Ohio Machinery Co. entered the ag industry in 2003, doing business as Ohio Cat, and established its agriculture equipment division in 2008. Over the past 18 years, Ohio Ag Equipment has continued to grow within the ag industry and establish itself as a trusted and knowledgeable equipment dealer in Ohio. The rebranding illustrates this evolution.

“We have grown our business and footprint in Ohio over the last several years. Our brand relaunch represents the natural evolution of that transformation. Today, Ohio Ag Equipment offers seven full-service, ag dedicated locations across Ohio. It’s imperative for our brand to reflect and promote our company as it is today and the tremendous value we offer,”

said Mike Mampieri, Ohio Ag Equipment’s General Manager.

Mampieri continues,

“The new logo, website, and tagline reflect a new era for Ohio Ag Equipment, one that better represents our core values, what we do, and how we operate. While reluctant to depart from the recognizable black and yellow that saw us through from 2003, we feel it is time to modernize our look, symbolizing our move toward a stronger, stand-alone identity.”

Source: Ohio Ag Equipment

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“Though last year was one of the toughest in memory, Alliance Parts didn’t let off the accelerator to continue fueling our growth strategy. We maintained our focus to expand our retail footprint and provide more options to deliver greater value for every one of our customers,”

said Brad Williamson, director, Alliance Parts.

“Looking ahead into 2021 and beyond, we plan to ramp up our expansion by introducing even more product lines, opening more new retail locations, and further leveraging the ExceleratorParts.com platform to truly serve as a one-stop-shop for all fleets’ value parts needs.”

Alliance retail locations primarily stock Alliance Parts and Detroit Reman products, but for added value, can be used as order pickup locations for the full offering of DTNA Genuine and Premier parts to provide a one-stop-shop for DTNA customers. Alliance Parts grew its retail footprint by nearly 55 percent in 2020 and expects to increase it by an additional 50 percent in 2021. Recently opened Alliance Parts retail channels include locations at the following dealerships:

• Fyda Freightliner in Columbus, Ohio
• Delta Truck Center in French Camp, Calif.
• Empire Truck Sales in Winona, Miss.
• Empire Truck Sales in Monroe, La.
• Empire Truck Sales in Natchez, Miss.
• Freightliner Northwest in Albany, Ore.
• Freighter of Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Hans’ Freightliner of Cleveland, Ohio
• I-State Truck Center in Lakeville, Minn.
• Kansas City Freightliner in Kansas City, Mo.
• New West Truck Centers in Lethbridge, Alberta
• Truck Center Companies in Liberal, Kan.
• Truck Centers, Inc. in South Bend, Ind.
• Truck Country in Marengo, Ill.

In addition to expanding its retail footprint, Alliance Parts expects to grow its product portfolio by an additional 30 percent in 2021. Recently added parts offerings from Alliance Parts include:

• Grilles
• Fenders
• Coreless Brake Shoes
• Aero/Flow Below
• Calipers
• Mud Flap Hangers
• New Cascadia Bumpers
• Brake Pads
• Series 60 Engine Components – turbos, injectors, water & fuel pumps, and more
• Electric Shifters
• Headlights
• Suspension Bushings

All Alliance Parts meet or exceed original equipment specifications for quality, fit and finish and are backed by a one year/unlimited mile nationwide warranty.

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Flexibility and an edge in expertise

Thanks to Power Link Plus, tasks such as reaching through low door openings and working inside buildings no longer present a challenge. Power Link Plus is a double-linkage system that increases the crane’s lifting power thanks to the special connection between the knuckle boom and main boom and the main boom and crane column. The knuckle boom can also be over-extended by up to 15° and offers the crane operator even more potential applications with the PK 55.002 TEC 5 and PK 58.002 TEC 7.

With the WEIGH function on the TEC 7 model, it is particularly quick and easy to weigh loads at the site of deployment. Crane operators weigh the load directly on the crane so that they know exactly where they can lift it. This saves time as it eliminates the potential need to move the truck. WEIGH also saves the last ten weighing operations automatically and can add them up.

Efficiency gains thanks to the return oil utilisation

In the TEC-range, the return oil utilisation system can be turned on and off manually to increase efficiency. The return oil utilisation system uses a load holding valve to divert the oil from the piston rod end to the pressure line instead of the tank. The resulting oil flow increase ramps up the extension speed considerably. The special design of the cylinders also increases the speed. By contrast, the crane operator can turn off the return oil utilisation system if a task requires enhanced power rather than increased speed.

All technical information at a Glace

The new PK 55.002 TEC 5 and PK 58.002 TEC 7 cranes are versatile. Thanks to multiple standard and optional features, properties can be added to fit their specific applications.

Souce:

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Motorists are encouraged to slow to posted speed limits, eliminate distractions while driving, and be watchful for roadway workers and their equipment.  This year’s theme is, Safe Work Zones for All: Protect workers. Protect road users.

Every day, Ohio Cat employees, customers, and vendors work in, and around, job site work zones. Support National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) by participating in the following events:

Virtual Kick-Off Event

Monday, April 20, for the first National Stand-Down to prevent Struck-by Incidents.

Go Orange for Safety on Wednesday,

Wednesday, April 22, Roadway safety professionals are encouraged to wear orange to show support of work zone safety.  Go Orange Day is a time to show support to safety.

Source: Ohio CAT

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In wake of the novel coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic that struck the globe in early March, the health and well-being of Americans have been paramount in the precautionary measures enacted by federal and state government officials — as it should be. With each new precautionary order made by government officials, however, comes a domino effect — impacting virtually every economic sector in the United States in some capacity — and the pork industry is no exception.

For years, the U.S. pork industry has suffered from a severe labor shortage on farms and in packing plants. Populations in rural areas are on the decline. Unemployment in recent years has been as low as 2.6% in some pork production communities. As a result, hog farmers and plant operators are highly dependent on foreign-born workers. Unfortunately, visa programs providing access to these workers are not effective for non-seasonal livestock agriculture. Despite this challenge, packing plants have operated with healthy capacity levels to harvest hogs sent to the market. According to industry observers, this may soon change, and the COVID-19 situation could accelerate the timing of this challenge.

By way of background, the pork industry suffered a pork plant capacity shortage just 20 years ago, resulting in deep and lasting financial consequences. Without a solution to the labor shortage on farms and in packing plants, coupled with the disruptions that COVID-19 brings, history may repeat itself.

The pork industry, a farm sector that operates year-round, uses the H-2A visa program for specialized work, but cannot use the program for most labor needs because of its seasonal limitation. Hog farmers are major users of the TN visa program, which taps labor from Mexico. The decision by the U.S. Department of State to suspend visa processing in Mexico threatens to worsen the labor shortage in the pork industry and across U.S. agriculture. The U.S. pork industry is very concerned about this decision.

Meantime, our industry will continue to work with Congress on visa reform for non-seasonal livestock agriculture. We need a larger pool of foreign-born workers to help ensure an uninterrupted supply of U.S. pork to consumers here at home and around the globe.

I want to underscore that our farms and plants are not in crisis today. The U.S. pork industry is doing its part to ensure American kitchens are well-stocked. To ensure we continue to provide an uninterrupted supply of high-quality protein to consumers, we need federal support to prevent a severe labor shortage.

In Ohio, schools are closed for at least three weeks to prevent the community spread COVID-19. Because we care for our people and our animals, we are challenged with doing all we can to help our team. This includes facilitating alternative childcare plans that allow our team to maintain continuity of work, as well as prioritize caring for their children. This enables us to be able to continue producing the food that is so important to our country’s infrastructure, as evidenced by the fact we are listed as a critical infrastructure industry by the Department of Homeland Security.

Unfortunately, my situation is not unique and many others in our industry have the same concerns. That’s why the National Pork Producers Council is pursing provisions in the congressional relief package to provide financial support for childcare for farm and plant workers. That would go a long way toward providing the flexibility U.S. pork production workers need to provide an uninterrupted supply of high-quality protein.

While the U.S. pork supply chain is operating, we need to head off potential disruptions.

As a fourth-generation farmer in rural Ohio, I speak in unison with Ohio’s pig farmers in asking our federal and state officials to work with the U.S. pork industry to mitigate the impact on farmers like me, and the communities that depend on our food supply. With these looming challenges, we need new solutions for worker visas and a support plan for pig farmers impacted by bottlenecks in the supply chain.

Source: National Hog Farmer

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Smart Ag will improve farmer’s operational capacity by enabling them to use automation and driverless technology on their farms.

“My dad was born in 1911 and witnessed many great advances in agriculture first-hand, from pulling equipment with horses, to tractors to auto steer,” said Tim Norris, Ag Info Tech CEO and VP Sales. “I never imagined that I would be able to experience change on the level he has, but this advanced level of artificial intelligence (AI) with Smart Ag will rapidly change how agriculture operations are performed. In comparison, Smart Ag and autonomous equipment will be as big as the tractor was after the horse.”

Smart Ag, based in Ames, Iowa is an investor-backed technology company developing autonomous farming solutions for row crop agriculture. The company was founded in 2015 and is offering aftermarket retrofit kits to automate farm equipment, as well as a platform to connect, manage, and safely operate autonomous agricultural machinery. Smart Ag is led by successful ag entrepreneur Colin Hurd and former John Deere ISG and Ag Leader Manager Mark Barglof.

For more information about Smart Ag and to request a demo of Smart Ag’s technology, visit Ag Info Tech at the 2018 Farm Science Review at Lot #394, which is at the corner of Silage Street and Friday Avenue. Ag Info Tech will also have a Smart Ag system running this fall in Knox County, Ohio. Smart Ag will go into full release in 2019.ù

Source: Ohio Ag Net

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