DÉCADAS DE INNOVACIÓN

Scott Steel Grain Body

Tafco manufactures its own Scott Steel Grain Body (named for Scott Ankeny (resident and product designer) – The Scott Steel Grain Body became very popular with the farms, and Tafco’s novelty product. This was the first stake-less farm body built in the United States. Tafco was also the first company to paint their stake-less body in various colors to match the chassis. The sides on this body are made of one continuous piece of metal using the corrugation process which bends the metal in such a way it gives the body an appearance of having stakes. This allowed for maximum strength at minimum weight.

Tafco manufactures mobile home frames for Gerring Industries in Plant 1

Tafco Equipment Company Incorporated in June

1972

Industrial Service Company builds a new manufacturing building for Tafco on Hwy 16 – Blue Earth MN – Plant 2 – The Fabrication Division (½ mile from Gerring Industries)

Floods Ignite Tafco's Rapid Expansion to Meet Surging Demand

Mississippi river floods Knapheide manufacturing causing a shortage of grain bodies which created a huge demand for Tafco grain bodies. Omaha Standard could not keep up with Tafco’s orders for the truck platforms so Tafco decided to manufacture their own complete truck body. Because of this decision, the company had outgrown its operations and acquired a third plant located in the Blue Earth Industrial Park near its fabrication division. Plant 3 began to make platforms.

1975

First dealership appointments – Entered into a patent and trademark licensing agreement to manufacture and sell a commercial vegetable cutter called the “Hurricutter”. The cutter was sold to mainly restaurants. Tafco built Plant 4

1976

A quirk of fate and a public relations coup brought drastic change in operations at Plant 2. With a decline of Gerring Industries, mobile home frames were no longer in demand.

Silver Stirrups (1976-1977)

A customer requests for Tafco to fabricate a set of running boards for a pickup truck. From steel plate, painted white and attached to the vehicle, this set served as a model; and more running board requests began to materialize. Tafco sponsors a tall corn contest in the summer of 1977 to publicize the running boards. Entries flooded in from two states. Media coverage was extensive. While most press concentrated on the tall corn, a St. Paul reporter expressed more interest in the running boards, which had not been seen on vehicles for many years. He termed it, “An old idea for modern truckin” and his article hit the news wire services. Running boards became an overnight hit. The fabrication division switched from mobile home frames to light truck running boards, know as “Silver Stirrups”, and other small truck accessories. Silver Stirrups became synonymous with running boards when the company upgraded the painted boards to chrome plated. But chrome suffers with rust and corrosion if chipped or cracked. Their weight was a deterrent to convenient shipping and adding undue weight to the vehicle. The Silver Stirrups brand continued as the company adapted bright-dipped diamond plate aluminum to its product. As running board production hit its peak, the aluminum industry was halted from tread brite manufacturing because of an air polluting element in its process. Unfilled orders began piling high in the Tafco sales office, company officials searched for a substitute. The answer came in the form of Silver Stirrups II, an aluminum extrusion, bright-dipped and anodized, considered by the industry to be the ultimate answer to running board demand.

1977

Tafco made many different models of running boards for the 2-door and 4-door pick-ups, vans, suburbans, wreckers, ambulances and mini-motorhomes with distribution all over the Unites States and Canada.

1978

SCOTT LEVEL LIFT HYDRAULIC HOIST

First produced in Colorado due to lack of facility space, but later moved to Blue Earth and continues in Blue Earth MN. The Scott Level Lift is a unique combination of a telescopic and scissors hoist designed to incorporate the advantages of both into an all-purpose hoist and bolstering maximum torsional strength to handle uneven loads.

THE NIGHT RIDER

Tafco sells out the Hurricutter endeavor and begins assembling off-road farm and industrial light bars dubbed The Night Rider.

1979-1980

1980

V. Scott Ankeny nominated and chosen Small Business Person of the Year (MN State) and second place in the national competition.  

1979 - 1980

Tafco expands building another 27,500 sq. foot plant (Plant 5) for hoist and platform manufacturing. Total manufacturing footprint equaling just under 90,000 sq. feet. 

1980's

Added to the product line and opened to the metropolitan market. Also pioneering aluminum truck beds.

• STEEL BULK MATERIAL DUMP BODY
• STEEL CONTRACTOR B0DY
• ALUMINUM SCOTT-LITE PLATFORM
• STEEL HEAVY DUTY STRUCTURAL PLATFORM
• STEEL STANDARD DUTY PLATFORM
• STEEL ECONO / FLEET DUTY PLATFORM
• CITY STAKE / STAKE SIDES KITS

VENTILATION FANS

Ankeny purchases Sandborn Manufacturing’s (of Springield MN) ventilating fan line. Tafco produced four models (12”, 16”, 20”, and 24”) of the single speed wall mount exhaust/ventilation fans. First year sales reached $400,000, and year two Tafco added variable speed motors and portable 24” fans nearly doubling sales to $750,000.  

1985-1987

1987

Tafco sells the ventilation fan line to J&D Mfg. Eau Claire WI.

1985

Tafco becomes an official Ford Motor Company Vendor. Tire carriers were developed as part of the aftermarket accessories. The fold-down S-10 Blazer Carrier and the swing-away carrier for the Fort Aerostar mini-van, along with a series of hitches were developed to enlarge Tafco’s accessory line. 

1990

Tafco adds products to the truck equipment line.

• ALUMINIUM GRAIN BODY
• ENSILAGE or BULK MATERIAL LIFT GATE OPTION
• ALUMINUM ‘MAGNUM’ DUMP BODY
• ALUMINUM 'MAGNUM’ CONTRACTOR B0DY
• ALUMINUM 'SCOTT-LITE' CONTRACTOR BODY 
• ALUMINUM 'MAGNUM' PLATFORM

Tafco adds products to the truck equipment line

• 2001  STEEL SERIES 12 CONTRACTOR BODY KIT 
• 2001 LOAD-N-GO
• STEEL TEAR OFF DUMP BODY 
• ALUMINUM LANDSCAPER 
• STEEL LANDSCAPER

Product Reveal - ALUMINUM UTILITY BODY

New Ownership

50 Years NTEA member

Tafco’s 55th year of business, the Ankeny brothers, Scott, Terry and Chris, sold the company to Lee Finley

Product Reveal

West Coast style STEEL UTILITY BODY

Tafco supports over 500 Distributors

Product Reveal

Tafco reveals new products at the NTEA

ALUMINUM SCOTT-LITE 'RANGER' PLATFROM

SCOTT LEVEL-LIFT INTEGRAL SAFTY PROP For models LL400 - LL800

SCOTT 10’ FIVE YARD DUMP BODY

SCOTT HAULER

BFXFIRE BRUSH GUARD

New products added to the line:

• SCOTT Hauler Platform
• Steel and Stainless Dump Models 23, 45, 57, and 68

Product Reveal

New Products added to the line:

SMOOTH EXTERIOR STEEL LANDSCAPE BODY

Modernized past products:

SMOOTH EXTERIOR ALUMINUM LANDSCAPE BODY

Enhanced our hoist power and PTO packages

Gearing Up

Tafco installs our new laser machine!

Tafco introduces additional pump/reservoir packages 

Scott Hauler gains momentum nationwide

Customized platforms at the factory to accept truck mounted forklifts. 

Innovations included modernizing the Scott Lite bulkhead designs

Clocking 60 Years

Celebrating 60 Years in Business 1963-2023

55 Years NTEA Member

Lifting Businesses Worldwide

Thank you to all our network for your loyalty to our mission.  We are in business to not only manufacture a product, but more importantly, to nurture livelihoods that span across generations. We plan to continue innovating for you, your children, your grandchildren and your customers' children and grandchildren. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

2024

Tafco expanded operations into four new buildings, including upfitting services to support our dealer overflow.

Tafco reveals the Scott Lite Pro at NTEA and enhances product offerings to include non-skid flooring for both the Scott Magnum and Scott Lite platforms.   

2025

Tafco unveils the new Aluminum Mega Magnum Dump Body, engineered for heavy-duty hauling and unmatched performance at this year's 2025 NTEA show.