DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Amanda Schwartz has watched SpecCast Collectibles grow into a source of agriculture-related collectibles that boasts supporters across the globe.

“SpecCast has been doing a great job of listening to their customers and making what (the collectors) want in their collections,” said Schwartz, museum manager of Dyersville’s National Farm Toy Museum and an organizer of the biannual farm toy shows held at several venues around town.

SpecCast’s intricately detailed collectibles have helped make Dyersville a magnet for people who collect replica tractors, trucks, wagons, planters and other pieces of agricultural implements.

“It’s amazing how people come from all over the world to this little town in Iowa (for collectibles),” Schwartz said.

SpecCast marks its milestone 50th anniversary in 2024.

During the past five decades, the company has been transformed from an Illinois-based firm that produced belt buckles and medallions to a Dyersville-based producer of agriculture-equipment replicas in 1:16 and 1:64 scale.

“It’s just been a very popular thing to do,” said Dave Bell, SpecCast’s president.

The history of SpecCast begins in 1974, with the founding of the company in Rockford, Ill.

“They made belt buckles and a variety of specialty things that a customer would want made, like medallions,” Bell said. “Once in a while, they would cast (a replica) in pewter for a customer who had a certain product they wanted made.”

Bell, who grew up on a farm west of Dyersville, purchased SpecCast in 1986. Bell had built a career in toys. He spent 13 years at The Ertl Co., a farm-toy giant once based in Dyersville. Bell served as a vice president at Ertl, where his role included licensing and negotiating contracts for products related to NASCAR and “The Dukes of Hazzard” television show.

Ertl launched a line of collectible tractor replicas, and a show for collectors was held for the first time in 1977. The construction of National Farm Toy Museum eventually followed.

While working at Ertl, Bell met Ernie Jackson, the owner of SpecCast, at an agriculture show. Jackson told Bell that SpecCast was for sale.

“It sounded like a good investment to buy,” Bell said.

Bell purchased SpecCast and kept it in Rockford until 1987, when Bell moved the company to a facility in an industrial park in north Dyersville.

“My brother (Ken Bell) ran the business over in Rockford for me,” Bell said.

Once Dave Bell brought SpecCast to Dyersville, he expanded its focus.

“We started doing pewter replicas of tractors and trucks and other ag products, which turned out to be very successful,” Bell said. “As we went along, we bought a die-cast machine and did some of our die-casting for awhile.”

Bell had left Ertl to lead SpecCast, but he maintained a good relationship with Ertl officials.

“I didn’t want to compete with Ertl,” Bell said. “They were making toys and I didn’t want to get into the toy business like they were in.”

Instead, Bell thought SpecCast could address different consumers from the ones who were purchasing toys.

“I felt there was a position in the market for highly-detailed (replicas) of farm equipment,” Bell said.

SpecCast became known for its exacting standards for small replicas of large equipment.

“Back then, we would go out and take pictures of (equipment) and get all the dimensions (before producing a replica),” Bell said. “Now, farm-equipment companies send us their CAD (computer-aided design) files and we use those to develop the products (we make).”

SpecCast products are produced overseas and shipped to Dyersville, where the company distributes them across the globe.

“We do a lot (of business) in the United States and Canada,” Bell said. “In Europe, they’re more into 1:32 scale (replicas), which we don’t do.”

Still, SpecCast replicas have been sold and shipped to Europe as well as Australia and South America.

Bell said he doesn’t keep tabs of the numbers of units sold annually.

“I never add them up but I know we sell many thousands (of replicas annually),” he said.

SpecCast spent 34 years on the north side of Dyersville. The company moved to its present location on 15th Avenue Southeast on Nov. 1, 2023.

“I had 25,000 square feet up there (at the former SpecCast location) and we didn’t need that much room and I wanted to get everything into one location,” Bell said.

The SpecCast facility houses a warehouse as well as the company’s administration, sales, marketing and design departments.

Bell, 79, said he has no immediate plans to retire.

“I have a good staff here, and my daughter Carmen (Bell) owns a little bit of the business,” he said.

Bell also has no plans for SpecCast to leave Dyersville.

“I can be anyplace in the world that I want to, but I love Dyersville and the people of our community,” he said.

Schwartz said she relies on Bell’s vast expertise when organizing Dyersville’s toy shows and maintaining the city’s farm toy museum.

“Dave had a pedigree of working at Ertl and then starting his own company,” she said. “He has a lot of history in his brain that I try to tease out for the farm toy museum.”