October 2011 Archives

Senior management at Versatile had a lot to talk about on the 26^th of October. The Clarence Avenue assembly plant in Winnipeg celebrated completion of the 100,000^th tractor built there since it began production in 1966. The milestone model, a 305 MFWD, along with the dealer that sold it and the customers who bought it were present for a special ceremony as the tractor rolled off one of the plant's two assembly lines.

With all the pomp and pageantry you'd expect on such an occasion, media, plant employees, customers and dealers were present as the keys were handed over to the new owners, who are longtime Versatile customers from the U.S. midwest.

The 305 was given a custom paint job along with an ample serving of chrome accessories, to make it a one of a kind.

But the company had other big news to share. It has updated the models in its articulated four-wheel drive lineup. For 2012, the big tractors will use either a QSX 11.9-litre or 15-litre Cummins Tier IV-compliant engine, depending on the model. The current 305 horsepower articulated tractor will be dropped, and the new line will include six models in the 350 to 550 horsepower range. Versatile's largest model, the 575, will stay in production; but it will continue to use the existing Tier III engine for the time being.

A Caterpillar powershift transmission modified specifically for Versatile's application will now be available in all the new large tractors. It offers eight, closely-spaced gears in the critical working range, which gives operators a lot of choices when selecting the right field speeds.

And if two major announcements wasn't enough, management also gave the media a glimpse of its prototype combine, which is currently undergoing field trials in North America. The fact a combine will soon wear the Versatile name is possibly the worst-kept secret in the farm equipment industry today. But for the first time we had a chance to take a few photos of it behind the Winnipeg factory, as long as we kept our distance. With 485 horsepower, the Torum 760 fits in at the high end of the Class IIX range.

Everyone in Versatile management was tight lipped about the details under the sheet metal, but they did say the rotary threshing mechanism uses a counter-rotating concave. When will the company officially launch it? “Sooner rather than later,” was the official response. I'll keep you posted.

Scott

No, that caption wasn't my attempt to be the first one to sing a Christmas carol this year. My trip to the grand opening of Seed Hawk's expanded production facility earlier this month made me think about those words. It became clear to me that owners of the many prairie-based implement manufacturers, like Seed Hawk and all the others, must have had a real ability to look beyond potential problems and see opportunities when they started out.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, a few producers across the prairie were busily building better implements in their farm workshops, because they couldn't buy the kind of seeding and tillage tools that met their needs. That isn't to say there weren't already many options available to them. It's just that production practices were evolving and the kinds of implements offered by the major manufacturers weren't keeping up. Some producers turned their implement-building activities into extremely successful commercial ventures. The names of their companies are now known around the world.

Today, those farmers-turned-manufacturers are responsible for well over $800 million in economic activity in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, according to statistics from Manitoba Trade and Investment.

I suspect most of those who now operate businesses that manufacture implements or supply components into a global market met with more than their share of naysayers when they started out. It seems the number of people who are more than willing to point out why something new won't or can't work greatly outnumber those who see why it can.

I encountered that problem recently on a much smaller scale. I contacted a public institution to discuss creating a how-to article series. Everyone I spoke to thought the project was a great idea; and it really met the objectives of the institution, which was to pass on knowledge. But when word of the project made its way up the chain of command there for official approval, one person in senior management saw only potential problems.

When that manager and I discussed the possible pitfalls and I explained how we could easily deal with them, I sensed it didn't matter that the problems weren't insurmountable. She only saw why things couldn't happen. She didn't see what I saw.

Had the owners of the dozens of agricultural-product manufacturers in western Canada shared that “You-can't-because...” attitude, the economic landscape of the the three prairie provinces would be very different than it is now. Would we be weathering the economic downturn as well as we are had these individuals not pursued their visions? I don't think so. The continued strength of sales of agricultural machinery has been one of the powerful economic drivers in today's regional economy.

When you look toward the future in your farming operations, what do you see? Do you have a vision? Do the problems look bigger than the opportunities? I'm not suggesting you put on rose-coloured glasses when you look to the future, but how successful your operation will become depends in large part on the answers to those questions.

Scott

With 8 million acres left unseeded in parts of Saskatchewan this season, it's been a tough year for some producers. But overall sales of new equipment remains relatively strong across the west. According to management at Saskatchewan-based Seed Hawk, domestic demand for its seed drills continues to grow. In order to keep up with increasing demand, the company has just completed a $7.5 million expansion to its plant near the town of Langbank, making it the second addition the production facility has seen since 2008. The grand opening was held last Monday.

“That growth has to come with markets, and the markets have been good for us,” says Pat Beaujot, company president. Part of the reason for that growth in sales is due to its partnership with Vaderstad-Verken of Sweden, a European implement manufacturer. Since becoming a minority shareholder in the company, Vaderstad has taken over responsibility for most overseas marketing of Seed Hawk products through its international distribution system, and it has been selling those Seed Hawk products branded with the Vaderstad name.

Seed Hawk president, Pat Beaujot (left), Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Seed Hawk vice president Brian Dean cut the ribbon at the grand opening ceremony on October 3rd.

That kind of rebranding to increase global distribution has apparently been a boon for sales at Seed Hawk. It's something that has worked well for Canadian companies in the past. For example, Versatile used a partnership with global giant Fiat to sell a limited range of its four-wheel drive tractor models in Europe during the 1970s. Selling into a broad range of markets insulates companies from local fluctuations in demand, like the weather problems of the last two summers that have dampened demand for new ag equipment in some prairie regions.

Seed Hawk's partnership with Vaderstad helped kick off a growth phase for the prairie company, because it exposed the company to a lot of new markets. “That first expansion (in 2008) was all about them buying into the company,” explains Beaujot. “This one is about growing the company.” That growth comes in part because the Vaderstad contribution has also helped Seed Hawk build a critical mass in the North American market. “It has strengthened our ability to do things here, as well,” he adds.

The Seed Hawk plant is one of the largest employers in the region. It now has a staff of about 120 workers and is looking for more.

The new expansion to the plant adds 50,000 square feet, doubling the overall footprint of the facility. And it allowed for a complete reorganization of the production process. “It brought us into one facility. We were welding and painting in the old building. Then the frames would go outside in the mud and the snow and then they would take them into the new building and put them together. The old building was really challenging. We knew it (expansion) was a step we had to take.”

The grand opening of this phase of expansion is not likely to be the last one the plant will see. Beaujot says the company has long-term plans for growth and incorporating new efficiencies into the operation. “In the next one (expansion) we'd be looking at adding laser cutting and brakes,” says Beaujot. “I think we can gain some efficiencies. We'll be looking at welding robots. We're also planning on putting in one or two robots in the bays here.”

Seed Hawk drills, like this one, are now being built in the company's new production facility, which brings the overall size of the plant in Langbank, Saskatchewan, to about 100,000 square feet.

When making its expansion plans, Seed Hawk's management has had the benefit of some friendly advice from its Swedish partner, which followed a similar pattern of gradual expansion. As a result, the design of the Seed Hawk building allows for more construction immediately adjacent to the latest addition. “This building is a flat-roof design, so our next expansion would be going out 100 feet (from the new section),” Beaujot continues. “Vaderstad told us, whatever you do, make sure you can keep on expanding.”

Scott   

With 8 million acres left unseeded in parts of Saskatchewan this season, it's been a tough year for some producers. But overall sales of new equipment remains relatively strong across the west. According to management at Saskatchewan-based Seed Hawk, domestic demand for its seed drills continues to grow. In order to keep up with increasing demand, the company has just completed a $7.5 million expansion to its plant near the town of Langbank, making it the second addition the production facility has seen since 2008.

“That growth has to come with markets, and the markets have been good for us,” says Pat Beaujot, company president. Part of the reason for that growth in sales is due to its partnership with Vaderstad-Verken of Sweden, a European implement manufacturer. Since becoming a minority shareholder in the company, Vaderstad has taken over responsibility for most overseas marketing of Seed Hawk products through its international distribution system, and it has been selling those Seed Hawk products branded with the Vaderstad name.

Seed Hawk president, Pat Beaujot (left), Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Seed Hawk vice president Brian Dean cut the ribbon on the second plant expansion at the company's plant since 2008.

That kind of rebranding to increase global distribution has apparently been a boon for sales at Seed Hawk. It's something that has worked well for Canadian companies in the past. For example, Versatile used a partnership with global giant Fiat to sell a limited range of its four-wheel drive tractor models in Europe during the 1970s. Selling into a broad range of markets insulates companies from local fluctuations in demand, like the weather problems of the last two summers that have dampened demand for new ag equipment in some prairie regions.

Seed Hawk's partnership with Vaderstad helped kick off a growth phase for the prairie company, because it exposed the company to a lot of new markets. “That first expansion (in 2008) was all about them buying into the company,” explains Beaujot. “This one is about growing the company.” That growth comes in part because the Vaderstad contribution has also helped Seed Hawk build a critical mass in the North American market. “It has strengthened our ability to do things here, as well,” he adds.

The Seed Hawk plant is one of the largest employers in the region. It now has a staff of about 120 workers and is looking for more.

The new expansion to the plant adds 50,000 square feet, doubling the overall footprint of the facility. And it allowed for a complete reorganization of the production process. “It brought us into one facility. We were welding and painting in the old building. Then the frames would go outside in the mud and the snow and then they would take them into the new building and put them together. The old building was really challenging. We knew it (expansion) was a step we had to take.”

The grand opening of this phase of expansion is not likely to be the last one the plant will see. Beaujot says the company has long-term plans for growth and incorporating new efficiencies into the operation. “In the next one (expansion) we'd be looking at adding laser cutting and brakes,” says Beaujot. “I think we can gain some efficiencies. We'll be looking at welding robots. We're also planning on putting in one or two robots in the bays here.”

Seed Hawk drills, like this one, are now being built in the company's new production facility, which brings the overall size of the plant in Langbank, Saskatchewan, to about 100,000 square feet.

When making its expansion plans, Seed Hawk's management has had the benefit of some friendly advice from its Swedish partner, which followed a similar pattern of gradual expansion. As a result, the design of the Seed Hawk building allows for more construction immediately adjacent to the latest addition. “This building is a flat-roof design, so our next expansion would be going out 100 feet (from the new section),” Beaujot continues. “Vaderstad told us, whatever you do, make sure you can keep on expanding.”

Scott