Brown Manufacturing Corporation is a Growing Multi-Generational Business

The Brown Manufacturing Corporation has been part of the Ozark economy since 1944, when Paul and Sara Brown developed and sold their mule-drawn log skidding device. The company has been passed down through the generations and continues to expand, offering new products.

“We have expanded the factory about 20 times over the years, adding different bays and links each time,” says Richard (Ricky) Brown, President of Brown Manufacturing Corporation.

The company was founded with $3,000 and has become a much larger operation that distributes equipment across the country. Read more about the local impact of the Brown Manufacturing company and the products it sells to utility companies, land owners, and other rural businesses. 

Brown Manufacturing Serves the Rural Lifestyle Market

While other companies produce equipment for large-scale agricultural operations, Brown Manufacturing supports people who enjoy rural living but need machines to maintain the land. Someone with 10 to 20 acres needs to keep the field in good condition, prevent trees from overgrowing, and handle other maintenance tasks. They don’t need large, expensive equipment, but they need more than standard lawnmowers and chainsaws.

Brown Manufacturing also sells equipment to utility companies and electric cooperatives. Their tools make it easy to trim trees along roads and away from power lines, preventing outages. 

Brown Manufacturing equipment can be used by land management departments to create fire breaks.  

While Brown Manufacturing sells to customers across the American South and distributes products nationwide, it also supports local companies in Dale County. It created a self-propelling paint machine for Ozark-Striping, another multi-generational business in the community. 

The Company Trains Employees In-House

Brown Manufacturing is currently hiring and is comfortable bringing in entry-level workers. New employees usually spend a week training before moving to the floor. This means that Dale County residents can grow their skills and launch careers in manufacturing by starting out with the Brown family. 

“We train employees for what we want them to do, so they don’t need any specific skills when they start out,” says Brown.  

That said, candidates with welding experience are welcome. The hiring department looks for people who have completed the Welding Technology  program at Wallace Community College or who have participated in welding CTE programs in the local school district. If someone applies to Brown Manufacturing with welding experience, the company will test the employee to assess their skills and determine whether any additional training is needed. 

Brown is Preparing the Next Generation to Lead

Ricky Brown is the current owner of Brown Manufacturing and has led the company for 49 years. He plans to hand the company over to his two daughters upon his retirement. One daughter has worked with the company for 20 years, and the other for 10. Both attended college and have the skills needed to lead the business into the future.  

The company has grown a lot since it was founded 82 years ago. There are now 40 employees at Brown Manufacturing, with plans to add more. Every few years, the business expands to create new products or improve its processes to manufacture equipment more efficiently.

The next big expansion will be adding 18,000 square feet to the facility, allowing the company to reconfigure its fabrication machinery for greater efficiency. This project is still a few years out. 

Discover Other Businesses in Dale County 

Manufacturing is a major industry in Dale County, with more businesses expanding to the area and hiring from the local labor force. Other growing industries include aviation, distribution, and wood products.

Discover why companies continue to choose Ozark-Dale County and stay here for years – even decades. Contact the Ozark-Dale Economic Development Corporation (EDC) today and let’s talk about this community. We can’t wait to see your business here.