Madras is a typical agricultural service town with farm implement dealers, grain storage facilities, and similar ag support businesses. Established in 1911 the town has managed to move beyond agriculture to develop a strong industrial base. The crossroads location was important to development, buta big push also came from the establishment of a World War II army air corp base there. A strong industrial area has developed around the air strip, and now a very large aircraft repair facility is being built (summer, 2009).