50 years ago this week, on January 6, 1971, Vermeer Corp. of Pella, IA introduced the first large round baler to the ag industry. Pete talks with Jason Andringa, President/CEO of Vermeer and also grandson of company founder (founded 1948) Gary Vermeer about how the large round baler came to be. Pete, Andringa and Mark Core, Exec. VP, also talk about how Vermeer has handled the pandemic as well as how the company rebounded from the devastating 2018 tornado at their Pella, IA factory.

• [:30] - Machinery Pete gets right into today’s topic: Vermeer
• [2:03] - 2020’s hot used equipment market
• [5:27] - Interview with Jason and Mark begins
• [6:05] - How Vermeer got started
• [7:28] - Iconic invention of large round baler
• [14:44] - Gary Vermeer the problem solver
• [18:48] - Vermeer’s role in underground infrastructure
• [22:03] - Family owned business and long term vision
• [24:40] - Working through the pandemic and meeting demand in 2021
• [31:00] - Tornado in Pella
• [40:00] - The self-propelled baler
• [42:29] - Final words from Machinery Pete

Machinery Pete was founded in 1989 and has grown from its humble beginnings to a full-fledged marketplace for farming equipment. Greg Peterson, founder and host, has also released Machinery Pete content across platforms including YouTube with his long-running Machinery Pete TV show.

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