OUR FOUNDER
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Richard F. Reinke, founder of Reinke Manufacturing Co., Inc., was a pioneer in the irrigation industry. Many of his innovations he conceived have become standards for the industry throughout the world.
Richard, the youngest of twelve children, helped with his family's 480 acre farm near Byron, NE USA where he could pick 125 acres of corn by hand himself. Given his background in agriculture and his desire to build things, at age 15 he purchased educational material in engineering, architecture and draftsmanship determined to invent a better future. It took Richard's "waste not, want not" attitude to turn his inventions and passion for agriculture into the world leader in mechanized irrigation system technologies. Today, most mechanized irrigation systems incorporate many of the concepts, inventions and patents he introduced during his lifetime. So the next time you see a center pivot effortlessly moving around the field, you can thank Richard Reinke for that. |
COMPANY HISTORY
OUR BEGINNING |
Beginning in 1954, Mr. Reinke formed the company on a family farm and began manufacturing farm and commercial building structural components specializing in chicken houses and laminated rafters.
Richard Reinke, Founder within a grain building built using Reinke's laminated beams.
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1960's
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During the late 60's, Reinke introduced the ELECTROGATOR® center pivot irrigation system. The first reversible, electric drive center pivot with collector ring allowing continuous rotation and span over 100 feet in length with a patented V-jack truss design. These designs are now used worldwide by all major manufacturers of center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems.
The ELECTROGATOR® was also the first to incorporate interchangeable pipe and truss components, an O-ring gasket (Reinke exclusive) between pipes for a non-intrusive seal and first gear driven towable system with rubber tires. Also a Reinke first was the introduction of the MINIGATOR®, the first system with 4-1/2” water pipe designed for low water supplies and smaller fields. |
The first ELECTROGATOR® in
Deshler, NE USA. Still runs today.
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1970's
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At the beginning of the 1970's, Reinke continued to make great improvements and innovations by adding more water pipe options such as 6" water pipe as well as providing the largest selection of water pipes for varying water quality and field conditions. This lead to the first Chromium Nickel Plus (CN+) steel water pipe option and the introduction of the first successful aluminum system, the ALUMIGATOR®. These options still remain a Reinke exclusive to this day.
Perhaps the greatest breakthrough during this period was the introduction of the high strength steel. Higher strength was introduced to reduce the weight, increasing the life of the drive train and reducing soil compaction in the field. This also included the completely new way of connecting the base beam to the water pipe using the Reinke exclusive single leg tower. In the later part of the 70's, Reinke introduced the versatile 2-wheel drive power tower the MAXIGATOR®, a lateral move irrigation system allowing for maximum coverage in rectangular shaped fields. |
The original single leg tower design.
The original MAXIGATOR® lateral move system.
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1980's |
To prevent leaks at the water pipe connections, Reinke developed a new way of preventing gasket failures due to misalignment and sunlight. This included embedding a V-ring seal as a non-intrusive gasket between pipe flanges (Reinke exclusive) allowing the flanges to be connected face to face. Thanks to a unique flange design, the V-ring seal is completely hidden and allows the flanges to join together without the interference of a gasket.
Reinke has made great improvements in electronic enclosures. This decade also brought the introduction of the double walled, injection molded tower box that features a safety interlock (Reinke exclusive) which prevents the cover from being removed without first disconnecting the power to the tower. This exclusive tower box provides a moisture-free environment for electrical components and is the last place you'll ever find condensation. Other advancements such as the patented Energy Saver Package (ESP) for swing arm corner systems with limited system gpm (Reinke exclusive). The first bow string truss over 210 feet was also introduced. |
The V-Ring Seal - a non-intrusive gasket completely protected from UV rays.
Double Walled Tower Box
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1990's |
With more irrigation dotting the globe, challenges in covering every acre possible was the challenge of the day. Reinke introduced the Drop Span, which would allow the connection and disconnection of adjacent spans, and the system to cover additional acres.
Advancements were also paramount in the on-board irrigation system controls. Reinke introduced the Reinke Automated Management System (RAMS) control panel and the Digital Precision Application Controller (PAC Timer) which changed the way growers managed their systems. This decade also brought Stainless Steel as a new water pipe option for corrosive water applications. |
The Reinke Drop Span. Allowing the system to continue running after disconnecting adjacent spans.
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2000's |
The 2000's brought the most technical advances since our humble beginning. Reinke has been the leader in Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Precision Management main control panels, water pipe options, satellite-based communications and much more.
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TODAY
In this day and age, you don't often find a worldwide industry leader operating in the same place as where it was founded. But, that's the way it is with Reinke. We're still in Deshler, Nebraska, the original location established by founder Richard Reinke in 1954. We choose to remain in Deshler – America's heartland – close to our roots and our customers because that's who we are. We live and work among the growers of this country and our dealers live and work among the growers of countries all over the world. We're a global leader in irrigation products, but we're a hometown business at heart.
