About Us > Yazoo/Kees History

On November 23, 1874, just eleven years after Nebraska was admitted to the Union, Frederick Daniel Kees put hammer to anvil and produced his first husking hooks and pegs. As business boomed with the constant flow of settlers to the West, Fred continued repairing firearms, sewing machines and mowers, as well as manufacturing his own products from his backroom workshop. A host of other interesting products were added to his product line, to keep pace with the steady influx of settlers and their changing demands. As the company outgrew its original confines, Kees moved into his first manufacturing plant in 1910, and the product line continued to grow.

Over the next several decades, F.D. Keees Manufacturing prospered, however the Kees family feared a post WWII depression and sold the company in 1947. The new owners maintained the current product line and expanded into new categories. In 1963, the line of Kees Lawn and Garden Equipment was added. Original Kees lawn equipment included The Kees Krawler, a self-propelled sprinkler that used a garden hose as a track and its own water pressure for locomotion, and The Kees Garden Tool Set that featured one-piece construction with each tool being formed from a single piece of heavy-duty steel. In 1969, they released The Kees Kaster, a broadcast seeder that delivered up to five times the coverage of conventional spreaders.

In 1976, F.D. Kees entered the commercial mower market with a 21 inch steel deck mower. This unit was side-discharge, came complete with a grass collector, and was loved by the rental market. In 1977, the 36-inch and 48-inch intermediate walk-behind mowers were introduced and established the Kees brand as a leader in the market. In 1986, Kees created its firs 60-inch rider by adding a two point hitch and sulky. In the early 90's, F.D. Kees focused its efforts on the commercial mowing market and grew the business significantly.

In 1997, F.D. Kees was purchased by Yazoo Power Equipment of Jackson, Mississippi creating Yazoo/Kees. Yazoo Power Equipment had an impressive history in its own right. The Yazoo High Wheel Mower started and built the company, and in 1959 they pioneered the first Out-Front rotary riding mower, the YR-60 or Yazoo Rider 60-inch.

Today, Yazoo/Kees manufactures commerical mowing equipment in a brand new facility in Beatrice, Nebraska and employs over 300 people.

The only thing more impressive than our past...is our future.