About

Tough Country is a division of Mark’s Machine Co., Inc. which was founded in 1979 by Mark Pratka.

Mark’s eldest son, Brent Pratka, joined the family business shortly after his graduation from Texas A & M University. Being a serious off-road enthusiast, Brent had a strong desire to start a company that was involved in the automotive aftermarket industry and raising the quality standard. After extensive market and design research, Brent identified a gap in the heavy duty bumper market. He saw that although there were several companies building and distributing heavy steel bumpers, they all looked the same and were mass produced which eliminated the possibility of having custom modifications done. Although most of these bumpers were strong and functional, they left a lot to be desired in styling. So in 1998 Tough Country was established under the primes of building a stylish bumper with superior quality and durability along with the added value of being a hand crafted product which allows almost any custom modification request to be met.

In the late 1990’s, the first salesman for the new Tough Country was Brent and his truck. Traveling the countryside, he began building a dealer network. Soon, Brent’s younger brother, Kurt Pratka decided to join the team and established the Tough Country Outfitters off-road store in downtown El Campo. Tough Country Outfitters serves as a factory outlet and installation facility for the Tough Country product line and is a one stop shop for all vehicle aftermarket accessories. Together, Brent and Kurt along with a great staff built Tough Country into what it is today, a nationally recognized brand with a distribution network across the continental US and Canada.

The Tough Country product line now features four styles of front replacement bumpers, four styles of rear bumpers, a brushguard line, headache racks, and many styles of step bars. The Tough Country application list has grown to include Ford, Dodge, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Jeep, Hummer, and various ATV’s. Each and every aspect of the manufacturing and coating process is under company care and control in El Campo, Texas, U.S.A. Tough Country is an industry leader not only in quality and style, but also in service. Our products can now be purchased online, at our factory outlet "Tough Country Outfitters", or at any of our great dealers and distributors around the country.