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Kays Engineering Inc., the original equipment manufacturer of the DeHoff, Eldorado and TechniDrill brands of gundrilling machines, will celebrate its 40th anniversary in December 2020.

Kays Engineering opened its doors for business on December 1, 1980, in Marshall, Missouri. Founded by Ed Kays, the company began as a small welding and repair shop, with Kays as the sole full-time employee along with three part-time employees. The company quickly became a designer and builder of custom machinery for the automotive industry. The increase in business helped the company expand to more than 30 employees across four buildings.

Kays Engineering entered a new market in 1994 with the acquisition of DeHoff, a manufacturer of gundrilling machines in Cranston, Rhode Island. The DeHoff manufacturing operation was moved to the Marshall facility in 1996. To accommodate the new product line, the company relocated to a 50,000 square foot building that same year.

Kays Engineering purchased another gundrilling machine manufacturer, Eldorado, in 2002. This company also relocated to Marshall from its original location in Milford, Connecticut. The acquisition further diversified the company’s product lineup.

In June of this year, Kays Engineering acquired TechniDrill, a gundrill machine manufacturer in Kent, Ohio. The company has grown to more 60 employees and serves customers in the automotive, aerospace, firearms, medical, petroleum, agriculture and plastic molding industries. It now has customers in 30 countries across five continents.