W & A Manufacturing Co.

W&A Manufacturing, serving agriculture since 1954 with specialized Farm Equipment, In the early 50’s, Wilbur West, an engineering graduate of Purdue and former test pilot, was farming on family land in Pine Bluff, AR and saw that new equipment was needed for changing farming practices. One issue they noticed was that it was getting harder and harder to find good hoe operators to manage weeds in crop fields. Fortunately, Esso Oil company had developed an herbicide oil that stunted weed growth. So one day, Wilbur approached Robert Atkinson and asked if he would take a chance on a new venture with him.