Perry is the home of the Charles Machine Works, Inc., maker of Ditch Witch equipment, the world's largest selling line of trenchers and other mechanized tools used in underground construction. The company began in 1902 as a blacksmith shop located on the downtown courthouse square. The present CEO, Ed Malzahn, is a grandson of the founder. Today the company's products are marketed and used throughout the free world. Annual sales total more than $100 million. Ditch Witch the company's popular name employs some 1,000 people; all live in Perry or the surrounding area. All marketing employees, including those who travel abroad, make their home in Perry and travel out of here. The company has its own in-house travel agency and two corporate airplanes.