\u201cDee Zee was founded by Denny Elwell and Zane Smith,\u201d begins Kelli Gallagher, President. \u201cAbout five years in, Zane decided he wanted to pursue something different and that\u2019s when Ron Shivers, who\u2019s my father, and Charlie Brendeland joined the company. For many years Dee Zee was run by Denny, Ron, and Charlie. When Denny, the majority shareholder, decided to sell, the company was purchased by Lancaster Colony out of Lancaster, Ohio, which made Dee Zee a publicly traded company.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThrough that transition, Ron stayed on as president. Fast forward to 2008, Lancaster Colony decided to divest its automotive holdings, and my father purchased the company. In 2009, after growing up around the business and spending years in my own career, I decided it was the right time to make a change and work alongside him. I started in accounting and HR, and in January of 2013, I assumed the role of President and here we are today.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 1977, the company has specialized in vehicle add-ons for both the consumer aftermarket and as an OEM supplier to major automakers like Ford, GM, Toyota, and Honda. \u201cIn the early 1990s, we entered the automotive OEM space,\u201d Kelli shares, \u201cand that side of the business has grown significantly over the years. Today, OEM manufacturing represents about 90 percent of our business, with the aftermarket making up the remaining ten percent. As a result, only about ten percent of what we build carries the Dee Zee name; the rest is either unbranded or produced with OEM-specific branding.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve been around the business for most of my life because of my father and over the years, the company has grown tremendously. Even with that growth, it\u2019s important to me that we maintain a smaller-company, family feel. We\u2019ve grown into a much larger organization, but I don\u2019t want bureaucracy to define how we operate. My door is always open, and while we\u2019ve grown from about 350 employees to more than 1100, I still try to know people by name across shifts and locations as best I can,\u201d she elaborates. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI also want Dee Zee to continue making a strong impact in the Des Moines community. Manufacturing can sometimes be a bit of a best-kept secret here, and people don\u2019t always realize how large we are or how many people we employ. Another thing I\u2019m incredibly proud of is our diversity; there are more than 30 languages spoken on our production floor, which is rare for this area. That culture and inclusivity is something we\u2019re committed to continuing to promote.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n With a highly diverse production floor, multilingual training and technology is essential to Dee Zee\u2019s operational success. The company offers tuition reimbursement and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, and all employees participate in an annual training curriculum that includes both classroom-style safety instruction and virtual learning. This comprehensive program is a key part of the employee experience and ensures consistent standards across the workforce.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kelli began her career in the automotive industry as an accountant for United Parcel Service and later worked at an international truck dealership. Having spent her career in traditionally male-dominated industries, she is undaunted by that environment. She emphasizes that running a large operation like Dee Zee requires strong teammates and leaders, regardless of gender, and her focus has always been on building an effective, collaborative team.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDee Zee currently has eight facilities, all within the Des Moines metro area and about 20 minutes apart,\u201d Kelli continues. \u201cAs part of our 2027 plan, we\u2019re consolidating some of these locations into two main campuses. Our Pleasant Hill operations include four facilities, handling stamping, tool and die, CNC milling, robotic welding, and other functions. At our Broadway campus, we\u2019re constructing a third building and moving our corporate headquarters to the new West building, while converting the main plant to focus on aftermarket production. By consolidating facilities, we\u2019ll increase efficiency, reduce logistics, and ensure our buildings have the latest technology, including temperature control, which some of our older sites lack.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe completed our East building at the Broadway campus in 2024, and in that facility, we installed a vertical powder coating line from SAT in Italy. While we already have four other horizontal powder coating lines; this line allows us to hang products vertically, which is ideal for our long running boards and side steps that now extend wheel well to wheel well on trucks and SUVs. This new technology improves efficiency, increases capacity, and enhances the quality of our powder coating.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"](\"https:\/\/manufacturing-today.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/02\/Dee-Zee-244-body-image-1.jpg\")
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