
After 40 years in business, Great Plains had grown to 1,400 employees.
The Land Pride Division developed a successful working relationship with the Kubota Corporation to market its Land Pride products alongside Kubota’s in the US and, after working together for several years, Great Plains Manufacturing was sold to Kubota Corporation in July of 2016.
The Applequist Family Starts its Third Manufacturing Business
2018-Present: Applequist Manufacturing Inc. (AMI)
After a lifetime in manufacturing, Roy once again saw an opportunity in the small Kansas town of Smith Center. He recognized the potential of the local workforce and rural culture of the area. He knew that it would make the ideal home for a new business. Roy and his family formed Applequist Manufacturing in 2018. It has been a whirlwind of activity in the months since, as this business develops.
