THE INNOVATORS
The Dyna Flo pump.
The Dynamic Dyna Flo Pump
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Joshua Dill: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position. Dana Rosendahl: I grew up on a dairy farm about 20 miles south of here in a town called Hecla, South Dakota. On
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the farm, I learned to weld and repair. While I was still in high school, they started a vocational school program up here in Oakes, and I attended a welding class for 2 years, from 1976 to 1977. After I graduated, I was employed at manufacturing shops, welding shops, and so on. I was always curious about the process of working with steel, brakes, and presses; welding and assembly; and how to make those things more efficient. My wife and I moved to California for about a year, where I worked at a concrete construction company, but we came back to Oakes because this is where we wanted to be long term. For a while, I worked for a farmer south of town, but eventually, in 1981, I started working for General Irrigation. I was hired to do welding on pipes during the winter in preparation for the upcoming season, to build fittings, and so on. After a short time, I was promoted to foreman, and later on moved into sales and
management. In 1988, I bought into half of the company, and in 1998, I purchased the other half. Shortly after that, we developed the Dyna Flo pump, established Dyna Flo, Inc., and began a whole new chapter. Joshua Dill: Please tell us about the history of General Irrigation and Dewatering. Dana Rosendahl: General Irrigation was started in 1967 near Brainerd, Minnesota, by my former partner. He moved over here in 1974, during the irrigation boom in the Oakes area, and the company has been here ever since. It is over 50 years old now. When the irrigation boom started, there were a lot of different types of irrigation, not just center pivots. There was also hand–moved irrigation, wheel lines, traveling guns, and flood irrigation. Over the years, we have been exposed to all of those different
PHOTO COURTESY OF GENERAL IRRIGATION AND DEWATERING.
eneral Irrigation and Dewatering of Oakes, North Dakota, has been designing and installing deep-well and submersible pumps for over 50 years. One of its most versatile offerings is the Dyna Flo pump—a powerful, affordable, and easily towed pump that can pump 3,000–4,000 gallons of water a minute. It works well for draining flooded fields, flood irrigating, or just moving large quantities of water. In this interview, Dana Rosendahl, the president and owner of General Irrigation and Dewatering, talks with Irrigation Leader Managing Editor Joshua Dill about his company’s history and how it developed the Dyna Flo pump.
