Innovation

Innovation is a marker of success at Ledwell. Ledwell holds numerous patents for its unique designs of individual parts as well as entire apparatuses to make work more efficient for its customers.

Among the first patents applied for by the company in 1974 was for a chicken harvesting and transportation system. More recently in 2022, Ledwell obtained patents for original features found in its Gull Wing, HydraTilt Truck, and the MaxTilt Trailer.

When Ledwell discovered that the kind of hydraulic cylinders that lift weather-resistant doors of its Gull Wing was the only product of its kind produced in the United States by an American manufacturer, the company filed for a patent, which covers a complete truck body package. The Gull Wing provides convenient loading and unloading, protecting users and products from less favorable weather conditions and keeping them safe.

Patents can also pertain to specific aspects of designs or machines. In Ledwell’s case, a unified hinge used in HydraTilt Trucks and MaxTilt Trailers is covered by a patent. This part of the design is essential to raising the main decks to an unmatched level of up to 32 degrees of tilt.

Ledwell designed and Ledwell made—American protected.

Ledwell is expanding!

An additional 66,000 square feet of manufacturing space will be added to the existing 12 acres of space under roof.

To support growing industries, the company’s new state-of-the-art facility will offer the flexibility to fabricate, produce, or enhance machinery. Ledwell hopes to increase production efficiency by creating 100 or more jobs and adding more automation with the expansion.

“The expanded building is not just adding production capacity for our customers; it is also a strategic step toward enhancing our skilled workforce with innovative manufacturing technologies and advancements in automation, robotic welding, and material handling, “ says Michael Hawkins, Director of Operations.

Ledwell is known to meet customer challenges with innovative solutions – this time, the solution is a brand-new shop with endless possibilities.

ENGINEERING THEN

In Ledwell’s early years, engineers created line drawings by hand with pencil and paper. Engineers used huge pieces of drafting paper and kept the drawings on hand to reference when needed.

Even when computers and electronics became available, the drawings were still 2D, and those engineering advancements were not as detailed as the electronic drawings we have today.

ENGINEERING NOW

Ledwell’s engineering department has come a long way in 75 years. Today, engineers use software that allows them to draw equipment and parts using exact measurements. They can add chassis to truck
bodies to determine the weight of a finished product.

They can even go as far as moving axles to meet bridge laws in certain states. These drawings give a 360-degree view of a completed piece of equipment. Documents like the one below are sent to each shop to guide them through cutting and constructing components.

For 75 years, Ledwell has continued its legacy of excellence with an expansion of services, an eye for quality, and dedicated customer service. As our customers’ needs grow and evolve, Ledwell’s innovation and product offerings.

You’ll find those developments on this timeline along with some fun facts about Ledwell, including its stint as a film distribution company in the ‘70s.

1946 Buddy Ledwell and his father start Ledwell & Son, a lumber hauling company.

1950 Ledwell shifts to building pick-up racks.

1955 Ledwell begins manufacturing dump trucks.

1955 Buddy incorporates Ledwell & Son. Moves to his new shop at the corner of Waco Street and Robison Road in Texarkana.

1957 Ledwell sells its first feed body and delivers it 100 miles away.

1966 Ledwell becomes a Bobcat dealer.

1971 Ledwell builds satellite antenna that is shipped in sections to South America.

1972 – 1975 Ledwell Film Distribution releases Legend of Boggy Creek (1972), Bootleggers (1974), and Winter Hawk (1975).

1976 Ledwell constructs first HydraTail Trailer.

1977 Ledwell builds first set of water trucks.

1980 Ledwell buys its first Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machine, a significant step for in-house parts production.

1986 Ledwell celebrates four decades of innovations and relationships.

1990 Ledwell expands and modernizes machine shop, allowing for increased production and ability.

1999 Ledwell expands its international presence with more products going into Asia, Africa, Central and South America.

2008 Ledwell opens office in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to serve customers in the area.

2009 Ledwell Machinery opens, providing Bobcat, Toro, and Stihl equipment to the Texarkana area.

2009 Ledwell partners with First Response Team of America.

2010 Ledwell enters the vacuum truck industry.

2012 Ledwell Office opens.

2013 Ledwell builds its first TMA Crash Truck.

2016 Ledwell manufactures patented Gull Wing.

2017 Ledwell adds powder coating facility.

2019 Ledwell designs and builds first TrakVac.

2019 Ledwell installs first robot welder.

2019 Ledwell manufactures patent-pending HydraTilt Truck.

2020 Ledwell manufactures patent-pending MaxTilt Trailer.

2020 Ledwell receives Innovation Award for Solar Lift Loading Ramp.

2021 Ledwell celebrates turning 75!

How it started

After returning from WWII in 1946, Buddy and his father L.W. Ledwell Sr. started a lumber company called Ledwell & Son in Texarkana, Texas. One day Buddy needed a certain kind of truck trailer to haul lumber, so he rolled up his sleeves and welded the frame he needed to get the job done.

A neighboring farmer saw the trailer and asked, “Where’d you get that? I need one!” So Buddy built it.

Pretty soon, Ledwell & Son had a burgeoning side business building pickup racks and livestock trailers, and it soon became the focus of the operation. When a farmer or a feedlot owner identified a problem with their equipment, Buddy and his father found a way to manufacture a solution.

How it’s going

Seventy-five years later, Ledwell builds custom trailers and truck bodies for just about every industry—from water and feed trucks to their own patented hydraulic trailers—for customers all over the world. If a need arises for a truck or trailer to perform a job or haul a particular piece of equipment, Ledwell finds a way to manufacture a solution.

“We build our trucks and trailers to be tough,” said Steve Ledwell.

“Things that are add-ons for other manufacturers, like stronger steel and thicker water tank linings, are standard on our products. With proper care and maintenance, we expect our customers to get decades of service out of our equipment. That’s what ‘Ledwell Made’ means to us.”

The company also prides itself on service and its US-made equipment, with more than 85% of their parts manufactured in-house.

Today, the legacy of the 75-year old business continues under the fourth generation leadership of Buddy’s granddaughter, Lesley Ledwell Dukelow. Ledwell has grown to employ more than 500 workers and has vastly expanded the company’s plant footprint in Texarkana, along with adding a location in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

“The fact that the business has grown to provide so many jobs while still maintaining a family atmosphere is something we’re very proud of,” Dukelow said. “The level of dedication and service that our team  provides our customers has only gotten stronger over the last 75 years.”

Are you taking advantage of Section179? This part of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the total purchase price of qualifying equipment during the tax year. The U.S. government created the Section179 deduction to encourage companies to invest in themselves.

If you buy or lease a piece of equipment, you can deduct the total purchase price from your gross income.

By midnight on December 31, 2021, equipment must be paid for and put into service to qualify for the Section179 deduction.

The Section179 website offers various tools and educational materials to guide you through what qualifies.

There is even a Section179 calculator to assist in figuring out your potential deduction for the 2021 tax year. Follow the prompts and enter your equipment cost, from software to heavy haul trailers, to determine your deduction and lowered equipment cost after tax savings.

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

Don’t wait! By purchasing or financing equipment in 2021, you can claim a deduction for these items under the existing bonus depreciation rules.

Any of the truck bodies or trailers we manufacture at Ledwell qualifies for this deduction. To order yours today, contact our sales team or browse our site.

Even as a young boy, L. W. “Buddy” Ledwell knew the importance of taking care of people and customers

On February 12, 1950, Buddy married Mary Elizabeth Hardy—also known as Betty—a quick-witted Texarkana native who was one of the first women in the state to compete in cutting horse competitions. According to family and longtime Ledwell employees, Buddy considered Betty the “President of the World.”

In fact, he often told friends that the only person he took orders from besides General Patton was Betty. Betty stood by his side for the rest of her life. Betty was passionate about horses, and while Buddy grew his business at Ledwell, she managed the family’s farm. The two had a son, Steve, and he and his wife, Lisa, have three children—Lesley, Ben, and Morgan.

In 1955, Buddy incorporated Ledwell & Son and built his first truck shop at the corner of Robison Road and Waco Street in Texarkana, Texas. We’d say the rest is history, but in reality, it took a lot of long hours, hard work, dedication, and determination for Buddy and his family to build Ledwell into what it is today—a growing manufacturing company blessed with many dedicated employees on an 82-acre site. Buddy had a keen sense of his customers’ needs, sometimes even before they did, and he customized products to respond to their business needs.

Since the company began, adapting to the customer’s needs has been a guiding force at Ledwell.

Buddy Ledwell was living proof that if you work hard and stay humble, you can truly build a legacy. Whatever the problem was, he saw a need and he fixed it.

He lived by the mantra that there are no problems, only opportunities. Buddy Ledwell never met ‘can’t,’ and as a result, neither did his employees. They soon learned that when Buddy or a customer requested a seemingly impossible task, they should say ‘Yes, we can do that,’ and then figure out how. Rather than intimidating his workers, Buddy’s can-do spirit challenged them to accomplish more than they thought was possible.

Anyone who visited Buddy’s office may have seen one of his favorite quotes hanging on the wall: “No man ever drowned in his own sweat,” by Ann Landers.

If you walked into a Ledwell shop right now and asked any employee what the company means to them, chances are they’d say “Family.”

Those who knew him well said Buddy took communicating face-to-face with a handshake to an art form. Buddy started a tradition of walking through the shops at Ledwell each day to talk to his employees and see what they were working on, and that’s a tradition the family continues to this day.

Most of the time, he’d greet his workers with, “Morning, Son,” no matter what time of day it was. Buddy often said, “It’s always morning at Ledwell.”

Anyone who encountered Buddy had a good chance of hearing one of his Buddy-isms. “‘Preciate ‘cha,” he might say, or, “Son, we work best after five o’clock.” He was known for telling customers, “Son, you don’t have to pay us until you gin your cotton.” If you made a mistake, you might here, “Oh, shaw, son.” And if you did a great job on something, Buddy might tell you, “You’re so good, I’ll give you Easter off this year if it falls on a Sunday.”

Buddy Ledwell passed away on January 29, 2013, at 88 years old, preceded in death by his beloved wife Betty. He drove himself to work the day he died. Today we remember Buddy Ledwell as not just a great man, but also as the driving force behind building a lasting company that solves complex problems with an extraordinary work ethic.

Over the decades, Ledwell grew from adapting customers’ trucks and trailers to manufacturing custom bodies and trailers, along with providing parts and service. Businesses know they can rely on Ledwell to find innovative, efficient, and reliable solutions to problems no other manufacturer can solve. This reputation for quality and service was no accident.

The company culture Buddy built has fueled the creativity, dedication, and talent of several generations of workers, each one working every day to keep his legacy of hard work alive.