Russ Reinke: Building on Tradition and Innovation at Reinke Manufacturing

Russ Reinke: Building on Tradition and Innovation at Reinke Manufacturing

Reinke's modern manufacturing facilities in Deshler, Nebraska.

Reinke's modern manufacturing facilities in Deshler, Nebraska. Few things embody the American spirit as well as farmers. Their dedication, work ethic, integrity, perseverance in the face of adversity, and commitment to the lands and waters that feed them, their families, their country, and the entire world should serve as a great example to everyone. Russ Reinke has lived those values both as a farmer and as part of a family business that supplies irrigators with the equipment they need. Reinke Manufacturing is a leader in irrigation pivots and pipes and now is branching into smart, automated irrigation technology and even robotics. In this interview, Russ Reinke tells Irrigation Leader about his family’s deep roots in agriculture, Reinke Manufacturing’s commitment to farmers and the community, and how the company is leading the way in bringing modern technology to irrigation.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your family history and how the company got started.

Russ Reinke: The company was started by my father, Richard. It began out on the farm, near Byron, Nebraska, about 10 miles south of the current location, in 1954. Throughout his early days, my father had an ingenious mind and a love for building and improving things. He modified the large chicken house on the farm, and through that, he got into the business of building laminated rafters for buildings. He eventually got a few guys to help him.

That expanded into constructing the buildings themselves. They built over 500 buildings, including farm buildings and houses and eventually several churches, banks, and commercial buildings. He also branched out into other construction products and a variety of other inventions to make farming easier. From the farm, they moved to Hebron, Nebraska, for a few years and then came across an opportunity in 1957 to purchase an older oil pumping station just west of Deshler, Nebraska. My father got out of farming around 1957 because he was busy with the building business. In 1966, he got a contract to build some machines for the Olsen brothers. He built 50 machines for them. That was when it started to look like irrigation was going to be an important thing for the farmers. Numerous companies were trying to get into the business at the time, but he didn’t like what was on the market and always felt there was a better way to do it. Most people tried to use water drive, oil drive, air drive, and even different mechanical drives. He felt the way of the future was to use electricity. In 1967, he began working on building the first reversible, electric, gear-driven, rubber-tire circular irrigation system. He made it work, and that’s the way 95 percent of all machines are built today. My father filed for many patents. His work brought many features and benefits to the machine, including making it versatile and operator friendly. The first one, known as the Electrogator, was shipped to a customer in spring 1968.

Irrigation Leader: How long has your family been in Nebraska?

Russ Reinke: I’ve been here my whole life. My dad was born and raised on the farm in Byron, Nebraska. Both of my parents’ ancestors came over from Germany.

Irrigation Leader: What was your father like?

Russ Reinke: He enjoyed people. He enjoyed talking to people. He was industrious yet full of common sense and practicality. He could be stubborn and opinionated, but he would still listen.

Irrigation Leader: Would you describe the positions you’ve held in the company and your role in it now?

Russ Reinke: My work history is a little bit complex. As a young kid, I started working for my father in the machine shop, where we built all our tools, dies, and fixtures. I started working there in the summertime when I was 14. I also worked for a local farmer to earn extra money. This job, and a rewarding experience helping a dear friend of mine farm for a time, helped me develop a love for farming. The same friend and I started farming together full time in 1979 and continued through the 1980s. We couldn’t have picked a worse time to get started. We did it for about 8 years and survived. Those were tough times, but I learned a lot. At the same time, in the winter, I worked in the machine shop for the family business. During that time, we had a manufacturing plant in Geneva, Nebraska, where we made oilfield pipes and casing for the oil industry. I worked there and eventually became the plant manager. We ended up selling the facility to a Canadian steel company in 1988. The company asked if I would stay on with it, which I did. My dad was a little reluctant to see me do that. I thought it would be good experience to work for another company and see how things are done. I ended up staying with it for 18 years, and it was a great experience. During my years in Geneva, I was still involved with the board of directors of Reinke Manufacturing, allowing me to get good exposure to and a good feel for two different companies at the same time, which I always felt was a great experience. In 2006, I decided that I wanted to come back to Reinke Manufacturing full time. I am currently the first vice president at Reinke Manufacturing and continue to serve on the board of directors.

Irrigation Leader: How large is Reinke’s workforce?

Russ Reinke: Approximately 500 people work for Reinke Manufacturing group at all locations. That varies from

Richard Reinke, the founder of Reinke Manufacturing.

season to season. We have another facility in Kearney, Nebraska, a subsidiary of Reinke called ACE Irrigation, with about 50 people.

In several cases, multiple generations of a family have worked for Reinke. The father and mother worked here, the sons and daughters worked here, and their children have worked here. That speaks well of the company, but it also speaks well of the people that we have here. They are dedicated. That’s one of the great benefits of being in rural Nebraska. The work ethic is good. People are good, honest, and hardworking. The downside is that there are not enough of them, and it can be a challenge to find enough people to fill all the necessary positions.

Irrigation Leader: In order to meet its demand for welders, Reinke has established certified welding programs in local high schools. Would you tell us more about those?

Russ Reinke: We did that in 2008. We continue to support those courses; welding is a great trade that I wish more people would explore. If you can weld, there’s no reason you can’t get a job anywhere, and the skill is going to continue to be in demand. That’s why we started a welding program at the local high school and assisted several other schools to create curriculums to get kids and adults trained. We have a certified weld instructor who works for us and teaches a day class at the school for the kids and an evening class for adults. It has been a great program and an excellent opportunity for the community.

In addition to the welding programs, we recently collaborated with state and local organizations to engage kids in other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs. We purchased computer-numericalcontrol machining equipment and robotics through several partnerships and made them available for the industrial arts programs in our area. The goal is to get kids interested in industrial arts and trades. Robotics is a huge opportunity for kids; it’s here, and it’s only going to grow. Part of the challenge with this technology is that it may be intimidating for older folks who are reluctant to learn. It is a shame not to try to understand it, because I’ve always said it’s just a dumb machine. Kids quickly pick up on it. I mean, anybody who plays video games can quickly learn robotics.

Irrigation Leader: Do you also offer internships or summer jobs for young people?

Russ Reinke: Yes, we do. We’ve had many internships over the years in various job fields, from engineering to production to sales. We also have summer opportunities for both college kids and high school kids down to 16 years of age. We even have some high school–aged kids who come out here on a work-release program.

Irrigation Leader: What are some of the new developments at Reinke Manufacturing?

Russ Reinke: Our irrigation product line has been around for quite some time and is starting to mature. It’s no longer just a bunch of iron going around in circles while squirting water. It has become smart, automated, and remote—to the point at which people operate these things remotely via their phones. Satellites not only provide information to users about where those systems are located, but can also tell those machines where they need to go and when. Those aspects are causing significant developments in the product line. The devices are not so dumb anymore; they’re pretty smart. In some regards, they almost fall into the robotics field.

Irrigation Leader: How many countries would you say that Reinke pivots are in?

Russ Reinke: That’s not something that we have a good number on, but in excess of 80.

Irrigation Leader: What are some of the top issues facing irrigation today?

Russ Reinke: Regulations, of course. That includes regulations on the water itself and how it is used, supplied, and put down; regulations on the land itself; and regulations on what can and cannot be irrigated. In my opinion, more and more entities are getting their fingers into the regulatory pie. Most agencies have good intentions with regulations, and the regulations are necessary to a certain degree. But they tend to grow, to overreach, and almost to lead to turf fights or control fights, making it extremely difficult for farmers to do what they do best. In many cases, I would say, some of those regulations become insults to the farmers themselves. I say that because a farmer’s livelihood is the land that he’s operating on. That’s a pretty important asset to him. It’s in his best interest to take care of it to the best of his ability so that it produces well. Sometimes it gets to the point at which somebody in Washington or wherever is trying to tell you how you’re supposed to treat that piece of land. As I said, I almost take it as an insult to the farmer.

Richard Reinke in a grain building built using Reinke's laminated beams.

Irrigation Leader: Do you have a message for decisionmakers?

Russ Reinke: I’d say get out of the office and go farm for a few years.

Irrigation Leader: What should every irrigating farmer know about Reinke?

Russ Reinke: I would like them to know that I believe we build the best and the finest irrigation equipment in the world. We try to go out of our way to serve our customers as best as we can. We’re not perfect. We continue to learn how to do things better, provide more value to the farmer at a competitive price, and look at new and innovative ways to do things. We welcome everyone as a customer.

Irrigation Leader: Given the history of Reinke and everything that your family has accomplished, what would you say you are most proud of?

Russ Reinke: Several things come to mind. I’m proud of our employees and the support they give us every day. We’ve been blessed with many incredible employees throughout the years, from those who have been with us from the start to the more than 500 employees we have now. They are essential to us in carrying on the company’s heritage. I’m proud to be associated with the agriculture industry and the values it instills across the United States: honesty, hard work, integrity, and loyalty. I’m also proud of our customers—the faith they’ve had in our products throughout the years. On behalf of the Reinke family, we’re grateful for all our valued customers and farmers who have stayed with us over the last 67 years. There would be no need for our business without them.

Russ Reinke is the first vice president of Reinke Manufacturing. For more information on Reinke, email irrigation@reinke.com or visit www.reinke.com.