Shortline Legends Hall of Fame Recognized at FEMA's 2025 Convention
The 2025 inductees of the Shortline Legends Hall of Fame were recognized — in front of their peers — on October 30, 2025 during a presentation at the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn.’s Marketing & Distribution Convention in Las Vegas. Watch Henry Danuser's featured segment.
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The story of Henry Danuser begins with his father, Kasper Berry (K.B.) Danuser, a Swiss immigrant who came to America in 1880 and started Danuser Machine Co. in 1910 with a grain threshing wagon. The company started in Readsville, Mo., until Kasper moved his family to Fulton along a railway.
In the spirit of his father’s ingenuity, in 1941 Henry built the first rear-mounted blade for the tractor and in 1945, introduced it to the world. The rest, as they say, is history.
“Our motto is the same today as it was then,” says Janea Danuser, Henry’s granddaughter. “It’s a quote from our great grandfather ‘Good enough won’t do, it must be right.’ It’s actually on a large crane that would have been from Henry’s era of the building. That’s our heritage, that’s our brand.”
A family-run agricultural and industrial attachments manufacturer, the company’s current tagline reflects its leadership’s present-day commitment to excellence with a nod to its past by emulating the spirit of those family members like Henry before them and keeping the company focused on quality.
With over 100 years of experience with the latest in manufacturing technology, the current leadership is dedicated to maintaining its benchmark status in industrial and agricultural attachments.
According to a July 2023 Manufacturing Today article, Henry worked hard on operations and products upon inheriting the business. It reports that Henry’s first product was a portable air compressor, before designing and building a tree-moving machine.
“In 1941, my grandfather, Henry, built the first rear-mounted blade in the U.S. for a tractor. From there, he continued to mass produce the first post hole digger in the country too,” Glenn Danuser, who runs the company with his sister, explains.
His mass-production of the product “catapulted the family-owned firm to the fore of the market. Attachments, in droves, followed, securing Danuser’s reputation for reliable and robust agricultural and industrial machinery,” Glenn adds.
In the Nominator's Words
Glenn Danuser explained to Farm Equipment why he nominated his grandfather Henry Danuser for consideration for the Shortline Legends Hall of Fame.
“I nominated him because a gentleman from Texas approached him in the 1940s with a post hole digger patent. He wanted my grandfather Henry to mass produce the product under the Danuser name. Henry introduced the post hole digger to the world in 1945. In order to get the Danuser name out, he visited Henry Ford and made a deal to manufacture it for the Ford Company. Henry Ford wanted it to say ‘Ford Dearborn’ on the product, while Henry Danuser wanted ‘Danuser Machine Co.’They agreed to have both company names on the product.
“Then Henry Danuser went to visit the J.I. Case Co.,” which Glenn says held a legendary high standard of excellence and reliability in the farm equipment industry. “In 1947 Henry Danuser designed and patented his own 3-point hitch rear tractor blade. He made a deal to manufacture the blade for the J.I. Case Co.. They wanted the eagle and globe on the blade, and Henry wanted Danuser Machine Co. They agreed to both, like the Ford Co.
“Henry Danuser was the first to mass produce the post hole digger and the company remains the only American-made post hole digger company remaining.”
A Lasting Legacy
A segment of the company’s chronological history written by Jerry Danuser (Henry’s son and former owner-executive, who passed away in November 2024) offers insight into Henry’s ingenuity and innovation.
From 1947-57, Danuser built diggers for Ford Motor Co., and from 1956-69 the company built blades for J.I. Case Co.
Henry Danuser
“This was all big business to a company our size. In 1960 alone, we built 1,000 blades for Case,” explained Jerry in writing of his father on the company’s history while at the helm. “We have had similar arrangements with Oliver and International Harvester. We sold 5,000 blades to Harvester. We have been very productive in our OEM business for many years, since back in the 1940s. The Ball Joints, Klik-Pins and Clevis Pins have grown to a large customer list of agricultural and non-agricultural users. Our implements are shipped to distributors worldwide … we are enthusiastic here … optimistic really, and busier than ever. Even though we are now well over 100 years old, I feel we are a young company, a flexible company.”
An Engineering Mind Fuels Product Line Expansion
Under Henry’s direction, the company expanded in the 1950s with blades, rakes, box blades, log splitters, post drivers, hydraulic post-hole diggers, earth augers, pallet forks, concrete breakers and material mixing buckets.
“In 1941, my grandfather, Henry, built the first rear-mounted blade in the U.S. for a tractor. From there, he continued to mass produce the first post hole digger in the country too…”
During a Farm Equipment podcast with Editor/Publisher Mike Lessiter, Glenn and Janea said their grandfather had to develop the OEM line for his post-hole diggers and his other attachments, the Klik-Pins and the Clevis Pins. From there, it was Jerry, his son, according to Glenn, who found that there were a lot of people who could use that type of equipment.
Courage & Determination Drive Success
The courage that Henry possessed is not lost on the current generation.
“He was very entrepreneurial,” says Janea. “We just keep that Danuser hard-headedness alive today,” she adds. Her brother concurs, noting, “I’m sure that was pretty big going up against those 2 large companies (Ford and Case IH), but he had a vision and he had a dream, and he knew that he needed to get the Danuser name somehow out there.”
“I heard that he was always in a suit and tie, and even dressed like that on weekends,” says Glenn, also noting he was an “outside of the box” thinker.
“His dairy was the first in the whole Midwest that had stainless steel equipment. He got that idea from a trip to Australia and then had all of it brought over and knew this would be a good thing. So he really was an outside of the box thinker. He could make things and I just imagine that the man’s mind was constantly spinning and going.”
Problem-Solving Collaboration
Farm Equipment reached out to identify individuals across the industry who may have come to know Henry Danuser throughout his esteemed career. One contact in particular shared a story worth sharing, as it speaks to the ways that business leaders 75 years ago collaborated and established the foundational relationships that carry on into the next generations today.
Jennifer Edney, president/CEO of Edney Distributing — a 4th generation leader at the family business — shared a story relayed to her by her father, Doug, who serves as chairman of Edney’s board.
“I asked my dad if there were any stories of anyone working with Henry, as we’ve been doing business with Danuser for as long as anyone here still active in the business can remember. Their company is over 100 years old and ours is 74. We think it was the 1950s that our partnership started.”
Doug recalled a story about the days, early on, in which the distributor couldn’t afford to stock Danuser’s post-hold diggers. “A purchasing order was handwritten,” she says, “and the warehouse manager at the time put ‘Quantity: 1’ in the first column and in the description column they wrote the word ‘Only.’ It looked to Danuser to say 10 (instead of 1 and then an O). So that is what they shipped us, 10 units. We were not expecting this. So my great-grandpa, Fred Edney, one of the founders of our company, drove down from South Dakota to meet with Henry Danuser to talk it over. They came to the conclusion that we would keep all 10 post hole diggers, and they offered extended terms, so that was the beginning of our relationship.
“Over time, our business with Danuser has expanded exponentially." says Edney. "We’re proud to distribute their products and that partnership, which goes both ways. It does matter when we stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners and help each other get through unexpected times, of which there are no shortages right now.”
The grandchildren shared characteristics defining Henry’s success, describing Henry as the quintessential businessman in the 1950s and 1960s. He was very detail oriented, always needing things to be done right, and served as chairman of the Farm & Industrial Equipment Institute (FIEI, now known as AEM) in 1968.
During that time, Danuser appeared in a Newsweek issue as part of American Mutual’s “Gallery of Distinguished Businessmen.” With a combination of manufacturing and sales prowess, Janea adds he had a clever engineering mind. She has found notepads with drawings and doodling in them as he was known to always be making notes.
“Poor guy, actually he died (in 1975) in the middle of the construction of his office building,” says Janea.
Made in America 4 Generations Strong
With the 4th generation at the helm today continuing the company’s legacy, Danuser Machine Co. continues to pride itself with its “Made in America” distinction for which Henry took great pride as well.
“We’re cognizant of the fact that we’re an American manufacturer,” says Glenn. “We make things, we’re creating jobs in this country, we don’t want to see everything outsourced. It would be far less expensive than it is to manufacture it in Fulton, Mo., but we have committed roots there.
“With a lot of companies, customer service seems to be a dying breed,” Glenn continues. “We have to pride ourselves on customer service. We remind ourselves to not forget what got us here, to the 3rd and 4th generation, and stick with it. ”
“Stick to your values,” add Janea, reinforcing that sticking to the family's principles established by her legendary grandfather and her father has been key.”
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