Beginning in 1900 with a steam operated Buckeye wheel-trenching machine, George Bower began his agricultural drainage business in Fremont, Ohio. By 1980 the Bower family had become one of the largest ag drainage contractors in the country by installing more than 4 million feet of tile annually.

In 1985, drawing on three generations of drainage experience, Tom and Jack Bower ordered, from Holland, the first Inter-Drain trencher and plow delivered in the U.S. They became the first U.S. distributor at that time. Today, Great Lakes Inter-Drain is owned and operated by Tom and his family. They no longer install drainage systems, but sell and service drainage tools and provide consulting to contractors. And Inter-Drain is the most popular trencher and plow brand in the world.