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Robert W Greif

Posted 1/27/2011 08:08 (#1575556)
Subject: Today's Factory - Kinze

Dallas Center IA 515-720-2463

Today's factory on the Bobby Tour is one that probably been seen by more mid westerners' than any other, at least noticed
Kinze Manufactering near Williamsburg, Iowa. About everyone who drives by exit 216 of I-80 sees the grain cart up on the sign. And in the last few years the big planter up in the air, also the stack of grain carts.

In the first picture the blue arrow points to the Kinze factory along I-80, exit 216. The red arrow to the right is at the outlet mall the next exit east, exit 220.

The second picture is a closeup. The blue arrow is the new entrance and office building.
The smaller green arrow is the big planter up in the air.
And the red arrow is the stack of grain carts. Well you can't see much of the grain carts, but you can see their shadow.

The southwest corner [lower left for you non map reading folks] of the factory is the first part of the Kinze factory at this along I-80 site. It later was the main entrance and office area. Also in the oldest factory area was a display on the Kinze company. How it was started, things they build, how products are built, etc:
Several very nice models of planters and grain carts in there. And it was open to the public, I have been there several times.
With the move to the new office building, this old display area is now closed, at least to non-groups.
I hope this area will reopen to the public someday.
It was a good way to spend a hour or two.

Pictures 3 & 4 are non Google, but one I took. A closeup of the cart on the sign. The cart is not put up there with a crane, but the mounting is lowered down the side of the sign. The cart is mounted to the steel beam and run back up.
Someplace at the Kinze website it says that there has been at least eleven different carts up there.

Next to last picture: Jon Kinzenbaw started at a welding shop in Ladora Iowa, a few miles northwest of the present location.
Last summer after leaving my dentist in Newton, I would drive two-lane to Amama and have a nice dinner. And I drove thru Ladora.
So one time I decided to find out just where is old welding shop is. Figuring somebody there would know, I stopped at the elevator in Ladora. Nobody knew for sure, the first person I asked didn't even know who Jon Kinzenbaw was. But some of the people there seemed to think it was the building on the other side of the road.
It does look like a building a young man would use to start a welding business back about 1965.

Added later: Some of you folks may not know about the planter in the air or the grain cart stack. So here is a picture taken from the parking lot up by the grain cart on the sign.

Edited by Bobby Greif 1/27/2011 08:25