Our Core Values
Jon Kinzenbaw founded Kinze Manufacturing on a set of core values, values that have withstood the test of time. They’re the foundation to our culture, and are as relevant today as they were in 1965.
Integrity
Honesty, commitment, truth, and honor are not just words; they are the governing Christian principles by which we conduct our business.
Customer Focus
When you see a way to improve Kinze equipment, we hear you. When you have concerns or questions, we hear you.
Excellence
Each of us exerts a maximum effort to provide a quality product that responds to and anticipates our customer needs.
Innovation
Our workplace is an environment where creativity and new ideas, consistent with our company direction, have the ability to reach their full potential.
Mutual Respect
People are our greatest asset, and we strive to exhibit care, concern, and interest in those with whom we work and with whom we do business.
The Story
Back in 1965, a 21-year old farm boy from Victor, Iowa with an ability to “fix things” opened his own welding shop, with a small bank loan and $25 in his pocket.
Everyone knew young Jon Kinzenbaw had a gift. But no one could have predicted his little welding business would grow into one of the largest, privately held agricultural equipment manufacturers in North America.
The Firsts
Jon’s first manufactured product: a 13-knife, 30-ft anhydrous ammonia application toolbar.
His first patented product: a high-clearance, variable-width moldboard plow.
His first major innovation: the first-ever single axle, low-profile grain cart (with giant high-flotation tires), designed and built in 1971. It revolutionized grain handling during harvest time.
The Overnight Revolution
The event that really changed Kinze, and farming, was a conversation Jon had with farmers in 1975. After hearing some of his friends complain about the amount of time they wasted constantly dismantling and loading their planters onto drop-bed trailers, Jon invented a rear-folding planter toolbar. And planting changed forever.
The first rear-fold planter sold 20 more. The next 20 sold another 80.
To meet the huge demand, Kinzenbaw purchased 10 acres of land and built a new manufacturing plant near Williamsburg, Iowa. Before the end of the decade, he added 600- and 800-bushel grain carts to the product line-up. And the ideas have kept coming.
Today’s Kinze
Kinze is still privately held by the Kinzenbaw family. The company’s world headquarters and manufacturing facilities span more than 30 acres under one roof. As a market leader in innovating, durable and high-quality planters and grain carts, Kinze continues to reinvest into the future with state-of-the-art facilities and manufacturing equipment.
We Use What We Build
The Kinzenbaw family and many Kinze employees own and operate row crop farms. This brings a unique perspective to the way Kinze equipment is designed and manufactured. After all, what better way to evaluate farm equipment than using it on your own farming operation.
We Hear You
At Kinze, everything starts with listening. Listening to farmers at the forefront of innovation. Farmers who want to take advantage of proven technologies that maximize productivity. Listening. Then designing, building, testing, refining, and using it on our own farms. Then, we bring it to the rest of the world.
The Whole Story
Visit our Innovation Center and read the full Kinze story, 50 Years of Disruptive Innovation.
