ASABE Recognizes Quad City Engineers - qcesc

FOR RELEASE on 24 July 2013
Contact: David Smith, dave.smith8633@sbcglobal.net Phone: 309-755-8934
ASABE Recognizes Quad City Engineers
Ten Quad City area engineers were nationally recognized by ASABE (American Society
of Agricultural and Biological Engineers) at its International Annual Meeting in Kansas
City on July 24.
Mark Bowers
Mark Bowers, a Design Engineer with John Deere Harvester Works, was the 2013
recipient of the Gale A. Holloway Professional Development Award which seeks to
encourage and recognize outstanding leadership and active involvement in ASABE for
early career members. Mark has been an active member of ASABE both in his student
days at Purdue University and in the local ASABE Quad City Section and the national
Society’s Young Professionals Community.

Design team members (Front): Brian Herringshaw, Jeff Nelson, Krishna Potluri, Dan
Hoffman and Chad Dow. (Back): Mike Mossman, Bruce Coers, Corwin Puryk and Alex
Lassers
The John Deere 600 Series HydraFlex TM Draper Platform was the 2013 recipient of the
Rain Bird Engineering Concept of the Year Award which honors a unique contribution to
the development of a new engineering concept. The innovative draper platform harvests
low-to-the ground crops, such as soybeans, lentils and peas, consistently across the full
width of cut while traveling over uneven terrain at high ground speeds without
compromising performance in taller, cereal crops. The technology is less sensitive to
crop conditions than traditional cutting platforms, creating the opportunity for a longer
harvest day and ultimately increasing the harvest efficiency for customers. This design
has been granted 13 patents and was a significant contributor to John Deere being the
first United States company to receive the Swedish Steel Prize, referred to as the steel
industry’s Nobel Prize, in 2011 for its innovative use of ultra-high-strength steels. The
project was also a recipient of the ASABE AE50 award in 2012, in addition to multiple
project and innovation related awards internal to John Deere.