How DOSE Manufacturing Built an Ag Equipment Empire From Scratch
Nearly twenty years ago, Brett Dose was fixing farm equipment out of a small shop in Perry, Iowa. Today, DOSE Manufacturing is a 45-person manufacturing company producing premium agricultural equipment used across the country and around the world. In this episode of the Farm4Profit Podcast, Brett sits down to walk through that entire journey, from welding repairs to building one of the most recognized names in header trailer manufacturing.
It is a story that a lot of farmers and small business owners will recognize. Brett did not set out to build a manufacturing company. He started by fixing what farmers already owned. But somewhere along the way, he noticed a gap in the market that repair work alone could not fill, and he made the decision to start building instead of just fixing.
From Repairs to Manufacturing
Brett explains why he made the shift away from repair work and into manufacturing. It was not an overnight decision, and it came with real risk. But the demand for a better, more reliable header trailer was there, and Brett built the first Headhunter trailer to meet it. That first trailer became the foundation for what DOSE Manufacturing is today.
According to Dose Manufacturing's own company history, the business opened in 2006 in an old Asgrow building in Perry, Iowa, and the first Headhunter header trailer was built shortly after, based on Brett's firsthand experience with what farmers actually needed on the field.
Growing Through Location Changes
The company's growth is tied closely to its physical footprint. DOSE Manufacturing started in Perry, moved to Bouton for over a decade, and eventually made the leap to a facility four times larger in Story City, Iowa. That Story City facility is a former outlet mall, transformed into a full manufacturing operation.
Local reporting on the move confirms that after manufacturing header trailers in the Perry area for 15 years, including 11 years in Bouton, the company relocated to a 30,000-square-foot facility in Story City, citing support from the state of Iowa and local economic development groups as key to making the move possible, according to The Perry News.
That kind of growth does not happen without a clear reason. As Brett discusses in the episode, every move was driven by the need for more space, better logistics, and the ability to keep up with growing customer demand.
Product Development Driven by the Customer
One of the recurring themes in this conversation is how much of DOSE's product development has come directly from customer feedback. Brett did not build products in a vacuum. He built them based on what dealers and farmers told him they needed, especially as combines and headers got larger and equipment demands changed.
Today, DOSE Manufacturing's product lineup includes the Headhunter Classic, Freedom, Arrow, Warrior, and Pro header trailers, along with rock boxes, sprayer and spreader accessories, and custom trailer fabrication through its Dose Steelworks division, according to the company's own product listings. The company has also expanded into building large LED display trailers, a product line that has found use both in agriculture and in the entertainment industry.
Quality Over Cheap Pricing
A central lesson Brett shares is that quality wins over the cheapest price, every time. In a competitive equipment market where buyers can be tempted to chase the lowest bid, Brett's approach has been to build a product that lasts, and to let that reputation drive sales through dealer relationships rather than price wars.
That focus on dealer relationships and reputation has helped DOSE Manufacturing build a dealer network that now spans the United States and international markets, according to company information.
People Buy From People
Perhaps the most important lesson in this episode is Brett's belief that people buy from people. Manufacturing a good product matters, but so does the relationship behind it. Brett talks openly about hiring employees, building a strong company culture, and what he has learned about leadership and customer service along the way.
For anyone building a business, whether in agriculture or any other industry, this episode is full of practical, hard-earned lessons about entrepreneurship, growth, and staying committed to quality even when it would be easier to cut corners.
Listen to the Full Episode
You can hear Brett Dose's full conversation with the Farm4Profit team, including more detail on engineering trailers for today's larger equipment, growing a company culture from the ground up, and what is next for DOSE Manufacturing, on the Farm4Profit Podcast.
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