Some of you may remember - although most of us have to imagine - what life was like in 1926. It was three years before the stock market crash that preceded the Great Depression. It was 15 years before the U.S. entered World War II. It was also the year Road Machinery & Supplies Co. was founded by Michael M. Sill in Duluth.

Of course, many things have changed in the past 75 years. The stock market has soared to record levels and the U.S. economy is the envy of the rest of the world. We endured not only World War II, but also Korea and Vietnam. And RMS has grown from a small single rented office in Duluth into a multi-state heavy equipment distributorship representing many of the finest equipment manufacturers in the industry.

"We're very proud of our history and the fact that we've been in business 75 years," said Mike Sill II, President and CEO of RMS and grandson of the company founder. "I think it illustrates our ability to change with the times in order to meet the needs of our customers."

The early years

RMS today is a far different company than the one Michael M. Sill started in 1926. The original product line featured Stockland motor graders, along with tractors, fire engines, cutting edges and snow fencing. By the late 1940s, Sill decided to concentrate on construction, mining and municipal machines. Still, as late as 1950, RMS employed only about a dozen people and its sales territory was limited to 10 Minnesota counties and three in northern Wisconsin.