Outrigger Pad Pioneer DICA Celebrates 30 Years

DICA, a provider of engineered outrigger pads, crane pads and cribbing products, celebrated its 30th Anniversary last month at Lake Panorama, Iowa, a short distance from the company’s headquarters in Guthrie Center.

In 1988, after being asked by a utility fleet manager, “Can you build me a better outrigger pad?”, company founder Dick Koberg set out to design and manufacture outrigger pads that were longer lasting than plywood pads and easier to use.

“Making outrigger pads safer by designing products for strength, durability and ergonomics has been a guiding principle for our company since the beginning,” said Kris Koberg, CEO, and second-generation leader of the company. “Those values are central to our DNA and although our product line has grown significantly over the past 30 years, those values continue to guide our product development today”. 

DICA team at ConExpo 2017 showing the company’s revolutionary FiberMax Crane Pads.

The range of equipment that DICA now works with has changed considerably during its tenure. “When we started out, we were focused on the utility industry and bucket trucks, because that’s where the interest came from, said Dick Koberg. “As operators, fleet managers and safety managers in other industries began to see the benefits of fiberglass and engineered thermoplastics over wood, the range of equipment and industries that we needed to service grew as well.”

In 2014, then Governor of Iowa Terry Branstad (right) visited with DICA’s founders Carolyn and Dick Koberg during the grand opening of DICA’s headquarters in Guthrie Center, Iowa.

Today, DICA is the only foundational support company that provides engineered solutions for equipment ranging from RV’s, light duty equipment trailers and aerial equipment, up to 500-ton capacity cranes. “Our RoadWarrior Jack Pad line is a guaranteed unbreakable and ergonomic solution for all types of RV’s. SafetyTech Outrigger Pads and ProStack Cribbing products are designed for equipment up to 100-tons in capacity and provide a significant strength, durability and ergonomic advantage to users, said Kris Koberg. From 100 to 500-tons, our FiberMax Crane Pads allow us to provide a 50- 60% lighter crane pad with more effective load distribution than either wood, steel plate or steel crane pads. The weight savings and the maximization of load distribution area in our FiberMax Crane Pads has been a real game changer for many of our customers”.

Kris Koberg, CEO and second generation leader of DICA, speaking at a 2015 Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association workshop.

“We would not have achieved building a better outrigger pad if it were not for the trust and support of so many customers, vendors and industry associations, and the hard work and dedication of our employees,” said Kris Koberg, “We are very thankful for our history and wanted to take a moment to celebrate that with our team in June. We’re tremendously excited and focused on the current and future needs of equipment users in the many industries we serve,” he said.

Dick Koberg (left), Founder, first sought to build a better outrigger pad in 1988. Here, he visits with a customer at the 2014 Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference.