Roy Applequist

Roy Applequist (born June 3, 1946) is an American businessman who owned Great Plains Manufacturing from 1976 to 2016 and Applequist Manufacturing starting in 2018, both farm equipment companies based in Kansas.

Early life Roy Applequist was born on June 3, 1946, in Salina, Kansas. He attended Salina High School, graduating in 1964. In 1968, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from North Park University in Chicago before returning to Salina. Soon after he returned, the foundry manager of his father's agricultural manufacturing business, Roberts Industries, resigned. Applequist filled the position until the company was sold in to Federal-Mogul in 1976.

Great Plains Manufacturing The sale of Roberts Industries prompted Applequist to found his own farm equipment business, Great Plains Manufacturing, on April 1, 1976. He originally started it in the same building where his father's business formed, but moved operations to Assaria, Kansas in 1979. In late 1981, Applequist added a new facility in Salina.

The corporate headquarters also moved to a building in Salina in 1995. He also received No-Till Farmer magazine's No-Till Innovator Award in 2010 for his role in pioneering the no-till farming drill and his companies efforts in educating farmers about new agriculture techniques.