45
LIFTING
SITE REPORT
OCTOBER 2013
ACT
New business came from selling feeding
equipment to dairy farms, and the
company began selling silo unloaders and
became a feed dealer. In the late 1970s
“things really snowballed,” when they
began selling grain bins to area farmers.
At the time, farmers would erect the bins
themselves. But as the grain market grew
with increased yields, so did the need
for larger bins. In the late 1980s Larry
Unverfehrt put together the company’s
first crew to set up grain bins.
Major driver
“It’s now one of the major drivers of our
business,” he says. “We’ve continued
to expand and offer commercial work
erecting bins for elevators.”
According to Matthew Unverfehrt,
farmers and commercial customers can
have vastly different needs.
“Farmers only deal with the trucks that
come from their fields, bringing grain to
their bins,” says Matthew. “Commercial
businesses deal with a larger volume
that comes from numerous farms, often
handling hundreds of trucks a day.
Farmers are generally looking for a bin
system that handles about 6,000 bushels
per hour, whereas an elevator may need to
accommodate 20,000.”
The size of the bins needed to handle
the varying volumes is also vastly
different, as farmers typically put up
60,000-bushel storage units. Commercial
bins are often big enough to store 750,000
bushels or more. Private, individual grain
bin projects require about a month to
complete, while larger commercial set-
ups can take as long as three months. The
Unverfehrts can have as many as 10 to 12
grain bin erection projects going at once.
“It all depends on the size and scope
of the set-up as to how long it will take
to complete – we’re basically a turnkey
operation,” said Larry, noting that they
Cranes
and grains
I
n 1954, Gus and Irene Unverfehrt
started a farm, raising hogs and
cattle on several acres near Centralia,
IL. The idea of owning a farm supply
business never crossed their minds.
“I was just trying to get by raising
livestock,” says Unverfehrt. “During those
early years, the market was in East St.
Louis, so I’d take livestock there once a
week or every couple of weeks. While I
was there, I’d pick up supplies. Neighbors
started asking me to pick up items for
them too, and that’s really how I got into
the farm-supply business.”
The business took root from those
periodic supply trips, and by 1961 the
couple formally started the business.
Today, Gus C. Unverfehrt Farm Supply
is a third-generation family business. Sons
Larry and Kevin Unverfehrt manage day-
to-day operations. Larry’s wife, Kathy and
their sons, Matthew and Tyler, and their
daughter, Jennifer, work for the company.
Mathew’s wife, Katie, also works in the
office and Kevin’s son, Adam, oversees
electrical work and runs service calls.
Although the business came about
by chance, once it was established, the
Unverfehrts became active in growing it
and adding to the supply inventory. In
time, the business would begin offering
feeding, watering and milking systems for
livestock, as well as other products and
services.
“For the most part, we were geared
toward livestock farmers,” says Gus.
only subcontract out large concrete pours.
“Our own staff does more than 90
percent of our jobs, and that number
continues to increase as we have started
doing our own electrical work,” he says.
“To increase efficiency, we have multiple
crews and each focuses on a particular
aspect of the project: concrete, building
grain bins, building augers, assembly of
the grain legs, etc. That way, once the
concrete crew is done with its work, it
can move on to another project while the
other crews come in and do their work.”
As the need for storage capacities
grew, so did the Unverfehrts’ need for
larger lifting and erection equipment.
The company began purchasing National
boom trucks in the mid-1990s, and now
has 28- and 40-ton units.
Three generations of Unverfehrts are active
in operating Gus C. Unverfehrt Farm Supply,
including (L-R) Gus and Irene, their son,
Larry, and his son, Matthew.
Gus Unverfehrt Farm
Supply utilizes National
boom trucks and a Grove
truck crane to erect
grain bins.
Operator Roger Boozer
lifts a grain bin into
place on a farm using
a 110-ton Grove
TMS9000E crane.
