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Robotics improve efficiency at Reinke

A $12 million expansion at Reinke Manufacturing will improve efficiency for center-pivot customers.

Curt Arens, Editor, Nebraska Farmer

October 16, 2024

3 Min Read
Chris Roth, president of Reinke Manufacturing, was on hand at Husker Harvest Days to unveil a video of a new robotic system
UNVEILING AT HHD: Chris Roth (right), president of Reinke Manufacturing, was on hand at Husker Harvest Days to unveil a video of a new robotic system being installed at the center-pivot manufacturing plant in Deschler, Neb., to help improve speed, quality and efficiency in the production of irrigation pipe.Photos by Curt Arens

The folks at Reinke call it a game-changer. On the heels of its $2.5 million addition of a fiber-optic laser production unit in 2022, the company plans more modernization to the pivot manufacturing plant in Deshler, Neb.

This time around, Reinke is investing $12 million to automate the facility, and specifically the pipe production process. Family-owned since 1954, Reinke has long been known as an innovator in the center-pivot business.

During an unveiling of the project at Husker Harvest Days in September, Reinke’s president, Chris Roth, called the automation expansion “robots building robots.” A video of the process at HHD was shown for the first time outside of the company.

Building on past innovation

Roth said this new expansion builds on the innovations the company has been developing for decades. A new building has been designed specifically for this expansion, and it will take about a month to install the robotic equipment at the plant.

“This project will speed up the process, improve our efficiency and quality,” Roth said. “The robots can visually see the seams, pick up the pipe and twist it, handling multiple diameters of pipe and different lengths. It is really an impressive piece of equipment.”

Reinke’s staff are being trained not only to supervise and operate the new automated system, but also troubleshoot when problems arise.

“Our current pipe production system is about 15 years old,” Roth said, “so it was time for an upgrade. We know what worked in our old system, and what our dealers and customers are looking for in their equipment. We know what we are doing and knew what we needed.”

Roth said the company didn’t rush into this expansion but looked at the project to improve quality, with more automated equipment to increase speed and consistency while easing stress on labor resources.

Developing new technicians

The company also has been a leader in developing new technicians for the irrigation industry. For example, Reinke is involved with a robot club at an area high school. Roth said this fits with irrigation tech, since pivots are the original robots in the field.

The company also developed an innovative educational program in partnership with local schools, most recently helping teach junior high students welding, water hydraulics and plumbing, and basic electricity in Deshler, Thayer Central and Superior schools.

Youth training at Reinke

“You kind of wonder sometimes if it is a good use of resources to take people out of our plant and put them into the schools to teach these classes,” he said. “But we had a junior high student tell us recently that he never would have considered electricity as a vocation, but now that is what he wants to pursue.

“If they decide to come and work for us, that’s great. But if they want to become their own independent electrical contractor, maybe come back home and start their own electrician business, that’s great too. With the hydraulics and basic plumbing courses, if we can get some plumbing contractors out of it who come back to the area and work, it is good for our communities. And maybe they will become a service technician for one of the local irrigation dealers or companies.”

Learn more at reinke.com.

About the Author

Curt Arens

Editor, Nebraska Farmer

Curt Arens began writing about Nebraska’s farm families when he was in high school. Before joining Farm Progress as a field editor in April 2010, he had worked as a freelance farm writer for 27 years, first for newspapers and then for farm magazines, including Nebraska Farmer.

His real full-time career, however, during that same period was farming his family’s fourth generation land in northeast Nebraska. He also operated his Christmas tree farm and grew black oil sunflowers for wild birdseed. Curt continues to raise corn, soybeans and alfalfa and runs a cow-calf herd.

Curt and his wife Donna have four children, Lauren, Taylor, Zachary and Benjamin. They are active in their church and St. Rose School in Crofton, where Donna teaches and their children attend classes.

Previously, the 1986 University of Nebraska animal science graduate wrote a weekly rural life column, developed a farm radio program and wrote books about farm direct marketing and farmers markets. He received media honors from the Nebraska Forest Service, Center for Rural Affairs and Northeast Nebraska Experimental Farm Association.

He wrote about the spiritual side of farming in his 2008 book, “Down to Earth: Celebrating a Blessed Life on the Land,” garnering a Catholic Press Association award.

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