Hundred-degree heat is no obstacle for CNH skid steers, and neither is it for the men and women of the CNH manufacturing community here in Wichita, Kansas. On Monday, the Manufacturing Express joined CNH for a celebration of the work that this company produces—and the workers that make it a reality, each and every day.
Since 1974, CNH has manufactured quality, reliable skid steer loaders at this Wichita facility. Now, 50 years later, that commitment to excellence remains as strong as ever. What’s kept them successful, generation after generation? According to Plant Manager Josh Welliver, it’s their ability to control every part of the manufacturing process, and an attention to detail that sets them apart. “We design, validate, and build here, all on-site. Not too many places do that anymore. But we do,” Welliver said.
It takes quite a bit of room to make that level of excellence possible—and it’s why CNH has invested in expanding their facility up to its current 80-acre, 550,000-square-footprint. Some would call this complex ‘Kansas-sized’; at CNH, they call it Home. Here in Kansas, the land is more than a resource—it’s a bounty from which to make great things. Congressman Ron Estes described the way Kansans have created prosperity for themselves: “We take raw materials, and we add something to it, and we create something of value. We’re proud of what we make here, and we’re proud to share it with the world.” It’s a simple equation, but one that has brought CNH, and its employees, decades of success.
CNH is a company with deep roots in Kansas, but one that has grown to cover six continents. Worldwide, CNH boasts 160 facilities, employing 60,000 workers, with a commercial presence in 170 countries. In concert with its diverse brand portfolio, including Case, New Holland, Steyr, and many more, CNH offers a comprehensive suite of agriculture and construction equipment. In short, CNH builds the machines that build our world.
It’s a responsibility the men and women of CNH’s Wichita facility don’t take lightly. To deliver quality products everywhere from Sedgwick County to Thailand is no small task.CNH creates highly complex equipment, but to the workers here, there’s a certain simplicity to it. ‘Kansas Common Sense,’ they call it: when you put your brain to work, and your hands alongside it, good things happen. It’s the philosophy that has led Kansans to invent “everything from air conditioners to zippers,” as the Congressman put it, and it’s what leads the people at Kansas equipment manufacturers like CNH to continue their incredible work.
