Like most things, necessity is the mother of invention. While driving a truck and trailer through North Dakota late one night, Dean's wife Becky hit four deer. Dean needed to fix the grill, but was loath to use steel because it was so heavy. Instead, he chose to put his experience welding aluminum to use by forming the material into a lightweight yet durable bumper. From there, Dean & Becky worked together to create their very own American Dream.

Prairie Industries began as a small, rural welding and repair shop in 2003. Ron Johnson did the mechanic work while Dean built customized steel flatbeds. Becky worked in Sturgis at Sturgis Vet and then came home to manage the shop office and help Dean with the horse-training business. Later on, they built their own shop on their ranch, which was 320 acres of no fences, bare buildings, and the three kids. That first aluminum truck bumper stayed on that pickup until 2011, protecting that truck and the growing family in it from numerous deer collisions.

The first years of any new company are tough, especially when you’re starting from nothing. Becky scoured websites for unique businesses that would benefit from aluminum pickup or semi-truck bumpers. She emailed photos, talked to local agriculture newspapers and magazines, carried brochures wherever she and Dean went, and mailed brochures across the United States. Eventually, her persistence paid off, and the orders started to come in. To date, some of the leading ambulance manufacturers in the U.S. that carry Truck Defender aluminum bumpers started with a mailed brochure over ten years ago.