Introducing the 2014 Iowa County Kinze Award Winners

It’s no secret that the world needs more skilled and talented engineers. The craftsmanship, creativity, ingenuity and innovation of a good engineer can yield a myriad of benefits – both on micro and macro levels.

Kinze supports numerous programs designed to encourage, inspire, educate, train and support the next generation of engineers. One example is our annual sponsorship of a competition for 4-H and FFA students at the Iowa County Fair where students enter welding and mechanical projects they have built.

Student submissions are evaluated and placed by a panel of representatives from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Participating students are also interviewed by a panel of Kinze representatives.

On the closing day of the fair, students whose submissions received placement are awarded with a cash prize from Kinze and given the opportunity to advance to a state-level competition. Every participating student is also given a certificate of excellence.

This year’s competition saw six participants who brought forth some of the largest, most innovative and technical projects seen to date. With a tough decision for judges to make, the panel agreed to award all six entrants with placement and cash prizes.

Thank you to the Kinze employees who served as judges at this year’s competition. A special thank you and congratulations is extended to all of the student participants: Neil Welsh, Taylor Hagen, Dalton Kuhnle, Ivan Heitman, Kayle Kuhnle, and AJ Baack.

1st Place Winner – Neil Welsh
Sprayer Wash


2nd Place – Taylor Hagen
John Deere 4020 Restoration

3rd Place – Dalton Kuhnle
Car Ramp

Hitting the Field With Multi-hybrid Planters
Everything Ag on Display at the Farm Progress Show