«Previous    Next»
Planter Customizers Also Sell Parts, Service
An innovative Canadian company can make changes big or small to row-crop planters, turning single row units into twin rows, adding tracks, or doing a complete makeover. If all you need is parts, Kearney Planters can take care of that, too.
  “We do a lot of service over the phone with customers across Canada and some in the U.S.,” says Shaun, Kearney Planters. “We even shipped a customized 40-ft. planter to Romania.”
  The company carries millions of parts for a wide variety of brands, including Kinze. They also sell new planters. However, customizing planters is what got owner Barry Kearney into business in the first place. After 35 years it is still a key element, one that takes all forms.
  “Our most common modifications are adding a coulter bar up front or adding vacuum where it wasn’t, hydraulic down force, things like that,” says Dilliott. “We can add a dry combo or set a planter up for use with tram lines or wheel tracks. It all depends on the customer.”
  More extensive changes are often requested. “Recently we changed a Kinze 3500 from a 15-row, 15-in. row planter to a 16-row with 8 sets of 7 1/2-in. twin rows,” says Dilliott.
  The new pattern had a 22 1/2-in. space between the sets of twin rows. This also moved the 4 wheels on the planter over rows planted by the rear units. Originally, they ran over 4 of the rows planted by the front pusher units.
  “Moving the front planting units over 7 1/2 in. changed the center of the planter, so we put a second hitch on the front to move the tongue over 3 3/4 in.,” adds Dilliott. “This way the tractor still pulls from the center of the planter.”
  Dilliott says he gets between 2,000 and 3,000 calls for service during spring planting, as many as 120 a day. And they aren’t just from existing customers.
  “If someone buys a new planter from us, they have my cell phone number, and I’m available 7 days a week,” he says. “I don’t go to bed without a callback. If they can’t get a hold of us, how can they keep going?”
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kearney Planters, 14232 Turin Line, RR 3, Thamesville, Ont. Canada N0P 2K0 (ph 519 678-3206; kearney@kearneyplanters.com; www.kearneyplanters.com).


  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2018 - Volume #42, Issue #5