Hanson Silo notes 100th year
CEO Gregg Hanson, left, and his sons Mike and Matt run the day-to-day operations of Hanson Silo Company. Now in its 100 year of operation, the diversified company has expanded their sales nationwide with many products for agricultural and commercial use.
Towering crane, huge concrete precast panels move under massive 58' Schweiss bifold door
For over 100 years and four generations, the Hanson family has been involved with agriculture and has grown to symbolize quality, economy, and dependability. Hanson Silo was founded at Lake Lillian, Minnesota in 1916 by Emil Hanson - a local farmer who wanted a better product for himself and for his neighbors. His goal was to manufacture an improved product at the best price with the lowest upkeep. Hanson silos are easily identifiable - those with the checkered pattern on top are a Hanson silo.
Hanson Silo Company has come a long way since those early days of just erecting silos. Current CEO, Gregg Hanson, grandson of Emil Hanson, has had the foresight to diversify the company's list of products and along with that a large new manufacturing building was erected using Hanson concrete panels.
New plant expansion has 58' Schweiss bifold door
Another good example of foresight was Gregg's decision to build a new plant a couple of years ago incorporating the Hanson Neopor 4" thick R-24 insulated concrete panels that were poured directly from the in-house automated concrete batch plant and put in place. The 70 ft. x 180 ft. building has a 37 ft. ceiling capable of housing a huge crane. A 58' x 31'9" Schweiss bifold liftstrap / autolatch door on the east side opens wide to enable the crane to lift the heavy concrete forms making them ready to be delivered to waiting customers wherever they may be in the United States.
"It's a good door. We needed a door that big to run our crane through. I wouldn't say that it has made our job easier, more than anything it's made it possible. Our kind of cranes normally do not go in a building. The door allows us to lift the panels off the tables and to the door and drive the crane out on the yard and stack the panels on racks and trucks and bring the crane back into the building. We open it often, in the summer it stays open all day."
- Gregg Hanson, CEO
Hanson Silo Company
The massive door with a built in header and external truss for extra strength has a 60" wedge when open that provides a nice shaded canopy. The bottoms of the four large door windows are situated five feet from the floor, adding natural light inside. Total door weight with sheeting and liner is 14,854 lbs. It is opened and closed with three 3 h.p bottom drive 3-phase motors using 12 liftstraps, each capable of lifting 29,000 lbs.
"It's a good door. We needed a door that big to run our crane through. I wouldn't say that it has made our job easier, more than anything it's made it possible," said Gregg. "Our kind of cranes normally do not go in a building. The door allows us to lift the panels off the tables and to the door and drive the crane out on the yard and stack the panels on racks and trucks and bring the crane back into the building. We open it often, in the summer it stays open all day."
Hanson Silo leads the upper midwest in the production of precast concrete panels and modular walls for various uses. They are unsurpassed for commercial, industrial and agricultural applications such as bunkers and the like, so why not utilize this for precast concrete walls for a building? That's exactly what Hanson Silo decided to do for its own building at the Lake Lillian company headquarters.
Hanson Silo Company home office and plant is located north of Lake Lillian, Minnesota. They also have locations in St. Peter, Luverne and Lakeview, Iowa.
Precast concrete is a time tested construction material. The builders of ancient Rome poured concrete material into molds to build their complex network of aqueducts, culverts and tunnels.
The farming tradition has remained at Hanson Silo, as well as the commitment to producing the best quality products for the dollar. The development of new Hanson products is the pinnacle of this commitment. Fine quality materials, pride in personal workmanship, and simplicity in engineering, has always been the trademark at Hanson Silo.
Quality accessories were not always available, so Hanson Silo began to manufacture all of its own accessories. With high caliber products, and its agricultural heritage, Hanson Silo has developed an enviable reputation for service, dependability, strength, workmanship, and for personal pride in a valuable product.
A major improvement to silo construction came with the Hanson Silo patented silo dome roofs back in 1938. It was originally invented as a self supported roof structure for covering silos. These domed roofs are now taking another turn as architectural eye-appealing dome projects for homes, restaurants, playground, casinos, sports complex, movie sets and church uses.
"The first domed silo roof was designed by my uncle Newell in the 1930s to replace the hip-style roof design. Hip roofs were very prone to getting wind damage or blow-off. The domed design, which they had a patent extending for 17 years on, interlocked the roof. The ancient Romans came up with the dome and realized how strong it was. My dad and uncle took the Roman engineering and figured out how to make it work on a silo. It was a real sales boost for Hanson Silo. A lot of silos were even built without roofs resulting in so much spoilage and it would freeze so stinking hard. The domed roof was originally offered as a $300 option," noted current CEO Gregg Hanson.
The original dome roof manufacturing machine was run with a gasoline engine and a shaft running into the building before electricity. Hanson Silo invented the self-supported dome roof structure initially for covering silos throughout rural skylines across much of North America. They have made over 50,000 since that time. Now they can be used as an integral part of a building or simply the aesthetic appeal of a structure. The orange silo you see at the Mills Fleet Farm stores is a good example. Their steel domes are shipped in stacks of pie-shaped steel sections, ready for assembly on-site on top or on the ground and set with a crane The panel edges are roll-formed into channels at the factory and are placed and bolted together during assembly resulting in an appealing free-standing structure. Domes are available with a base diameter from 10' to 30' - generally produced as perfect hemispheres, they can also be formed into modified shapes.
Gregg Hanson, has been a vital cog in the companies modern-day operation and growth since taking over reins of the company. Starting out at age 9, Gregg began learning the silo business under the oversight of his founding grandfather, Emil and father, Willard Hanson.
"In my early years we did about 1,100 silos a year throughout the midwest states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and the Dakota's. I worked in the block plant where they made silo staves and in the roof department," recalled Gregg.
Visitors to the Hanson Silo Lake Lillian location can see this Schweiss lifting gate at the entrance to the office and plant.
In 1970 he came back to work full-time after graduating from Bemidji State College with a Industrial Engineering degree.
"I initially designed a system for digging our own foundations; you couldn't depend on contract people to come and dig for you. I bought the equipment and went out myself to figure out the process of digging a perfectly round hole with a backhoe. If you dig a hole like a stop sign it takes a lot more cement. At that time we had six foundation crews and at any given time three of them could be sitting under a shade tree waiting for a contractor to come; not a very good use of their time," explained Gregg.
"The first year I came back we also designed a new hinged door system so you wouldn't have to take all the doors down. This was new to the industry; no one else was doing this. Silos were getting pretty tall, some with 20 doors in them, and if you had to take them all down it took a lot of time and then when it came to refilling the silo you had to put them all back in again."
Hanson Silo Company now works out of four locations, Lake Lillian, St. Peter and Luverne, Minnesota and another in Lakeview, Iowa. At one time they had as many as 350 employees. When Gregg graduated from college the company had about 175 employees.
While working at a farmsite north of Benson, Minnesota Gregg met a girl named, Linda, who was to become his future wife. They were married in 1973 and now have two sons, Matt and Mike and a daughter Mary Kay.
For the past seven years, Matt has been company President In Charge of Operations; Mike is the Director of Business Development, Sales and Marketing.
"Dad is an engineer and always looking for better ways to improve a process or product," said Mike. "His biggest contribution to the company is optimizing the internal process. He's a good opportunist - when the timing works out for a piece of equipment or for something for plant expansion he's not afraid to pull the trigger and implement it. He's a hands-on CEO and still spends a lot of time in the plant and does some sales work," said Mike.
"Dad has been a real visionary on taking a 100 year-old company into new markets and then developing new capabilities internally to serve those markets," added Matt. "A good example of that is the concrete wall panels and pre-stressed concrete roof panels, along with the columns and beams associated with those buildings and manufacturing technology. He's been productive in getting our company to handle the needs of new markets. That includes training of staff and also adapting the physical plant to be able to fill the needs of these markets. In our manufacturing area, he converted our production floor to handle different parts of we are doing now and converted 20 acres more of our yard for a concrete storage area."
When Hanson Silo built their new plant they had Schweiss Doors install this 58 'x 36'9" bifold liftstrap door on the east end. The door opens wide for a crane to load precast concrete panels and other products. Another Schweiss hydraulic door is shown to the right.
Future success of Hanson Silo involves focus on new ideas, product acquisitions and management techniques
CEO Gregg Hanson will be the first to tell you that it is not business as usual in the silo industry. Decades ago Minnesota farms were in the heyday of smaller dairy operations that have now gone by the wayside of larger corporate dairy farms, lessening the need for the extent of silo construction like it used to be.
He is not one to sit back on his laurels and has been the company visionary for many years going back to when he joined the company out of college. Gregg, still very zealous in the company's success, is sharing his business acumen with his two sons, Matt and Mike, who are now integral cogs on the day-to-day foresight of the company.
"I put Matt in as president in 2007. He is very good in sales and marketing along with focusing on big jobs and jobs in the grain industry and such. On the operations side he has a really good manager beside him. They conduct meetings to discuss issues, strategies and that sort of thing," said Gregg. "Mike's been active for six years and has always been a good negotiator and he's also involved heavily in the sales and marketing effort. He's probably a lot like me in that respect sniffing out opportunities; it's fun to see that. He was responsible for the Easy Rake acquisition."
Hanson Silo has its own concrete batch plant within this building. Here concrete is being poured into a precast concrete panel form.
Concrete Batch Plant
Hanson Silo designed and built its own computer controlled automated concrete batch plant. This world-class plant will mix three yards of low slump 7,000 psi ready mix in 90 seconds. From it they produce their concrete feed bunkers used for grain, seed, compost and fertilizer storage to cattle confinement and on-farm storage. Block retaining walls, bunker silos and other products such as their decorative Hanscrete Hardscape landscaping blocks, sports backstop walls, concrete picnic tables, benches, and much more for agricultural, commercial and residential use are made there.
Hanson's line of farm/silo machine accessories is also a growing business from their popular Easy Rake, bale choppers to silo unloaders and blowers. There's also combine header transports, choppers, conveyors, hammermills and more.
Mike Hanson, Director of Business Development and Sales, holds up a Neopor 4" thick R-24 insulation panel. These panels are placed in-between the precast concrete panels that can be used for concrete feed bunkers, retaining walls and other Hanson Silo products.
Hanson Silo acquires the patented Easy Rake™ Silage Facer
In-plant powder coat painting was implemented in 1996 opening the door to contract manufacturing. It was expanded in early 2000 from a five person manual moving line to the 10'x10'x40' batch booth and now implements a 14-gun computerized automatic spraying line.
Any object that can hold an electrostatic charge and withstand the heat of the curing process (approximately 400 degrees Fahrenheit) can be powder coated.
Workers inside the plant prepare the first layer of cement on the precast concrete panel and lay down Neopor 4" insulation before the final layer of cement is poured over it.
The future at Hanson Silo looks bright
"During the course of 100 years, we've had to reinvent ourselves many times. The thing that is important is that you can't wait until you have a problem to talk about doing something new. I've always been one to look under stones. To be a good manager you have to be able to see a vision of how things are going to look before anyone else does; that's a gift that this company has had. Now we have to be more than just a silo company. Small and medium size dairies are a thing of the past."
- Gregg Hanson, CEO
Hanson Silo Company
Gregg, Mike and Matt Hanson, from a business development and sales, marketing and operations viewpoint, see good things for the company in the future.
"During the course of 100 years, we've had to reinvent ourselves many times," noted Gregg. "The thing that is important is that you can't wait until you have a problem to talk about doing something new. I've always been one to look under stones. To be a good manager you have to be able to see a vision of how things are going to look before anyone else does; that's a gift that this company has had."
Gregg mentioned that they had 29 competitors in his area as recently as 1979. Hanson Silo has been the sole survivor for the past 15 years.
"That's because everyone else rode the horse - it brings to mind that old expression 'When the horse is dead - dismount!' You don't want to wait that long or you'll be toasted too. Every one of those people are out of business. I keep looking at new ideas and new products."
"We envision my brother and I will buy out the shares in the company from my dad and continue on with a growth pattern that is has; organic growth, not by acquisition," said Matt. "We're projecting 10 to 15 percent growth annually."
"We've learned to be diverse by bringing the same product to different emerging markets. We will go anywhere and ship anywhere. Fertilizer storage, grain and fabric-covered buildings for cattle feeders are a big and expanding market for us. We completed our biggest project in July of 2015 hauling 68 truckloads of concrete panels to Illinois for a Coop fertilizer building. We've been doing some precast shooting range wall projects for gun clubs in Texas and North Carolina," noted Mike. "Our diverse past has given us the ability to refocus and tool up and sell to the markets that are still viable.""
So what would Gregg's founding grandfather, Emil, and father Willard, probably say about the transformation of the company today?
This large crane will pick up the heavy finished precast panels. The 36'9" tall bifold door gives the crane enough clearance to move the panels outside for shipment to locations throughout the United States.
"It's hard to say what grandpa Emil would say. I think my dad would be pretty impressed. My dad never got to know Michael that well; he died in 1992, Michael was just a little kid, but he knew Matthew quite well. I think he would be pretty amazed. Those guys had it for at least 60 years. It was a situation where you could never buy enough trucks or hire enough people; business was always there. You can get a little complacent looking for too much new stuff. But if you're not able to take care of that much business, why would you look for new stuff? Things started changing when I got out of college; you had to be more flexible and a little faster.
This photo gives you an idea of the size of the huge new plant that was built recently. It is in this building where the precast concrete panels are constructed.
"Look at the movie Titanic. They didn't have time because of the momentum of the ship; by the time they reversed the engines it still wasn't enough. Then they hit the skids. That's the way it is in business too, you have to be standing guard looking over the top of the hill to give you enough time to make changes and corrections in your direction at the same time. Now we have to be more than just a silo company. Small and medium size dairies are a thing of the past."
He noted that a 9,000 head corporate dairy was just built near Willmar, something he sees as a wave of the future. He compared that to his father-in-law who raised a family of six kids and sent them all through college on 54 cows, raising hogs and chickens as well.
"Hanson Silo running strong for 100 years is quite a long run."
In recognition of their 100 years, Hanson Silo will be hosting an anniversary celebration Saturday, June 16 with plant tours, lunch and other things.
For more information about all the services that Hanson Silo Company offers, visit their website at: www.hansonsilo.com or call them at 800-843-7456. They are located at 11587 County Road 8 Southeast, Lake Lillian. MN 56253. Phone 320-664-4171.
In recent years Hanson Silo has diversified its production of its many products. Mills Fleet Farm silos like this one give immediate attention to its store location.
Hanson Silo becomes a large manufacturer and employer
Founder, Emil Hanson, saw a need for a better constructed silo
Hanson Silo Company was founded in 1916 by Emil Hanson. This is probably one of the first crews that worked for him.
1916
During World War I, Emil Hanson, a local farmer from Lake Lillian, Minnesota, was looking to purchase a silo for his farm and found there was an abundance of poorly constructed silos in the area. Emil noticed that the sand was full of dirt and clay, which makes poor concrete for the construction of silos. Emil had the idea to create a more durable concrete using sand from the shore of Lake Kandiyohi; the lake his farm bordered. The product, which used a washed sand, is now used by concrete manufacturers around the world.
Quality accessories were not always available - so Hanson Silo began to manufacture all of its own accessories. With high caliber products, and its agricultural heritage, Hanson Silo has developed an enviable reputation for service, for dependability, for strength, for workmanship, and for personal pride in a valuable product.
1920s
Demand skyrocketed for Hanson's new silo, Newell Hanson, Emil's son, designed and patented the first automatic silo stave machine powered by gasoline to increase production to meet market demand.
1930s
Newell saw problems with silo roofs being made out of wood so he designed, patented and built machinery in 1937 to manufacture the first steel dome silo roof. Before this, carpenters were building hip style roofs for the tops of silos.
1940s
Farmers demanded a better way to dig their frozen silage to unload feed from silos. Willard and Newell Hanson invented and patented the first self-propelled frozen silage chopper.
This crew of eight Hanson Silo employees gathered for a photo years ago. At one point, Hanson Silo employed as many as 350 people working at various plants in Minnesota and Iowa.
The original Hanson dome roof manufacturing machine was designed by Newell Hanson in the 1930s to replace the hip-style roof design. It ran with a gasoline engine and a shaft running into the building before electricity.
1950s
Hanson Silo expands their manufacturing plants to Southern Minnesota and Central Iowa.
1960s
Farmers demanded a machine that could not only dig loose frozen silage, but handle all different conditions of silage and do it year round. Willard and Newell developed their own surface drive silo unloader primarily for Hanson's customers.
1970s
Hanson's unloader had spread beyond the area they marketed silos in. Hanson responded by building a new manufacturing factory and established distributors and dealers throughout North America. 1979 was a banner year for the company. Hanson manufactured and constructed over 600 silos out of all three plants.
1980s
Hanson increases production on a new industrial strength silo stave by implementing a completely automated computer controlled concrete machine. In 1986, Hanson designed and built a golf car manufacturing plant called Shuttlecraft in Willmar, MN to diversify their product portfolio in the midst of the agriculture crisis of the '80s.
1990s
Hanson further expands their silo unloader line and builds its first precast concrete plant. Powder coat painting was implemented which opened the door into contract manufacturing. Truck beds, assembly line automation equipment and electronic scoreboards for major sports complexes among others were engineered and manufactured.
2000s
Hanson expanded its powder coating system from a five-person manual moving line to a 10'x10'x40' batch booth and implemented a 14-gun computerized automatic spraying line. Hanson designed and built a computer controlled automated concrete batch plant. This world-class plant mixes three yards of low slump 7,000 psi ready mix in 90 seconds.
USCA "Best of Local Business" Award
Hanson Companies was selected for the 2009 Best of Lake Lillian Award in the Silo Fillers & Unloaders category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).
The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. The Washington DC organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Their mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.
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“Vintage” Schweiss Door Owner Decides on a Big UpgradeIn Schweiss' early production days, Keith Peterson and his father, Earl, got a Schweiss bifold door with cables for a quonset shed on their farm. Now many years later, he decided to get another Schweiss bifold door for their new machine shed - this time with the modern lift straps. Keith jokingly calls the old door “vintage”, recounting how he and Earl got the door in pieces and welded it together themselves. The new door is a 18' x 50' bifold door with lift straps and remotes. Keith remarks that it is handy to keep them in the equipment so you can open the door and drive in without getting out. |
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Beautiful automotive farm shop is highlighted by Schweiss bifold doorCraig Beranek of Lafayette, Minnesota put a Schweiss 18 ft. x 16 ft. bifold liftstrap/autolatch door on his new automotive farm shop. Over the years he has watched Schweiss Doors evolve into a major quality bifold and hydraulic door manufacturer. His 5,808 sq. ft Cleary building is combined for farm machinery cold storage and a heated automotive shop. |
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For over a century Haug Implement has met the ever-growing and high-tech requirements of farmersCEO Donald "Butch" Haug and his General Manager son, Paal, are co-owners of Haug Implement Co. John Deere dealerships in Willmar and Litchfield, Minnesota. Butch's grandfather, Gunder Haug, started the first implement dealership in 1918. Haug Implement saw the reliability of Schweiss liftstrap doors with the first purchase of a 34.10 ft. x 15.7 ft. custom door with a walk-through door and manual latching system. Two years later another 34 ft. x 18.11 ft. door was installed on another building at the Willmar location. |
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Melberg's homemade 'Big Bud' tractor is replica of World's LargestCharlie has restored four Minneapolis Moline Jet Star's for his other grandchildren. Grandson, Eric, at right received one of them. He is pictured with Charlie and Madden, inside the cab. Charlie and his sons have nine Schweiss bifold doors on various buildings on their farm, two of which can be seen in the background. |
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Western Wisconsin Ag Supply knows a good door when they see itWestern Wisconsin Ag Supply liked what they saw in the original Schweiss bifold doors and replaced them with bifold liftstrap doors. All three bifold doors they replaced were 16' wide x 17.10' tall and have automatic latching systems and are clad with white polycarbonate panels, matching the same style as on the plant tower above the door. |
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Mapleton farmer goes with Schweiss bifold door for his new machine shopStencel's new insulated farm shop is 60' x 72' and has a 36' x 16' Schweiss bifold liftstrap door on it. Four 4' x 3' sliding windows on the door let in an ample amount of natural daylight and the door has an automatic latching system, backup system and remote opener. Minnesota Buildings & Equipment, Inc. of Mapleton did the construction on the Solid Core EPS pre-engineered building; the door was installed by Schweiss Doors. |
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Huisman Farms think BIG and go BIG with Schweiss doorsTim Huisman, wireless remote in hand, opens the big 50' x 18' bifold liftstrap door on his new cold storage machine shed at Huisman Farms southeast of Atwater. When you farm big with big equipment you need big machine sheds with big doors. Schweiss Doors filled that bill over the years by manufacturing three large bifold liftstrap doors for Huisman Farms of Atwater, Minnesota. |
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Central Region Coop in Fairfax has four bifold doors at its new bulk fertilizer plantThe newly constructed Fairfax CRC plant consists of three buildings that have four Schweiss bifold liftstrap doors that are all 16' x 18,' large enough for a semi to come in one end, load or unload, and drive through the opposite side at the fertilizer receiving and fertilizer load-out bays. The bifold doors are equipped with the new auto strap latch systems and have dustproof motors and electrical in compliance with National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) standards. |
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Agtegra Cooperative uses two 70' drive-thru hydraulic doors for aerial spray hangarsAgtegra Cooperative installed two of these 70' x 14' Schweiss hydraulic doors for its aerial spraying operation in Harrold, S.D. The two doors, one on each end of the hangar give them the capability of time -saving in and out refueling and loading chemicals into their fleet of Air Tractors. |
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Three bifold doors go to work at Iowa farm and two hydraulic doors for body shopVic Hansen, owner of Ace Body Shop in Linn Grove, Iowa, put a 80' x 54' addition on his body shop business and has Schweiss 24' x 14' and 12' x 14' hydraulic doors placed on the sidewall entrances. He chose the hydraulic door in order to get maximum headroom to be able to work on big trucks, RVs and farm equipment. |
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Ely Helicopter Services wins Star Master Builder Best of Hangar competitionThis 98' x 70' hangar owned by Ely Helicopter Services of Sallisaw has a Schweiss 46' x 15' hydraulic door with a remote opening system. The door is positioned in the middle of the steel building endwall. Jason "Hoot" Ely, of Ely Helicopter Services was added to the satisfied customer list after having a new 98' x 70' hangar built for his thriving Sallisaw, Oklahoma crop spraying business that also provides anything from aerial sightseeing and much more. |
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Iowa farm supply dealership relies on Schweiss quality hydraulic doorBuilt by Lembke Construction of Albert Lea, Minn., it has a Schweiss hydraulic 32' x 20' door on the south sidewall. A hydraulic door was ordered to take full advantage of clear opening height of the 24' tall building. Asmus Farm Supply has Schweiss bifold doors at three of their other locations. Those locations include, Estherville and Manly, Iowa and Fulda and Okabena, Minnesota. |
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Rosenquist's 'Gold Rush' tractor pull team finishes second at NationalsFrans Rosenquist stopped by the Schweiss Doors booth at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville. Rosenquist Farms in Atwater has purchased five Schweiss bifold doors that they have been using over the years. With Frans are Dave Schweiss, left, and company owner, Mike Schweiss. |
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Iowa farmers decide on bifold door over sliders - and glad they didWhen it came time to decide on a door for Wes and Todd Westra's new farm machine shed and hangar in Ireton, Iowa they did their homework and found a Schweiss bifold door really was an affordable option. The 40' x 15.3' liftstrap bifold has an automatic latch system and remote openers. |
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Pilots fly-in for fun and Schweiss factory tourPilots from throughout the state arrived at Schweiss Doors Friday for fun, food and a Schweiss factory tour where hydraulic and bifold liftstrap hangar doors are made and distributed throughout the world. It was a time for these pilots and others to trade stories compare flying stories and reunite with old friends; some of whom have taken to the skies for over 50 years. |
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Brownton Coop Ag Center has 40' bifold liftstrap door on its newest buildingIn recent years growth and services have escalated. Just a few years ago a new equipment and shop building was added adjacent to the offices. It has a Schweiss 40' x 18' 6" bifold liftstrap door with autolatches and remote openers. |
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Mathis Implement replaces slider doors with a Schweiss 50' hydraulic doorThe dealership offers Case IH, New Holland, Haybuster hay processors and grinders, Rowse mowers and rakes and Koyker loaders in additional to other lines of farm implements. Mathis replace sliding doors on his building with a Schweiss 50' 9" x 14' 2.5" one-piece hydraulic door. He went with the hydraulic style door in order to get maximum height and headroom. The door is equipped with remote openers and a 17" double bottom seal. It also has a walkdoor built into the left side of the door. |
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Knutson's like their farm shop and cold storage bifold doorsEverything there has its place and the heated shop with all its tools and gear is neat as a pin. The Knutson's take pride in their buildings and also their two Schweiss bifold doors. One of the bifolds that was purchased nearly 20 years ago is still operating with cables. It's 36' x 16' and on their 70' x 75' shop that they can heat with a forced air wood stove or in-floor heat. The other is a bifold liftstrap 50' x 17' door that was attached to their new 80' x 150' cold storage building a few years ago. Both doors have automatic latches and the big door has a remote opener. |
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Kurt Reiner says his 40 ft. Schweiss hydraulic farm door is solid as a rockReiner went a couple of steps further to make his door even nicer. He ordered it with a remote opener and two 24' x 36" windows to take advantage of available daylight. He also mounted three sets of fluorescent lights on each side of the windows, that he says really lights up the outside of his building after the sun goes down. |
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Busy Olivia farmstead has five Schweiss bifold doorsThose first two doors are bifold cable lift doors 23' x 16' and 26' x 12' and they have manual latches, that Brian said have been holding up really good since the day they were put on. He says he keeps them in operating order by following simple routine maintenance such as keeping them well lubed. |
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'No maintenance' is what sells Vernon Mellies on Schweiss bifold farm doorsTwo Schweiss 40' x 16' bifold doors are placed on the endwalls of his newest 60' x 120' and 60' x 80' pole barns built by Lester Buildings. The larger one is a cold storage machine shed and the latter one is a heated farm shop. An older 40' x 70' building that initially had sliding doors on it was replaced with a 34' x 15' Schweiss freestanding header bifold cable door that has since been converted to liftstraps. The doors all have windows and autolatch systems; two can be operated by remote openers. |
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Straightline winds of 85 mph damage new shop, but not the bifold door on itThat particular building has a 35' x 16' Schweiss bifold liftstrap autolatch door on it. The door itself weathered the storm quite well but wasn't operational again until the tilted and leaning structure could be straightened out. The busy 3,800-acre farmstead has 320 Red Angus beef cattle and a 75-head dairy herd operated by a trio of brothers; Mark, Steve and Scott Nelson, along with Mark's son, Evan and two nephews; Darrin and Troy. In addition to the livestock, they grow corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa. The family farm dates back to the brothers' great-grandfather, Thor, who settled here from Norway in 1885. |
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Bird Island farmer likes his big bifold door, but now wishes he'd gone biggerSuch was the case for Jeff "Jumpy" Hagen and his son, Jesse, who farm 300 acres of corn and soybeans south of Bird Island, Minn. When he put up a new 54'x72' cold storage pole shed and shop he knew he wanted a Schweiss bifold liftstrap door on it. The bifold door spans 40' wide x 16' tall, has an automatic latching system and sliding windows. |
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Schanil farm retains red barn look with modern 40' x 18' Schweiss bifold doorThe building has and will have many modern conveniences such as a 40' x 18' Schweiss bifold liftstrap door with a remote opener and automatic latches. Three 4' x 4' windows on the bottom half of the door bring in natural daylight to the building and a decorative faux haymow door, adds a touch of class to the upper half of the door. A basketball hoop is centered near the rear of the building for Jason's four-year-old son Dylan and seven-year-old daughter, Molly, to perfect their game on a newly poured concrete floor. The Schanil's plan to do some additional electrical work inside that will enable them to use it as a heated shop. A overhead 16' x 16' door was built into the west side of the building, mostly for use to bring smaller vehicles in, while the big Schweiss bifold allows access for the biggest of their farm machinery. |
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Ken Kuttner's 42' x 20' Schweiss bifold door is built to match the strength of his reinforced buildingWhen Ken Kuttner, who farms southwest of Stewart, MN, decided to put up a new 80' x 145' machine shed he wanted it done right and he wanted his building to be reinforced to the max. And without thinking twice he ordered a Schweiss 42' x 20' clear opening bifold liftstrap door with autolatches to put on the south endwall. Kuttner said that putting in a 20' tall door was one of the best things he could have done. |
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Karl's 50' x 20' bifold gives plenty of machine shed headroomDave, who started farming 43 years ago, says he is now Dan's helper, and Dan has 20 years of farming behind him. Dave and Dan’s wives, Laurie and Rachel, don't do field work, but run the farm from behind their computers and do other things necessary to keep a farm running successfully. Dan also gets help from his 14-year-old son, Logan. |
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Bird Island farmer has his son build and install his Schweiss bifold doorWhen you have a modern line of farm equipment one thing you want to have is a quality building to protect it from the Minnesota elements. Dave Elfering, who farms northeast of Bird Island, MN went to Country Wide Lumber in Hector, MN for a 150' x 80' building which combines as a shop and storage building. Buildings this size require big reliable doors to bring today's large farm machinery in and out; and for that he made a one-stop shop for Schweiss Doors. |
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Ryberg Farms and Country Transport business rely on Schweiss Bifold DoorsWhen you have a busy trucking business and a big farming operation to boot . . . that calls for a lot of buildings to store and service a fleet of semis, tractors and other related farm equipment. These buildings require reliable doors for its day-to-day operation and Schweiss doors fill that bill. |
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Brian Lamb is very happy with his Schweiss bifold doorsBrian Lamb has been producing corn, soybeans and sweetcorn on 2,000 acres of prime Renville County farmland just southwest of Hector, MN since 1981. He emphasized how fortunate he was to have what he called a "World Class" door manufacturer near his backyard and stressed the importance of doing business locally with an experienced builder to put up his machine shed and farmshop. |
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Danube farmer likes his 40' Schweiss hydraulic doorGary Seehusen, a third generation farmer who works 1,600 acres of farmland six miles north of Danube since 1988 has seen considerable improvements to his farmsite and equipment since his father, Dale and grandfather, George, farmed it going back to over a century ago. Corn, soybeans, sweetcorn and occasional pea crops grow well on the prime agricultural land. |
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End-to-end 50' bifold doors open up Kubesh's 175' post frame buildingWhen it came time for Teri Kubesh to put up a new Country Wide Lumber 80' x 175' post frame farm building, she and her son, Justin called on Schweiss Doors for a couple of large bifold doors.The Kubesh's have two 50' x 18' Schweiss bifold liftstrap doors at their rural Olivia, MN farm location. The doors are equipped with autolatches and remote openers. |
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Country Wide Lumber serves farmers with quality-made post frame buildingsIn smaller towns, such as Hector, MN, family-owned businesses are a big deal. Customers and repeat customers get to know and trust the owners and staff and feel comfortable knowing the business sees them as more than a number or a name. Jim and Jan Eiler, owners of Country Wide Lumber and Hardware, along with the rest of their staff are a prime example and have been so for nearly the past 25 years since they embedded themselves into the business community. |
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Sullivan Farms is a family-run operation geared to modern-day technologySullivan Family Farms is up on the latest modern-day equipment and technology, but like most farms it didn't start out that way. Patriarch, Mike Sullivan, can still remember those first years going back to 1968 when he began working a handful of acres with a limited amount of equipment. |
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Liftstraps sold Sleepy Eye farmer on Schweiss bifold farm door"When I heard the Schweiss bifold doors went to straps instead of cables, it was a no brainer. I knew there would be less maintenance because of the straps - it works every time, all the time, and that's what I really like about the door." Those were the words of Lonnie Spaeth, who farms 400 acres just northwest of Sleepy Eye, MN. |
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Towering crane, huge concrete precast panels move under massive 58' Schweiss bifold doorFor over 100 years and four generations, the Hanson family has been involved with agriculture and has grown to symbolize quality, economy, and dependability. Hanson Silo was founded at Lake Lillian, Minnesota in 1916 by Emil Hanson - a local farmer who wanted a better product for himself and for his neighbors. His goal was to manufacture an improved product at the best price with the lowest upkeep. Hanson silos are easily identifiable - those with the checkered pattern on top are a Hanson silo. |
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Postwar body and fender shop evolves into a premier implement dealership; expansion includes big Schweiss bifold doorWorld War II had just ended and in March of 1946 a new business by the name of Lano's Body and Fender Works took roots in the small town of Chaska, MN. The original Lano brothers, Dick, Hauser and Clarence, returning from service in WWII, started that repair shop and expanded their business vision in 1948, when they took on the Allis Chalmers farm equipment line. When the company switched from the automotive business to farm equipment, brother Joe, also just out of the military, joined the corporation. The rest, as they say, is history. |
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Morton Building was fitted with four Schweiss bifold doorsWhen the time came for the City of Meriden, CT to order four new bifold doors for its new municipal airport hangar they went through the usual procedure of getting multiple bids, as most cities are required to do. The low bid for four 40' x 14' doors was awarded to Schweiss Doors. |
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Turtle Farms likes its reliable, quick opening hydraulic and bifold doorsTurtle Farms of Gibbon, MN, managed by the brother combination of Mark and Brad Turtle, along with Brad's son-in-law, Andrew Hansen, have been loyal Schweiss door customers ever since they put up their first farm shop. |
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Peterson's motivation to 'Go Bigger' is something he is happy withForty-one years of farming can teach you a lot. Dennis and Jennifer Peterson of Hector know just about everything there is to know about the good years, the not so good years and how farming technology has progressed to where it is today. |
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Erik Dean joins a generation of young farmers working the prime ag land of Renville CountySleek is a good word to describe Erik Dean's new Hector, MN cold storage building. The clean lines and brown accent, all the way down to the exterior LED lights and large Schweiss Bifold Liftstrap/Autolatch door with decorative windows give this structure a great working and farmsite appeal. |
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Koehn Construction Services is the kingpin in Kansas and Missouri farm countryFredonia, Kansas is a city of 2,482 and the county seat of Wilson County, Kansas. The quiet picturesque city is in the southeast corner of Kansas farm country at the junction of US Highways 400 and 47 within 150 miles of Wichita, Kansas City and Tulsa Oklahoma. It was founded in 1868, and saw considerable expansion in the early 20th century, with a fossil fuel boom. |
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Anderson farms was a Schweiss Door customer decades ago and still isDon Anderson of Hector, MN has a progressive Renville County farm operation and building arrangement that is well planned out. For the 40-some years he's been farming, he has a good handle on what it takes to be successful at what he does. |
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Dave Duehn had farming running through his veins when nobody else in the family didDave Duehn's path to farming followed a different route than that of most farmers today. I guess you could say, "It was from the ground up." And at first it wasn't an easy row to hoe. |
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Modern 80'x120' farm equipment building with 50' bifold door was built with future needs in mindThere's a very old John Deere two-row corn planter that sits next to Jeff Buboltz's modern 80' x 120' Lester Building steel-sided building that now shelters a full line of powerful, modern John Deere tractors, implements, a combine and two semi grain trucks. Now an ornamental piece, that old planter which probably sat in a grove for quite sometime, would easily fit in the back of a pickup truck - it is literally a step back in time from farming days gone by. |
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New Ulm farmer was looking for a strong and reliable bifold doorPerry Meyer of New Ulm, MN lives and works on a seventh-generation farm dating back to 1858. Things were a lot different when his great-grandparents tilled the soil with a horse-drawn plow. |
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Kurt Sandgren is one of many repeat bifold farm door customersKurt Sandgren is like a lot of other Schweiss Door customers who at one time or another have purchased a Schweiss door and who like it enough to be a repeat customer when they put up or renovate another building. |
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Hydraulic door is perfect for Paul Lux repair shopAround these parts Paul Lux is known as a Jack Of All Trades and master of many. He's one of those guys who can and has fixed everything from refrigerators to airplanes and everything in between. |
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Rosenquist races himself into a booming farming operationHow Frans Rosenquist got his start in farming back in the late '70s is quite unusual. It wasn't a situation where the family farm was handed down to him or where he was able negotiate a nice loan through his local friendly banker. It was a matter of him spending money wisely. |
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Chad Hoese is a new-generation farmer and livestock producer with two Schweiss doorsChad Hoese at age 29 is a new-generation, unmarried farmer producing corn, soybeans and a herd of 60 dairy heifers at Stoney Creek Farms, a 2,500 acre spread just three miles north of Glencoe, MN. His latest acquisition was to put a Schweiss One-Piece Hydraulic 29.10' x 14' clear door on an existing woodframe cold storage building. He uses it to shelter two sparkling semi trucks and other equipment. |
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Minnesota farm machine shed was designed for modern day farming and practicalityIf you are a farmer that takes care of a lot of acres and you need a machine shed that's more than just the average machine shed, you might want to give Randy Buboltz of Hector, MN a jingle. His 80' x 240' machine shed has it all from in-floor heating, a kitchen for farm help, to an office to conduct and keep track of crop production and all the ins and outs associated with it. |
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Two large bifold doors are the crowning touch on Jack Kiecker's pole barn"I didn't even price anyone elses doors, I knew this was the one I wanted. I still would have went with a Schweiss door even if I wasn't so close to the factory. Schweiss is the only company I know of that has the liftstrap. I've seen bifolds on other buildings that weren't Schweiss doors, but they didn't have the quality. Some guys tried to talk me into these big rollup doors, and then they put a post in the middle of them that I figure someone sooner or later is going to back into and you lose some headroom with a rollup..." explained Kiecker. |
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Cliff Willhite is a believer in Schweiss bifold farm doorsCliff "Chipper" Willhite of Hector, MN has two Schweiss bifold liftstrap doors, both equipped with autolatches and remote openers. His first Schweiss bifold, a 24' x 15.6', went on his remodeled 30' x 72' shop over nine years ago to replace a worn out rollup door. When he built a new 70' x 84' machine shed he didn't hesitate to give Schweiss Doors another call which resulted in a 40' x 18' bifold liftstrap door. Willhite farmed for 40 years. In 2012, retirement was calling so he turned the keys to the 1,000 acre corn and soybean farm over to his son-in-law, Mike Koenig. |
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Hinton's Red PowerNever try to beat a man at his own game was the advice of Jim Hinton, father of Randy Hinton, General Manager of the 'Red Power' Case/IH Team of northern Iowa. That was back in 1971 when Randy and his Dad were just trying to get a toehold in the farm equipment business with their 'start up' store in Bancroft, IA. |
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Revier Feed Storage BuildingIt stands tall, nearly 40' to the roof line. It's big, like 120' x 200'. Concrete walls standing 16' tall wrap all four sides of this huge structure. And it holds nearly 1 million bushels of corn. We're talking about the huge feed storage structure at Revier Cattle Company, a beef operation with feedlot capacity of about 16,000 head. But what makes this feed storage especially unique are two steel hydraulic doors, each 15' 6" wide and 15' tall and positioned at both ends of this feed storage structure. |
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Jim Becke is a farmer who has stayed with Schweiss bifold doorsJim Becke, a Winthrop, MN farmer stands in front of his new Country Wide Lumber 120'x66' machine storage building. The tractor, sitting just outside the Schweiss 36'x 18' bifold door is a New Holland T6050 that he bought from Lano Equipment and it is fitted with a Loftness snowblower. |
