Earlier this month, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Leader Awards were presented at the Iowa Agricultural Leaders Dinner.
One of the winners was Sheffield-based Sukup Manufacturing. Sukup was honored with the Innovation in Agriculture Manufacturing award.
Sukup was founded in 1963 when Eugene Sukup patented a stirring machine which improved in-bin drying for thousands of farmers in the United States. Since then, innovation has been the company’s priority.
In the last 20 years, Sukup has emphasized advanced manufacturing methods and the development of new product lines.
Today, 80% of sales come from products that didn?t exist two decades ago. The new product lines with patents include grain dryers, grain bins, material handling equipment and pre-engineered steel buildings.
Sukup now holds 85 patents and has sales in all 50 states and more than 80 countries. It employs more than 500 people and has global distribution locations in Denmark and Ukraine.
Since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Sukup Manufacturing has designed and delivered 240 Safe T Homes to the people of Haiti, which provide element-resistant safe housing. Made entirely of metal, they are earthquake-proof, hurricane-proof, and combine innovation with humanitarian need.
“The whole idea behind Safe T Home was to take the same engineering principles we used to help farmers protect their crop from the harsh weather conditions in the Midwest, and apply them to provide safe and secure shelters for people in underdeveloped parts of the world,” Charles Sukup, president of Sukup Manufacturing Co. says.
Other leadership winners included: Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy Science Team, Sehgal Foundation, and The Coalition to Support Iowa Farmers.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says ?These Ag Leader Award recipients epitomize the values of Iowa agriculture that makes our state a leader nationally and globally.?
