After working for years in the family owned hay business, Gene Ast (company founder & inventor) began thinking about alternate methods in which to process and market baled hay.

In 1985, after experimenting with a couple of machines, Ast produced the P-4. Named "The Double Press Hay Compressor" the machine would compress two and 3 tie bales to less than half their original size. The manufacturing facility in Hemet, California perfected the machine and registered 4 US Patents in the process.

The Hay industry's overwhelming acceptance of the Hay Compressor propelled Double Press Manufacturing to the forefront of the compressed hay industry.
To be more centrally located for their customers, in 1993 Double Press moved their manufacturing plant from Hemet, California to high plateau farm country in Madras, Oregon.

In 1999, Double Press Hay Compressors compressed more than 8,700,000 bales (over 520,000 tons) of hay and straw products. Today about 40 machines are in operation with clients located primarily in the western US and Australia.