Agricultural equipment maker AGCO Corp. this month opened a regional training center at the College of Western Idaho Boise Diesel Technology Building on the Boise State University Campus.

AGCO selected CWI for its first regional training center. Duluth, Ga.-based AGCO will bring technicians from around the region to Boise to train on equipment such as high-horsepower tractors, advanced hay tools and compact utility gear.

Students in CWI’s diesel technology program have access to the equipment as they work toward professional-technical degrees.

CWI spokeswoman Jennifer Couch said that previously, AGCO used the Boise facilities for training about once a year for training local dealer technicians. The company was not charged for space, but donated equipment and training aids to the college program.

In the recently formed partnership — a pilot project for both entities — AGCO is paying for the instructor, supplying the equipment for training, and paying a nominal fee for facility rent and other administrative costs such as parking and shipping, she said. When the instructor is not training dealers, he will teach students in CWI’s diesel technology program.

The regional training center will attract dealers from around the Northwest and will help prepare CWI students to work with the latest technologies, Couch said.

AGCO Training Coordinator Russ Goertzen said the earlier training sessions in Boise drew many more participants than the sessions could accommodate effectively. The partnership with the College of Western Idaho enables AGCO to offer more training and bring it closer to dealers, which they have requested, he said. The company’s training is now based in Hesston, Kan.

The first AGCO training session for dealer technicians in Boise is slated Oct. 11-13. Goertzen said the company has scheduled training sessions two weeks per month through the rest of the year, but “based upon feedback, we could expand to three weeks a month.”

Agco dealers in Idaho include Agri-Service, Western States Equipment and Schlofman Tractor & Implement Co.