About | Vogel Manufacturing

WE ARE PROUD OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN & WHERE WE'RE GOING

BUILDING OUR TRADITION

THE RIGHT WAY

VOGEL MANUFACTURING INNOVATES, DESIGNS AND MANUFACTURES FOR MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE

It's a strange story. Charles had drag cars, fast street cars, and motorcycles all his life. He was in the Air Force where he worked on airplanes and later he even flew privately. Chuck ran a filling station, went to college, worked on cars and line-bored air-cooled VW blocks, gun-smithed, raced motocross, drag raced, worked as a design engineer and in the 70's he started garden tractor pulling.

It was the fall of '75. Chuck had built his own parts for a Kohler K series engine, particularly the billet steel crankshaft. In those days men at tractor pulls always carried a rag. Chuck didn't have a rag when the connecting rod let go and fractured the oil pan sending all the parts out and onto the track in a glob of oil. A motorcycle piston, a Continental connecting rod, and a Charles Vogel original billet steel crank lay out for the world to see.

Chuck said he didn't have sense enough to hide the parts with a rag before he pushed the tractor off the track (which was protocol). The other guys helped him pick up the pieces and started asking questions. "Where did you get this crank? When the reply from Chuck was, "I built it." nothing more was said.

Virginia helped Charles load up the tractor and head home for Effingham, IL that evening. The next day was Sunday and the phone rang with the person on the other end inquiring about custom engine parts built by Chuck. The phone hasn't stopped ringing since. Charles and Virginia Vogel started selling garden tractor pulling parts in 1975.

Some are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Kevin, however, was born with his first tractor pull win already under his belt. His mother, Virginia won a powder puff tractor pull while expecting.

Kevin grew up in the shop and played trackside cheering on his dad Chuck. He began competing at age twelve in the 50 cu.in. prostock and superstock classes; with his first nationals victory achieved at age fifteen.

Kevin graduated SIU with a degree in manufacturing engineering; a natural progression having first began programing CNC machines in the family shop during his teen years. After initally working at Hunter Engineering in St. Louis, Kevin rejoined the family business, now known as Vogel Manufacturing.

It's a family affair, with three generations of Vogel men continuing the tradition of hanging out together at the shop and cheering each other on trackside.

To all of you, from all of us at the VM Store - Thank you and Happy Shopping!