Ledwell Team

Early summer 2020, Lesley Ledwell Dukelow, president of Ledwell, visited the Electronics Shop when she saw Electronics Specialist Phillip Anderson installing a bracket at the bottom of the shop door.

“Because of the pandemic, the electronics crew didn’t want to touch the door handle,” Phillip said. “They were spraying disinfectant everywhere. So I took a piece of metal and had another shop bend it to create a bracket that lets you open the door with your shoe.”

That bracket was the first Tread + Pull, a hands-free door opener that fits the bottom of most doors and allows the user to open the door with their shoe, minimizing contact with their hands.

“With everybody touching the door handles, we figured this bracket would be a better way to help keep people from getting sick,” Phillip said. “Plus, it’s handy if your hands are full.”

After Lesley saw the Tread + Pull in action, she knew it would benefit employees, visitors, and customers. Once they perfected the design, many of Ledwell’s departments jumped into action to create the end product.

One shop cut the material while another shaped it. Then, the Machine Shop refined the edges to be smooth, and the Graphics department printed decals and installation instructions.

“We installed Tread + Pulls all over the property, and our Shipping and Receiving department packaged and shipped over 1,000 to our customers free of charge,” Lesley said.

“Everyone is looking for ways to stay safe during the pandemic, so we were happy to use our skilled machinists and equipment to provide our customers with this tool.”

The Tread + Pull is available to order through the Ledwell Parts Department. We are happy to ship out as many as you need for your facility to keep your people safe and healthy.

The Ledwell team loves to rally around a good cause. One cause we support each year is the ArkLaTex 100 Club, a nonprofit organization that’s sole purpose is to benefit our local police and firefighters in Bowie and Miller Counties.

The goal of the Arklatex 100 Club is to raise funds for the dependents of our first responders lost in the line of duty.

The remaining funds will be used to purchase any unbudgeted but necessary life-saving equipment and additional training.

The club also provides local agencies grants for necessary life-saving equipment and training.

This includes a thermal imaging camera for the Pleasant Grove Volunteer Fire Department. A K9 officer for the Bowie County Sherrif and Texarkana, Texas Police Department.

In March, a team of employees participated in the ArkLaTex 100 Club’s annual Pull for Heroes Sporting Clay Tournament. Our team had fun participating and looks forward to the event again next year.

This fundraiser brings in $35,000+ annually – the one and only fundraising event the club has each year.

The funds raised from Pull for Heroes benefit multiple entities in Bowie and Miller Counties. As a result, grants are provided to purchase tactical/protective equipment, fund special training, and assist surviving dependents.

13 local entities in Bowie and Miller County benefitted from those funds. 

Learn more about this fantastic organization by following them on Facebook.

There has never been a better time to buy Ledwell equipment! 2020 has been a tough year for many, but thanks to the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act), which was signed into law in March, you can deduct current year tax losses against income from a prior tax year and receive an immediate tax refund.

What does that mean for you?

Suppose you had strong years leading up to 2020. In that case, you can potentially generate a refund from prior years’ taxes that creates working capital now.

The U.S. Government’s Section 179 write-off deduction allows small businesses to write off as much as $1.04 million in qualifying purchases of equipment financed or purchased and put into service between Jan. 1, 2020, and the end of the day on Dec. 31, 2020. Because of the CARES Act, for this year only, you can amend your tax returns up to 5 years back and get refunds on tax you paid in prior years if your deprecation allowance and losses are more than your profits.

That means you can take advantage of today’s lower corporate tax rates—21% in 2020 compared to 35% in 2015—to apply significant tax savings to your truck and trailer purchases.

Plus, bonus depreciation allows up to 100% depreciation on qualified new and used equipment—including any Ledwell equipment.

Don’t delay! You can purchase or finance equipment in 2020 and claim a deduction for these items’ costs under the existing bonus depreciation rules.

Any of the equipment we sell at Ledwell qualifies for this deduction. To order yours today, contact our sales team or browse our website.

As a manufacturer, we have continued to work the past couple of months to keep our customers moving.

Employee safety remained top of mind during this time, as we’ve worked on practicing social distancing and limiting the number of surfaces our employees come in contact with.

Enter the Tread + Pull – a hands free door opener.

Sparked by an idea from Electronics Specialist Phillip Anderson, this hands-free door opener allows people to open most doors hands-free. Step on the metal bracket secured at the base of a door to pull it open using their feet only.

Designing and creating these door openers took a team effort. Multiple shops were involved in the process of manufacturing the Tread + Pull.

One shop cut the material while another shaped it into its unique shape. Our Machine Shop refined the edges to be smooth while the Graphics Department designed and printed the installation instructions and the decals for the Tread + Pull and door. Then, multiple people in our Shipping and Receiving warehouse packaged and shipped over a thousand around the country.

Our customers are top priority – that’s why we are making the Tread + Pull available for you to purchase. Prevent the spread of germs while staying fully operational with this simple product that fits most doors.

Contact our Parts Department to learn more about the Tread + Pull or to order for your facility.

Share your experience with the Tread + Pull over on our Facebook page. Be sure to use #ledwellmade.

Stay safe and healthy!