Case IH recently broke ground on an expansion of the company's Goodfield, Ill., plant, which manufactures industry-leading tillage and fertilizer application equipment. The 168,000-square-foot expansion project, which will begin immediately, will increase the size of the plant by approximately two-thirds.

Photo Courtesy of Case IH

"The new expansion will accommodate an all-new paint line and enable us to extend our leadership position in the marketplace," says Goodfield Plant Manager Brian Blankenship. "The commitment to this plant continues, and our employees have responded." 

Blankenship cites that employment at the plant has grown over the last four years, making it the largest employer in Woodford County. The facility in Goodfield currently employs approximately 650 and still has open positions in fabrication, welding, paint and assembly.

Blankenship says the new paint line will be a multistage auto deposition primer dip system with a powder topcoat. The system will be based on a power- and free-conveyer system and provide a needed capacity increase.

Senior Director for Case IH Specialty Business, Bill Preller, says these plant improvements will provide both enhanced product quality and value to customers. 

"Simply put, it will provide a better-quality paint finish that's superior to the existing industry-standard Class III finish," Preller says. "Case IH customers will benefit from an even more rugged red paint finish that looks better rolling off the factory line, lasts throughout the life of the implement and improves resale value."

In addition, the new paint line will almost completely eliminate VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and the plant will recycle all water used in the process.

This expansion will facilitate continued adoption of world-class manufacturing processes to further improve plant efficiency and profitability - and product quality for Case IH customers.

"The Case IH iron we manufacture in Goodfield already has a hard-earned reputation for being rugged, productive and agronomically superior," Preller says. "It's heavy duty and built to last, works in the toughest conditions, and does all the right things to help crops grow better. That's how we became the industry leader."

The Case IH True-Tandem 330 Turbo and Ecolo-Tiger 870 disk ripper, both produced in Goodfield, have proved to be extremely popular with customers.

Case IH is a global leader in agricultural equipment, committed to collaborating with its customers to develop the most powerful, productive, reliable equipment - designed to meet today's agricultural challenges. Challenges like feeding an expanding global population on less land, meeting ever-changing government regulations and managing input costs. With headquarters in the United States, Case IH has a network of dealers and distributors that operates in over 160 countries. Case IH provides agricultural equipment systems, flexible financial service offerings and parts and service support for professional farmers and commercial operators through a dedicated network of professional dealers and distributors. Productivity enhancing products include tractors; combines and harvesters; hay and forage equipment; tillage tools; planting and seeding systems; sprayers and applicators; site-specific farming tools and utility vehicles. Case IH is a brand of CNH (NYSE: CNH), a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat Industrial S.p.A. (FI.MI).