F.R. Drake Company was started in 1979 by Fred Drake, and was incorporated in 1983. Mr. Drake spent many years designing machines for the meat processing industry, so he understood the special requirements of meat processing companies. In 1984, Mr. Drake completed the design and development of a new automatic frankfurter loading system. The machine offered superior technical features over the competition: it loaded 25% faster (up to 1,800 pieces/minute), required up to 50% less floor space, used "first-in, first-out" handling to reduce bacteria and improve shelf life, and was ruggedly built to last.

F.R. Drake Company has prospered, even after Mr. Drake's retirement in 1990. Drake engineers constantly introduced innovations, and sales grew steadily as the performance of Drake Loaders became well known. By the mid-90’s, the company was recognized as the technological leader in frankfurter loading and Drake routinely captured over 80% of all new frankfurter loader sales in the Western Hemisphere. Drake has continued to introduce new features for hotdog loaders, including a new, patented loading head, a broad range of sanitation enhancements, and an advanced controls package.

On February 2, 2007, F.R. Drake Company announced the acquisition of the assets of the Food Loading Division of Planet Products Corporation of Cincinnati, OH. The acquired division of Planet manufactured specialty food loading and related equipment for the commercial food processing industry under the Planet Products brand including the models SP3 and 1250 frankfurter loaders, fresh link loaders and patty stacker. Drake became responsible for all sales and service of Planet’s food loader products worldwide, marketing all products under the Drake® brand.