George Ekman, the founder of E-Kay, was a young farmer in Central Alberta in the sixties, often dealing with the task of cleaning out square bottom bins. As steel round bins came affordable and times got better on the farm in the early seventies, he now found himself dealing with more effort to send his grain to market.

 

Moving the Auger was always a strenuous job by himself and especially in the winter where risk of injury was higher. In the winter of 1975, he designed the first prototype called the Round-About Auger Mover. This piece of equipment would allow the stationary wheels to swivel in an arc position for filling 2 bins without moving the intake end of the auger, lessening the time of moving the auger at harvest time to half. It also allowed him to fill trucks without moving the truck with the arc wheel position.

 

The roundabout was used on the farm for several years with George always thinking about efficiency. The next project was to move it hydraulically to eliminate the physical effort of pushing the auger in the arc position. George always enjoyed working in the farm shop creating and adapting equipment that saved time and effort.

 

In 1982 he finished his hydraulic Auger Mover, the Round-About, and installed a second unit on an additional auger for the farm. George set up his batch grain dryer in the center of the bin yard and could now fill eleven bins in 2 semi circles with his 2 Round-About units; lessening the stress at harvest time with his wife Joan and boys hauling the grain and moving the augers while he combined.

 

George seen the opportunity to dry grain for his neighbors in the wet years and embarked on another project in the shop to eliminate the shoveling involved in cleaning out the flat bottom bins. The drag auger he had required constant supervision and never truly cleaned the floor down to an acceptable level. He used the time during drying grain in 1985 with his one son to develop a hydraulic bin sweep with a back on it, calling it the Hydra-Sweep.

 

With adaptations for disconnecting it and making it a comfortable piece of equipment to install in the bin, he finalized the design to the point where he could watch from outside the bin while it did the dirty work in the bin. George used this with his grain drying business for several years, gaining the attention from his neighbors and customers to the point they wanted a Hydra-Sweep for their own operation.

 

He never intended to manufacture a product line, as he was first concerned about his family's own safety and efficiency on his farm. He went on to build 6 Hydra Sweeps for his customers, and thought if he could sell this to neighbors he could sell it to the world. He attended his first trade show in Regina SK to promote the Round-About auger mover and Hydra Sweep combination; farmers recognized the benefits of both and started placing orders directly to the farm office.

 

The Round about was featured at the first Agri-Trade show at Red Deer in 1984, and gained attention in Central Alberta. Dealers were added to a list of suppliers for the E-Kay product line throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Montana and North Dakota.

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George’s wife Joan was actively involved in the farm and business endeavours, like many farm wives from the early days; using the auger, hauling grain, field work, and meal-prep to keep the wheels turning. From attending trade shows in Regina for many years on their wedding anniversary in June, to delivering product to dealers and customers alike.

 

Joan played a critical role in the success of E-Kay, looking after the accounting and office management role until her retirement in 2022. Joan's dedication to the family and business would involve relocating to Biggar, Sask in 2007 to centralize the operation in the prairies. She was the backbone for encouragement, direction and drive; never willing to give up. The phrase “behind every successful man, there’s a great woman” celebrates true teamwork and partnership in achievement for future generations setting the foundation of love, mutual belief, and sacrifice.

 

E-Kay's second generation owner, Leroy, watched by George's side as a young boy; gaining passion for how things worked on the farm. George's scrap yard was basically the boy’s playground and many hours were spent investigating old equipment, and dissembling for make-believe projects; often resulting in George missing some tools. Leroy reminisces when he was 9 years old seeing the plans for the farms first auger mover in 1975, later being produced in the farm shop and being marketed as the Round-About across western Canada which ignited a spark of enthusiasm that has never gone out.

 

In 1989, Leroy returned to work for the family business, eventually taking over the responsibility of design and manufacturing with George focused on marketing and management; a team that would work together for the next 25 years to offer products inspired by the needs of Western Canadian farmers.

 

E-Kay Enterprises Ltd is a company with a history of innovation. Together George, Leroy and family have followed the motto of “concept to reality” by identifying needs and developing concepts to build a finished design. Their track record is proven with numerous innovations and popular products. Leroy credits the success of the business to more then a family effort, with now 37 years in the operation. He has seen the dedication of the staff to help develop, manufacture, & promote their products with continued improvements as a guiding principle.

 

For over 40 years and 3 generations, we continue to develop and refine our products to better serve farmers in Canada, United States and Australia. We take pride in the relationships we have developed through our innovative equipment and superior customer service. We are genuinely here to supply a useful product full of value-added options. We are happy to assist customers with any questions or ideas they may have regarding our products and remain a farm focused provider of high quality and high value implements to make your return on investment a profitable purchase.