‘’Take what you already know to find out what you don´t know.’’ Motto of Don Landoll
4 divisions:
1. Trailers
2. Forklifts
3. DEM: Deicers
4. Tillage
5. Iron dome: He built the base for it.
Military: 4 steps process. Military is based on High Quality Now.
Never got away from Vertical Integration
Profit sharing program came from Lincoln Welding in Ohio.
Never so organized
Vote on Landoll History
Lost local H…. during Covid
Corporate offices are an old nursing home that’s remodeled.
Make their own manuals for everything.
Tillage sales – Engineering in Beloit, KS.
Marks brollers in sales margins
Drexel University designed the Drexel Forklift
54 inch narrow aisle a forklift can go down
‘’If you buy a company w/ a good image…don’t mess it up. Keep the colors, keep the brand.’’ Don Landoll.
Material handling:
1. Swing most 90° Degrees
2. 75k Bendi 180°/360 inch. Highest it can go is 520 inch.
3. 48×40 pallet. Ron narrow aisles: can unload + load rocks w/ same pallet.
4. 3klb to 12klb capacity (260K) 12klb is for Gov.
5. Omaha Steaks – 9 of the Bend, OK Foods has…-20 Drexel
6. Southern wine +spirits – SGWS
All material comes in sheets and is fabricated here.
6 loads/ day of Steel.
Trailers/ All are from built. We do what customer wants.
· 9 competitives ‘me-too-ers’’ but they won’t custom built.
· Load time is 6 to 8 months. Every one is custom.’
· 4% bonus for weekly full week.
· 15% profit sharing = 8.15 weeks/pay
· 2nd shift does body work for painting. All primary powder coated.
· Russ art – Materials Production M…
· 30 plus C + C Mad…..
· Gov’t (EOM) contract benefits = $ per project but you keep equipment
· Drill bits on new technology / cool art goes …. b.t.
· Questions:
1. #patents?
2. Future growth?
Trailer/ one of the few that do galvanized.
All galvanized is done in Salma.
Under carriage is heart+soul of their competitive advantage.
Abert – All. Trailer w/all tech like vehicles.
Subject rentals / 1300 to 1400 trailers.
Submitted quote for more Iron dome trailers.
Lock and M… custom trailers.
Shop 50: Goal: Most modern trailer favility
70: believe they have achieved that.
90% of welding is w/robot. Allows maximizations of employees.
10 ft smallest – 50ft biggest drill.
Supports trailer wood – Imported from Malaysia
5.5 trailers with no knob. A day for wood floor assembly.
Apatone 90ft tall.
Marysville City
Black squirrel City – 51 years – Wayne (speaker).
Early 1900s / 1970s
No harm to a black squirrel. Black squirrel day.
Cant gathering. 51 years of City council ses…. Coffee.
Valley Vef Supply (Homegrown)>
1973 Started.
1985 Catalize
1994 Refill
1999 E Comm
All 50 states / 135 FTE
35 – 40 PT
60 miles N. Manhattan. 60 miles S. Lincoln
Tension Envelope – 8 gema envelopes
25 million envelopes a week.
252 students 9-12
Pony Express Museum – Biggest … to Marysville.
Have to have a good place to work
Evening meal: Landoll Lanes
Jerrod Westfahl – Innovate Livestock Server – KS/NE
Feeding 235K/nd #7/US
No H2O issues – lots of irrigation.
Farming:
50k acres
450 miles. 5 st
2 times a year take cattle for feeding to grade.
Only generates about types feeds needs
Outside Investments
Technologies
Vytelle
Country
Vani Maz
Maber technologies
Greenfield robiotics
Starting + growing a business
5 keys:
Entrepreneur view
Family factor – Everything you do will impact the business.
Failure is ok, its likely, make it count.
Grit + 5m expertise + agility = 75%
4 Fortons from investors
Team composition + alignment
Solution + progress – must be real, solution must show investors progress.
Size + nature of opportunity
Comercial ‘’nose.’’
Innovation trends + priorities.
Affirmation + resource.
Intensify + expertise.
Scarcity
AI – Human bosses
Talent – scaly expertise
Bro science – Discovery Platform
Water
How much to invest? Relative value: 250K + more, sometimes board seats the observers.
Andrea Dietel Madison
Domestic Study Tour Day Two Thursday, November 9, 2023 Submitted by: Andrea Dietel
Settje
Company founded in 1997 by Dean Settje
Zach Settje, COO, presented on organization
Focus primarily on the domestic feedlot sector for facility design and water utilization
Work on dairy and swine projects as
Both new builds and expansions
FARMAFIELD
Solar panels as shades
Cattle acquisition and pen optimization product
Become a general contractor and permitting for livestock producers for sustainability projects
Looking for c corp because you can buy tax credits from sustainability projects
Ben Williamson: run investments for Invest Nebraska and raised an ag tech venture fund
Most recent project is in Hays, KS
Mike Young: focused on investing in technologies that serves midwest agriculture
Have made 15 investments in 7 states
Match companies with about 100 producers to test projects
Goal is to make the Midwest the ag tech hub
Break out sessions
Josh Demers and Mike Young
How do you activate interest?
It started with the Nebraska Business Development Act
It took 10 years to build
In 2018 they only had 3 ag tech investments
Created the INsights network
Kauffman Foundation is leader in Kansas talking about tech
Entrepreneurs and investors are the first to get started, it’s producers that are last
Almost no ag tech are coming out of UNL, but almost all are Lincoln and Omaha
They go and watch presentations like the Innovation Challenge with Farm Bureau
Combine is modeled after Innova Memphis
Grit Road?
Created an environment to enable access to resources that could be provided by their investors (connection to customers, advice, etc.)
Don’t give product pilots for free: the producer/farmer has to pay for the product or service but it is subsidized
There is no equity to be part of the combine, it’s free
Ben Williamson
Area is lacking in the funding side and they are trying to bridge that with Grit Road
Innovation that is missing is robotics/automation and irrigation
Biggest gap is relationships to get prototypes built
Biological Systems Innovation is a relationship with UNL to bridge that gap, but they don’t move very fast
KSU has TDI
There’s also WSU innovation campus primarily aerospace right now
+/- of being near the university: public perception is that they are under the university, but they are completely separate non profit. Also the university runs slow and expensive to get liscensing is expensive
Product that comes from the computer science department that runs all facets of water tanks (heater, valves, usage, etc)
There is a separate fund, outside of Invest Nebraska, that other companies can be part of it
Jesse
Created a field surveillance and irrigation management technology product, Nave
Made the decision to go try a start up on her own. She is very risk tolerant. Worked on Nave on nights a weekends for 2 years before leaving their other full time jobs to go exclusively to Nave
Target customer is the agronomist/crop consultant or the “advisor”
They are developing a score based on a rewards system based on good practices
Use a combination of a satellite signal and modeling
Within 10% accuracy of soil probes, next iteration will get within 3%
Not sure how to market the product yet
Hardest part was figuring out how to make it happen and build a business that is a “real” business
Mitch
Was at UNL teaching ag engineering
Wanted to buy feeder cattle and issues buying the right size and number
Created the online marketplace for cattle buyers to by the last of a pen or “top off” a pen
Using software to help automate some accounting for producers
1% procurement fee and 10% profit sharing
Working on the solar panel shade part of things
Tying back some of the excess tax credits to the producer and enabling them to sell them
Currently listing the carbon credits as $0 and the benefits of the solar shades as $0 because they are still substantiating the value
Have a good network of feedlots for FARMAFIELD
They are hoping to bridge the gap from someone getting started and
Using feedlot nutritionists to “vet” the feedyard that wants to list
Marble Technologies
3 years old
A technology company focused on technology automation for food processors, specifically focused on meat processors, mostly beef and pork
Started around the time of COVID
Spent the first 6 months of the company getting to know the industry
Have 22 ful time employees
Also have a team in Cambridge, MA
Have an automatics pack-off system that reduces labor by 50%
Their computer vision has a 99% accuracy requirement
Space is a massive restraint
Product is modular
Must be installed in 3 days or less
Also make custom camera enclosures
Chafik Barbar is CEO
Engler
Part of UNL
Started from a gift from Paul Engler, the CEO of Cactus Industries
Meant to create a generation of employers instead of a generation of employees
They build people that build companies that build communities
56 companies in their 10 year evaluation
$148M in top line revenue
Average age of founder is 24yo
Majority of the companies are blue collar companies
Seth Wright and Kade Wiese, members of the student executive team, spoke to the class about their experience
“We don’t ever say to a student ‘that’s a bad idea’ because we don’t know. We push students to the market and the market will tell you”
Make students discuss if they are abundance or scarcity mindset
Do things to purposefully create “time pressure” like the real world
Performed the Zen Obelisk exercise as a group
Day ended with dinner on the KC Plaza with local business and community leaders
Kevin Logan Hesston
Domestic Study Tour Day Three–KC Federal Reserve Bank Friday, November 10, 2023 Submitted by: Kevin Logan
Morning-Mr. Ryan Engle served as Host for the Day.
8:00—Left Hotel for Federal Reserve Bank
8:30—Arrival at Fed. Reserve, Checked-In, and Proceeded to Presentation Hall on 2nd Floor
-Coffee, Juice, and Snacks were available while the class was able to informally visit with the day’s presentors.
9:00—Welcome by Jeffery Schmid: President and Chief Exec. Officer of the KC Fed. Reserve.
9:10–History of the Federal Reserve-Presented by Tim Todd, Exec. Writer and Historian.
(History and Structure of the Federal Reserve Bank)
-Established in 1913
-Tasked w/ providing Monetary Stability and Financial Stability
-Prior to the Federal Reserve
-The first US Central Bank was a 20 year charter shortly after the nation was founded
-This charter expired and during the War of 1812, the US did not have a central bank.
-The Second Central Bank was in existence from 1816-1833. Andrew Jackson doesn’t see the need for the bank and veto’s an attempt to extend its charter.
-Most of the 1800’s in the US were financially unstable.
-In 1907 JP Morgan began doing “Central Bank” things. In response to Morgan’s actions, the US Congress didn’t want one person to use their money to save the economy and earn that type of “influence.”
– A congressional action in 1913 created the Federal Reserve in 1913.
-The Federal Reserve Bank had 7 Governors. These governors serve staggered 14 yr. terms.
-There are 12 Federal Reserve Banks-Each with a Board of Directors.
-KC ended up w/ a Fed. Reserve Regional Bank due to the efforts of Jerome Thralls.
9:45 Ag Economy-Presented by Franciso Scott, Economist
-General Ag Outlook was discussed
-Kansas follows general US economy factors. No big outliers
-Covid-19 has elevated commodity prices
-KS commodity prices are still a little “artificially” high
-The US has overall Strong External markets, but China, Asia, and Mexico are challenging US grains in the Feed and Energy markets.
-KS follows trends in US Agricultural Expenses
-Both revenues and expenses have increased from 2019-2020.
-Carl, from Plains, asked, “What is the outlook on China?” Dr. Scott’s answer, “Main indicators point to small economic growth in China, this is concerning to the US, especially in our pork exports.”
-Ashley, from Waverly, asked, “Exports from the US have gone down, do we see partners of China furthering this?” Dr. Scott’s answer, “We are competitive in exports, but Brazil is cheaper in the markets. US prices are offset positively in bio-fuels industry.”
-Danielle, from Hays, asked, “What about net-worth; Good increase in capital to put into new production and machinery, but we have very high interest rates?” Dr. Scott’s answer, “Yes, farmers have built up capital, but there are pockets of stress across the region.”
-Ryan, from Madison, asked, Will real estate prices remain high or will they pull back with the continue high interest rates?” Dr. Scott’s answer, “I do not see land values going down.”
10:40 The Power of Community Banks-Presented by Joe Gruber, Exec. VP and Dir. of Research
– Banks are those with less than $10 Billion in Assets.
-Most banks, in fact 95% of banks, are Community Banks
-Banking Regulatory Frameworks really cut back on the number from banks during the 1980’s, from 15,000 to 4,500.
-Community Banks consist of approximately 95% of the total bank numbers, but hold only about 15% of the total assets.
-Community Banks are more flexible to address consumer needs as evidenced by the COVID-19 relief fund distributions to small businesses.
-Inflation is necessary for the nation’s growth, 2% is the target.
11:30 Lunch—Jeffery Schmid, President and CEO Joined us.
-He is a native Nebraskan
-Bachelors from University of Nebraska, Lincoln
– Master from Southern Methodist University
-Owns a small farm in Humbolt, NB; very down to earth person. Interesting point he made, he is the only “banker-by-training” who is the President and CEO of any of the nation’s Federal Reserve Banks. The rest are from other backgrounds.
-Was in his 10th week in current role during our visit.
-Work on a process called “FED NOW,” allowing payments to be made “any day, any hour, any time.”
12:15p Tour of the Fed. Reserve-by Volunteer Eric
-Information on the currency and coin display collection.
-Pointed out that $10 Million in $100’s weighs about 880 lbs.
-The KC Federal Reserve Processes between $104 Million and $208 Million/day.
