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The History of Great Dane Power Equipment
starts with Mr. Dane Scag in 1996. The ownership changed to Deere & Company in December of 2000. In 2005, ownership was transferred to Auburn Consolidated Industries (ACI) and production of the Great Dane products was transferred to the ACI facility in Auburn, NE.
Auburn Consolidated Industries, Inc. first opened its doors 80 years ago in Auburn, Nebraska, under the name Auburn Machine Works, Inc. Founded as a blacksmith and machinery repair business, Auburn Machine Works
achieved its first great success in 1948 with the invention of what is believed to be the first continuous chain type trenching machine.
The construction of a 30,000-sq. ft. manufacturing facility soon followed for designing and producing trenching equipment for companies such as Ford, International Harvester, John Deere and Massey Ferguson. By 1956,
the company employed 40 full-time workers.
General Manager John Skaggs purchased the company’s assets in 1976, changing the name to what it is today—Auburn Consolidated Industries, Inc. That same year, Skaggs formed a partnership with Kubota
Corporation, and when Skaggs passed away in September 1998, he left ownership as a joint venture between the Skaggs family and Kubota. In 2004, the Skaggs family purchased the Kubota shares and now owns 100 percent
of the company.
In December of 1999, Philip Kirwan-Hamilton took the helm as President of ACI, bringing 36 years of international business experience to the company. A native of Melbourne,Australia, Phil has worked with companies
such as Ford Motor Company, International Harvester and Kubota Tractor, in the agricultural, lawn care and construction machinery arena.
Today, the company that began as a simple blacksmith shop has grown into a 150,000-sq. ft. modern fabrication and assembly factory featuring laser-cutting, robotic welding and powder paint technologies—and has
earned a number of quality awards, including Deere & Company’s top “Partner” status and New Holland’s prestigious Qualitas award. But not only does ACI excel in manufacturing, it excels
in employee satisfaction, too. With a strong commitment to workplace safety and health for their 250 employees, ACI was recently recognized by the Department of Labor for achieving 20 consecutive years of excellence
in SHARP—the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program. ACI is the first and only company to achieve such an honor.
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) since 1976 for companies such as Honda, Kubota, Case New Holland and John Deere, ACI manufactures tractor mounted implements such as rotary cutters, front, mid and rear mount finishing mowers, grass collectors, front loaders, backhoes, snow blowers
and trenchers. And, of course, the Great Dane line of commercial lawnmowers.
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