21st Century Joins Cornerstone Production for Gold Key Tour of Waterloo Tractor Factory
Waterloo Tractor Factory gave attendees from 21stCentury Equipment and Cornerstone Production a Gold Key tour of their facilities May 27.
21stCentury Equipment CEO & President Owen Palm was joined by Tyler Burkholder, VP of Large Accounts, and Salesman Josh Cure along with the Fecht Family, Mike and his son Anthony, from Cornerstone Production in Wray, Colorado, to get a glimpse behind the scenes of their 8R 410T tractors being built from start to finish. Cornerstone has 18 of the tractors on order from 21stCentury, and all 18 are a “recent Fendt competitive conversion,” Palm said.
The Fechts were even able to drive one of their tractors directly off the assembly line.
“Mike and Anthony were amazed at the scale of the Waterloo factory. We learned that the main production building has 48 acres under one roof,” Palm said. “Waterloo is the largest production facility of any kind west of the Mississippi River. They were also impressed with the automation used in the assembly process. Also, the quality control checks every step of the way.”
In addition to seeing their purchases, the group got a tour of the 7-Series and 9-Series John Deere production lines. They were also given a recognition at the tour’s conclusion with the presentation of a gold tractor key.
Cornerstone Production specializes in high quality potatoes in the Wray area where they work with another producer to operate a large fresh package plant called Pro Health, where they package their product for the retail market. All 18 of the tractors they’ve ordered will arrive in time for the fall potato harvest starting in late August.