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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.
“ Through 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.”
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.“ In the early 1990s, we entered the automotive OEM space,” Kelli shares,“ and 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.
“ I’ ve 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’ s important to me that we maintain a smaller-company, family feel. We’ ve grown into a much larger organization, but I don’ t want bureaucracy
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