About Us

Who we are

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Dawn Equipment, a family owned company in Sycamore, Illinois, has a reputation for responsive customer service and American-made quality products that goes back to its earliest beginnings more than two decades ago. Those beginnings were in a friendship that Jim and Margaret Bassett made in a local church. Steve Faivre knew Jim had worked in engineering for Deere, and asked him to do some drawings of a T-shaped knife for ridge till applications. This first step set the stage for the Trashwheel and Dawn’s entry into the burgeoning field of no-till farming.

Dawn’s pattern of quick responsiveness to the changing needs of American farmer was established with that first design initiative – a specific tool to meet a new way of tillage. And Dawn remains that company where dealers and farmers can call for advice or to complain when a product encounters problems. Dawn sales staff will even recommend a competitor’s product if they feel it will be more appropriate.

Dawn has always taken new products out for testing in real world situations: the farms of loyal customers who discovered Dawn and felt an instant connection to designers and engineers who listened to there needs, and were willing to get cold, muddy, and dusty.

After those earliest years, Dawn grew fast, and took on projects that were ground breaking, ambitious, and even risky. Chief among these was the Pardigm planter, which incorporated user features that would still be ground breaking today.

The company has grown to more than 40 employees and numerous products, earned awards for innovative design plus a growing number of patents, but it has not lost it's commitment to U.S. made products. And customers and dealers can still call to speak directly with sales and engineering staff. Dawn has redefined several market segments like strip-till and active hydraulic control of planter and attachments. Dawn was the first company to make a remotely controllable planting product.

Dawn continues its commitment to innovation, to customer service, and to active response to the changing needs of America’s farmers.