Yankton, South Dakota lies among the same prairies where Lewis & Clark once made camp. Two hundred and twenty years later, a manufacturing community has grown up here in the eastern part of the state. Kolberg-Pioneer (ASTEC) is one of the leading companies in the region, a testament to a thriving equipment manufacturing industry in small towns across the U.S.
As the Manufacturing Express rolled in on a humid Wednesday morning, we were greeted by the equipment kingdom’s apex predator: the FT4250 Pioneer Jaw Crusher. Nearly four hundred men and women are hard at work in Yankton manufacturing the highest-capacity jaw crusher on the market. Bus and jaw crusher parked side by side provided a striking backdrop to the day’s celebration of the Kolberg-Pioneer (ASTEC) equipment manufacturing community—with 160 pizzas to boot.
Like the city it calls home, Kolberg-Pioneer (ASTEC) has plenty of history to celebrate. Its roots can be traced back to 1928, when Minnesota’s Pioneer Gravel Equipment Manufacturing Company opened its doors. In 1965, Kolberg Manufacturing began its own operations, and in the ‘80s, a merger between the two firms saw them set up shop here in Yankton. ASTEC acquired the business in ‘97, and since then, Kolberg-Pioneer (ASTEC) has only continued to grow. “Our facility used to be a lot smaller,” Manufacturing Engineer Manager Greg Daschel explained, “And now it’s like NASCAR for forklifts.” It isn’t hard to see what he means: the activity in the plant may seem like controlled chaos—but only to the untrained eye. This is precision, productivity, and equipment manufacturing at its finest. It’s a sight to behold.
A celebration is fitting, given what Kolberg-Pioneer (ASTEC) has accomplished in recent years. 2023 was the company’s most profitable year to date. Their flagship models regularly sell for a million dollars or more. But here at Kolberg-Pioneer (ASTEC), they’re not patting themselves on the back for the impressive things they’ve done. They’re too busy focusing on the next challenge and working constantly to improve their processes and products. It’s not easy, but the folks at Kolberg-Pioneer (ASTEC) don’t see problems as obstacles. Manufacturing Engineer Manager Greg Daschel put it best: “Challenges are simply opportunities in disguise.”
That’s the philosophy that has convinced folks like Jason Olson, QA Department, to spend their entire careers at Kolberg-Pioneer (ASTEC)—he’s been here 32 years. “I’ve been here a long time, yeah,” Olson said, chuckling. “It’s not every job that still brings excitement every day.” He plans to keep working here 8 more years (to get to 40). Until then, he said, he’s happy to continue the work that’s fulfilled him for his whole professional life: “I’m grateful for a good job, and also for the people around here.”
Much like the Missouri River that flows along Yankton’s southern edge, a welcome feeling of community courses through the city of Yankton. The men and women here at Kolberg-Pioneer (ASTEC) embody that ideal: from manufacturing top-of-the-line equipment to showing up for one another each and every day, the folks here know that together, they are building great things.
