In 1946 the company known as Drake Equipment Company was founded by a man named Robert B. Drake. The initial focus of the company was to be a distributor of a line of hoist and truck bodies in the Springfield, Illinois area and surrounding communities. In the year 1948 William S. Scruggs joined his son-in-law and started a similar company in the Decatur, Illinois area known as Scruggs-Drake. Thereafter, Drake Equipment Company was known as Drake-Scruggs Equipment Company in Springfield, Illinois and Scruggs-Drake Equipment Company in Decatur, Illinois. The young companies provided various lines of equipment including lawn mowers, to provide quality products and service to meet the needs of the growing and changing markets.