Vermeer Manufacturing

Vermeer Manufacturing all started in Pella Iowa when Gary Vermeer was looking for more efficient ways to do the most basic farming tasks as opposed to the old ways of his ancestors. In 1948, Gary started Vermeer Manufacturing and launched a variety of products, but it wasn’t until 1971 that his business really launched when his team invented a new way of baling hay. Ever since, they’ve been creating machines and products for 60 countries to fuel and feed their communities.

We had the opportunity to visit one of the regional facilities in the Netherlands. We met with Baaker, the operational financial officer, who gave us his take on the company he has been with for nearly 22 years. After speaking with Baaker as well as other engineers and manufacturers in the building, we have a few takeaways from the day.

First, Baaker describes the differences in the “business culture” in American from Europe after living there with his family for two years. He noted the struggles of working with a team in Pella, Iowa. Though America may not have as much of a hierarchy as Germany or Italy, Baaker found it extremely difficult to receive honesty and build trust with his subordinates. They would prefer to take direction as opposed to working as a team and challenging one another. This is very different from the European business culture where the hierarchical lines blur together and where colleges are not afraid to be blunt with one another.

Another take away we gathered from the tour was the struggles that occur from having an international company. Vermeer pointed out two main aspects that need to be considered – who is manufacturing the products and who are the customers. This particularly matters because countries have different measuring systems (ie. imperial vs. metric system). Depending on where the product is being made directly impacts the plans for the manufacturers and moving the production requires the plans to be converted. Secondly, the manufacturers need to be aware of their customers and what the regulations and restrictions are in the country they reside. For example, europeans require tighter restrictions on those who can tow trailers as well as what the weight of the trailers can be.

Our last take away, and the one I found to be the most fascinating, is the importance of data analytics. Baaker could not have stressed this topic more. He used the analogy of literacy. In the middle ages not everyone was literate and only the monks and others could read it write, giving them a great advantage. This same idea goes for businesses and their data analytics. Those that can not only gather data, but also interpret it are those that can be the most innovative and move their company and even industry forward.