Singapore - Trenchless International

dRILLING eqUIPMeNt
October 2010 - Trenchless International
50
In search of a better way
by Randy Happel, Two Rivers Marketing
Product innovation and putting customer needs first has fuelled
Vermeer Corporation on a quest to become a global leader in
trenchless equipment and technology.
IN The earLy 1940s, Gary Vermeer
designed and built the first mechanical
hoist for his grain wagon, an invention that
transformed the backbreaking chore of
unloading harvested crops into a simple
task that could be completed with minimal
effort in half the time. At that stage starting
a manufacturing company was the furthest
thing from his mind, but when other
farmers saw the device in action Gary was
inundated with requests to build one for
them. so in 1948, Vermeer Manufacturing
Company officially took root in a modest
one-room cinderblock building that Gary
and his cousin built on the west edge
of the small rural farming community of
Pella, Iowa.
Over the past 60 years, product innovation
– or “finding a better way” – has
defined the Vermeer Corporation and is at
the root of everything the company does.
the wagon hoist was just one of the many
“firsts” developed by visionary inventor
and ideas man Gary Vermeer. Other notable
inventions include a PtO-powered
hammermill, stump cutter, tree spade and
hydrostatic-driven trencher. today that list
continues to grow with the development of
niche products. While the same approach
could describe almost any manufacturer
that consistently develops a better product,
at Vermeer it is just the beginning of
the story.
Gary stepped away from managing
day-to-day operations in 1989, and under
Vermeer machinery.
the capable leadership of the current
management team – led by second-generation
Vermeer family members, son,
Bob Vermeer and daughter, Mary Vermeer
Andringa – Vermeer employment numbers
have nearly doubled. the brother-and-sister
team also remains steadfast in carrying
on the traditions established by patriarch
founder Gary.
Not only is Vermeer recognised worldwide
as being among the most innovative
equipment manufacturers, but the processes
by which it does so are equally
impressive. Bob and Mary have discovered
better ways not only for developing
new products that ultimately better serve
the needs of customers, but also internally,
to streamline the manufacturing process.
The "Vermeer mile", Iowa, US.
continuous improvement
CEO Bob Vermeer says “Vermeer has
always been driven by change and a
relentless search for a better way of doing
things and that’s the type of culture we
strive to instil into every Vermeer employee.
It’s a process of continuous improvement
and it takes place in every facet of our
business – in every department, with every
employee and in every corner of our world.
to compete in the global marketplace, we
must constantly improve and change.
“Whenever Dad talked about products,
he always used this phrase: ‘there’s
got to be a better way’…a better way of
installing underground services in rock,
or drilling horizontally, for example, under
rivers, roads and entire cities. Now we’ve
taken it several steps further right here on
the Vermeer mile.”
What the Vermeer CEO is referring to
by the “Vermeer mile” is the 1.2 million
square foot Vermeer manufacturing facility,
which lies directly across the road from the
modest four-bedroom/one-bath farmhouse
where Gary and wife, Matilda, raised the
kids and remained until Gary’s death in
2009. the facility is composed of six individual
plants that collectively stretch an entire
mile from west to east, encompassing some
330 acres. And it doesn’t stop there.
Across the Atlantic, Vermeer established
European operations in Goes, the
Netherlands, to serve the needs of Europe
and the Asian markets in the early 1970s.
On the other side of the world, the company
also has a joint manufacturing venture in
Vermeer Chief Executiver Officer
Mary Andringa.
Beijing, China – an expansion that has
provided closer proximity to customers
and market equipment in support of the
huge infrastructure needs in China and
other developing countries. Vermeer also
has regional offices located in singapore
and Brazil.
Back in Pella at the Vermeer mile, the
final instalment of the array of production
facilities is the Vermeer Museum and Global
Pavilion; a shrine to Gary’s entrepreneurial
spirit that documents the history and importance
of Vermeer’s many contributions to
the equipment industry. Here visitors can
view a number of artefacts – including
many of Gary’s first inventions – and learn
more about the growth of the company.
the facility is also home to Vermeer
University, the company’s in-house training
department that offers numerous opportunities
for employees to enhance skills at no
cost to the individual. Manufacturing and
technical skills, professional skills, sales
and service, and leadership training programs
are just a few of these educational
opportunities. An auditorium within the facility
is used for new product walk-arounds
and equipment training, and also serves
as a site for many local community events.
The lean initiative
since implementing the Lean growth
strategy in 1997, Vermeer has been able
to eliminate waste in most areas of the
business. the focus is to provide maximum
value to all stakeholders in the organisation,
an initiative that has directly impacted
key performance indicators including lead
times, plant safety, quality and reliability,
inventory control, profit and cash. the result
has been a shift toward increased productivity
and efficiency that puts recent years
among the most dynamic periods in the
company’s history.
“It’s a culture that empowers people,”
explains Vermeer CEO and President Mary
Vermeer Andringa, “and encourages them
to be a part of the process. the most important
responsibility I have in my role within
the company is to engage, empower and
reward the contributions and efforts of everyone
involved. to see people grow in their
positions and become better in what they
do every day gives me a lot of satisfaction.
this means giving managers more leeway
to try new things and take calculated risks.”
“It’s a tremendous entrepreneurial environment,”
says Marketing and Forage
solutions Vice President Mark Core. “It has
given me opportunities to develop skills at
a much higher managerial level than I ever
thought possible, and on a much grander
and more global scale than I ever imagined
when I first joined the company in 1991.”
Employees have come to embrace and
facilitate change. As a result, Vermeer
can state proudly that employees truly
are their most valuable asset. In the first
decade since adopting the Lean growth
strategy, Vermeer conducted 1,600 different
Kaizen events. seventy per cent of
Vermeer employees have participated in at
least one Kaizen event and the executive
team has logged an average of 20 events
per member during the same timeframe.
Glenda Vander Wilt, who heads up marketing
for the industrial equipment division,
says, “the ideas come from everywhere:
Vermeer employees, dealers, customers
and suppliers, from every corner of the
world and for all market segments.”
Ms Vander Wilt spent several years as
the manager of Vermeer’s market-based
strategy team, spending hundreds of hours
each month visiting dealers and customers
either in person or by phone. “It’s also a
great way to build strong customer relationships
on a global scale.”
Going underground
Among the many inventions of founder
Gary Vermeer’s “firsts” was a hydrostatic
trencher. this greatly minimised the manual
labour necessary for installing the tile drainage
systems that prepared farmland for
production. It wasn’t long before Gary’s
trencher concept evolved into a line of utility
and track trenchers that soon became a
mainstay of the company’s line of construction
installation equipment.
In 1991, Vermeer introduced the
D-7t NAVIGAtOR, the first Vermeer horizontal
directional drill (HDD), and the
trenchless segment was off and running.
the power and features packed into every
Vermeer directional drill model help customers
improve efficiencies and complete
complicated jobs with less guesswork.
In 2007, with the market for maxi drill rigs
growing globally, Vermeer saw opportunity
within the gas, oil and major water and
sewer work areas. Vermeer acquired the
HDD operating assets of Horizontal Rig &
Equipment, a prominent manufacturer of
maxi HDD rigs.
today Vermeer offers a variety of horizontal
directional drills. Whether the project
involves energy pipelines, utilities, sewers,
geothermal or high-speed communications
lines, Vermeer HDD equipment has
become a mainstay for contractors looking
for equipment that can help improve
productivity. Each one includes advanced
technologies based on customer input, and
customers know they can count on receiving
expert service and support from the
vast Vermeer worldwide network of factorytrained
dealers and service technicians.
“Our dealers are professional spokespersons
for the Vermeer brands,” Vermeer
says. “Many of them are sizeable enough
to have rental fleets and work with customers
on whatever their needs are. We
encourage our dealers to be part of our
planning process and to align their own
planning with where we want to take the
company overall.”
dRILLING eqUIPMeNt
October 2010 - Trenchless Trenchless International 51