This year marks the 150th anniversary of Gehl Company, which began in 1859 in a blacksmith shop on the banks of the Milwaukee River in Wisconsin. Since its origin, the company has been led by three generations of the Gehl family, and it continues to operate in the same Wisconsin town.
Gehl began by developing agricultural implements for small farms, with the Hexelbank Ensilage Cutter, a predecessor of the modern forage harvester, as its best seller. In 1973, Gehl started manufacturing skid loaders for the agricultural market, then for the construction market and the European market.
Today, Gehl manufactures several types of equipment including telescopic handlers, track loaders, compact excavators and asphalt pavers. It recently opened a new research and development center in West Bend, Wisconsin, next to where the company began over a century ago.
To commemorate the anniversary, Gehl Company published an illustrated hard cover book that describes the company’s history. Copies of the book are available on Gehl’s Web site at www.gehl.com under Gehl Gear.
