By the late 1940s, many U.S. manufacturers began creating and building products for the post-WWII economy. Vermeer Corp., for example, opened in 1948 in Pella, IA, and started manufacturing agricultural machines.

In 1971, the company developed the first large baler, which revolutionized how hay is harvested. Vermeer implemented lean manufacturing practices in the 1990s to better compete in the global market, and the strategy paid off. Today, the company manufactures equipment ranging from wood chippers to horizontal directional drills at plants in the United States, the Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, Singapore and China.