Touring the Kinze facility

As you drive past the Kinze plant, you will notice some rather strange-looking displays out in front.  

One of their huge planters, standing on end, and...

A stack of their grain carts.  

Cliff took a picture of me beside our tour bus, although this doesn't show much of the bus, does it?

Each person in our group had to sign his or her own personal waiver.  I signed it without reading it.  I also signed Cliff's waiver, which horrified one of the ladies, since we were each supposed to sign our own.  So far, though, I have not been apprehended for my crime.  

We watched a brief video explaining how Mr. Kinzenbaw ended up with this huge operation, which has about 1,000 employees and is always hiring.  Wages start at $20 per hour, which is decent for a rural area, I'd say.  Read about Kinze's core values HERE.    

Cliff was impressed with the whole plant operation.  I was more impressed with the man who founded the company.  He and his daughter, who is now running the operation, treat their employees like they would want to be treated.  They buy nothing from outside the U.S.A. that can be found here.  They try to purchase materials as close to home as possible.  In case you are wondering, they are not union.   

  To start our tour, we walked half a mile through a tunnel that was originally for employees, so they wouldn't have to walk through inclement weather to get to the production facility.  

One thing Cliff appreciated was the fact that we were given devices to put in our ears so we could hear the guide clearly.  Notice the sign in the background that says, "Our next inspector is our customer".  

This is a planter under construction.  I took quite a few other pictures throughout the building, but they probably wouldn't be of interest to many people.  I will tell you that all the employees seemed relaxed and not at all rushed or overworked.  If you were to order one of these through a dealer, your order wouldn't be filled until sometime in 2015.     

I am not going to explain the big tractor.  I don't really understand much about it, but for awhile Mr. Kinzenbaw was re-powering tractors (says Cliff).  This is one he built... "Big Blue".  I certainly hope Mr. Kinzenbaw or his daughter never stumble across this entry:  They will laugh at my ignorance.  Read HERE to see a history of the company, although I don't see any mention of this tractor.    

After we finished our tour, we found our motel.  Because the original plan was to tour the plant on Thursday and go back to the innovation center on Friday, and we had already done both, the question arose, "What can we do tomorrow before we go home?"  

Our fearless leader, Gloria, was certain that she could talk to the owner himself and persuade him to show us his tractor collection.  She assured us that her persuasive powers were amazing.  I knew this wasn't going to work, since there is a three-year waiting list to see the collection, and nothing made us any more special than others who were waiting for the tour.  

Stay tuned for Part 3.