Today, you’ll be joining Farm Equipment's editor Mike Lessiter for candid side-by-side conversation with 2 generations of Kinze Manufacturing’s – Founder Jon Kinzenbaw and daughter and president, Susie Kinzenbaw Veatch.
Kinze is a great American success story that began in 1965 with a 21-year-old with just $5 to his name who got himself a few thousand in credit and opened a welding and repair shop. Today, Kinze -- known for pioneering work in grain carts and then planters -- has 30 acres of under-roof facilities and nearly 900 employees worldwide.
To put this Iowa manufacturer, located in the 3000-population town of Williamsburg, into perspective, consider these numbers: 7 truckloads of steel delivered each days … Laser cutters that automatically process 22,000 pounds of steel each weekend … A powder coat line that’s almost 1 mile long … 40,000 active part numbers to maintain.
In this podcast, brought to you by GKN Off-Highway Powertrain, you'll hear Kinze's remarkable journey as from a tiny job shop to a vertically integrated global manufacturer -- and one of the largest remaining family owned equipment businesses in the ag industry.
To read the chapter from Fifty Years of Disruptive Innovation on Deere's effort to squeeze Kinze Manufacturing out of the planter building business, visit www.farm-equipment.com/Kinzeba
Jon was recently awarded an honorary doctorate from Iowa State University.
Farm Equpment's "How We Did It" podcast series is brought to you by GKN Off-Highway Powertrain.
GKN Off-Highway Powertrain is a global leading supplier of integrated powertrain components, systems and solutions. To learn more about how GKN improves the efficiency, safety and increased productivity of today’s farm machinery, visit www.gknoffhighwaypowertrain.com
Music: Josh Woodward - Golden Sunrise (Instrumental Version)