Bootheel man's invention headed to Antarctica

DEXTER, Mo. -- It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention.

In the case of Dennis Brown of Dexter, he invented a machine out of frustration, and apparently because of a frustration shared by some scientists in Antarctica, his invention may end up bringing him worldwide acclaim.

Brown owns a land grading company in Southeast Missouri and an excavation company in Jonesboro, Ark., along with a fabricating business, Bronco Enterprises.

He said he was frustrated by his inability to level land during excavations, so about five years ago, he decided that since he couldn't find a machine to do the job the way he wanted it done, he'd build one. He now owns three patents on it. Others who saw it work were impressed and wanted one.

"I couldn't find one like I wanted it," Brown said. "Everyone else liked it, so I started selling them. I've sold about 20 of them, mostly in the rural area. I've sold a few from my Web site."

His machine, called the Bronco Finishing Scraper, is basically a land scraper. It attaches to a tractor and it levels out dirt. Excavators use them; farmers like them.

One day Brown got a call from a representative of Raytheon Company. Among other projects, Raytheon has a laboratory in Antarctica, and it needed a scraper that would allow it to build runways and roads. The Raytheon representative found Bronco Enterprises on the Internet, liked what they saw, and called Brown to see if he could modify one for use on ice in a 60-degree-below-zero climate. Representatives from Raytheon then came to Southeast Missouri to see the machine for themselves.

"They checked out our machine," said Cody Mosbey, office manager for Bronco, "checked out the factory where we build them, sat down with us, and we started making plans according to their needs with their help."

Raytheon's researchers collect scientific data on animal life in Antarctica, keep track of the weather and keep tabs on the ice level, Mosbey said. The scraper will be used to build and maintain roads and runways to help get the samples out for further study.

"Its job is to level out terrain," he said, "only instead of dirt, it will be ice."

Bronco Enterprises recently shipped the machine to a port in California. From there it will sail to New Zealand and from New Zealand it will be flown to Antarctica. Brown said Raytheon paid about $23,000 for it, including shipping costs.

Brown said he modified the scraper to allow it to travel on skis instead of wheels, changed the blade on the front of it, and made changes so that it would use oil that can withstand temperatures as low as 60 below."

Brown said he has no engineering or design training. He simply is able to build from his own mind what he thinks a machine ought to do. His land scraper is an original, and he's hopeful that Raytheon will like the one they bought well enough to buy more for use in their other locations.

"I hope they want a hundred of them," he said. "We will be world wide then."