He opened his own welding shop in Victor with a small bank loan and $25 to his name.

No one had a clue that Kinzenbaw’s impressive mechanical ability would one day grow to become the foundation of the largest privately held agricultural equipment manufacturer in North America.

The first piece of ag equipment Kinzenbaw created was a 13-knife, 30-foot-long anhydrous ammonia application toolbar. He then patented a high-clearance, variable-width moldboard plow.

What many consider to be his first major innovation was designed and built in 1971: the first ever single-axle, low-profile grain cart with giant high-flotation tires. Many considered it to be a revolutionary turning point for grain handling during harvest.

-Submitted photo
Kinze launched its new 4700 planter (above) last year, bringing technological advancements to the narrow row market.

Kinzenbaw also listened to his customers and brainstormed ways to help them. He knew they felt they were wasting time dismantling and loading planters onto drop-bed trailers.

So Kinzenbaw invented a rear-folding planter toolbar that quickly became in big demand, so much so that he took the plunge and purchased 10 acres of land and constructed a manufacturing plant near Williamsburg where Kinze is located today.

Aiming to always appease his customers, Kinzenbaw also builds 600- and 800-bushel grain carts.

Those 10 acres grew to encompass more than 30 acres that marks Kinze’s world headquarters and manufacturing facilities where approximately 550 employees are located. Kinze is still privately held by the Kinzenbaw family and they still actively farm.

Of course, they use Kinze products, which allows the family and employees who also farm to test drive the very equipment they produce.

The company continues to evolve and add new products and services to keep up with the always changing ag industry.

Susanne Veatch, president of Kinze Manufacturing, said the company recently opened a new Kinze electronics division that designs the hardware, software and user interfaces that control the planter’s vital operating and monitoring functions.

“This in-house capability offers several key benefits, including the ability to develop our own electronics, which are specific to Kinze planter requirements instead of relying on more generic control applications. In addition, it supports our commitment to continually innovate and offer new planter technologies that will help promote improved performance and farmer profitability.

The division is staffed by some of the best and brightest minds in the tech industry, with experience not only in agriculture but other industry sectors as well,” she said.

The company also is working on products designed specifically for Eastern European and Russian operations instead of offering a North American configuration or design. Kinze also has made efforts to make sure the company remains vibrant and vital to farmers.

“Kinze maintains a manufacturing facility in Lithuania as a resource to our European customers, providing short product and parts lead times, sales and service support,” Veatch said. “We’ve pursued a number of steps to size our business to the current market, including cost reduction and other operational efficiencies. We’ve also diversified our product offerings and brought more manufacturing in-house. We are focusing efforts on growing our Eastern Europe and Russian business. We continue to look at our distribution network in North America and go into market areas where we haven’t historically participated, but now can because of our tillage and single auger cart offerings. We are also working with our dealer network to identify who our future dealers will be and putting plans in place to grow those dealers.”

Kinze also last year launched its new 4700 planter that brings technological advancements to the narrow row market. The product follows the 2019 debut of Kinze’s new planter technologies that offer enhanced precision and control, along with greater ease of use for farmers compared to some of the complex planter technologies the industry currently offers.

“One of those innovations is the new Blue Vantage planter display, which offers the most intuitive user interface in the industry by displaying all the information farmers need on one screen. It also features the most comprehensive diagnostics screen available, as well as high-definition mapping and graphs. The quick setup requires only three clicks for farmers to go from turning on the display to planting,” Veatch said. “Kinze’s new Blue Drive electric drive integrates seamlessly with the Blue Vantage display to analyze crucial planting data. Key features include an industry-leading Ethernet that provides faster, more reliable connectivity; curve compensation to reduce under- or over-planting and provide consistent speed spacing for curves in the field and less wasted seed for improved profitability; and individual row modules that monitor and control each individual row unit.”

Kinze also debuted several new products at the 2020 National Farm Machinery Show Feb. 12-15 in Louisville, Kentucky.

An advanced planter technology that delivers precise singulation and seed spacing with various seed shapes and sizes along with enhancements to several existing planters and new additions to the Kinze Mach Till hybrid horizontal tillage product lineup appeared at the expo.

“The addition of Mach Till in 2018 enables farmers to obtain three types of equipment from their Kinze dealer, all with the same standard of quality. It also allows Kinze and its dealer network to improve our already strong brand and provide growers with access to the growing hybrid horizontal tillage segment. The Mach Till combines some of the benefits of conventional discs, vertical tillage and soil finishing products into one tool, integrating features of speed, good soil finish and uniform residue management in clay, sand, loam, wet and dry soils. We have received very positive feedback from farmers who have experienced the many benefits it offers,” Veatch said.

As more and more products roll out from Kinze, the company continues to secure its foothold in the ag industry. Veatch described the company’s future as “very bright.”

“One reason is our continuing commitment to new technology. Another important factor is our core values, including innovation, integrity, excellence and customer focus, that are as true today as when Kinze was established in 1965,” she said. “All of our employees remain focused on providing quality products that respond to and anticipate our customer needs. Similarly, our dealer network works closely with farmers to help meet their needs and maximize the benefits they derive from using Kinze equipment.”