Reinke invests $2.5M to improve irrigation production

Reinke Manufacturing, Deshler, Nebraska, invested $2.5 million in fiberoptic lasers to increase and further improve production and automation in its Deshler facility. The company hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 12 to celebrate the advancement and show first-hand how the technology enables it to speed up the delivery of precision irrigation systems and parts to growers around the world.

“This is a very exciting day at Reinke,” says Reinke President Chris Roth. “These new lasers will allow our company to not only shorten delivery timelines to growers, but it also enables our manufacturing team to improve the precision production of our parts. Those two factors will help us meet our goal of providing the world’s finest irrigation systems to growers working to improve yield potential while conserving valuable resources.”

The lasers will reduce production time on a large number of parts used to assemble Reinke’s precision irrigation systems. After weeks of training for their employees, Reinke is now ready to ship out those parts to growers in more than 40 countries across the globe.

“This new technology in Deshler sets Reinke up to continue to be a leader in the irrigation industry, helping growers here in Nebraska and around the world,” says Anthony Goins, director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. “With this $2.5 million investment, Reinke has also strengthened a family-owned business supporting the economy in much of this area of our state and Kansas as well. As Reinke works to attract and keep a good workforce in Nebraska, I think this is a key investment for our region.”

The GX-F Advanced is a 10,000-watt laser from Machinery System. The two-dimensional fiber lasers have beam-quality consistency for high levels of precision production. The operating system will give Reinke on-site and remote monitoring of the cutting process, allowing the system to continue producing part 24/7. Reinke has taken an additional step towards sustainability by installing its own air filtration system to gather naturally occurring nitrogen out of the air. Instead of having nitrogen shipped in to assist the laser-cutting process, the system will capture the gas as it’s released and recycle it over and over.