The familiar expression, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” is timeless, because it’s true. When a product does the job the way it’s designed, there isn’t much more a manufacturer needs to do but continue producing quality equipment that customers can count on.
That’s been a goal for CR Manufacturing in Grand Island, NE. The company has been making and installing Shuttle grain truck probes for more than three decades with successful installations throughout the United States and Canada, and the feedback continues to be positive.
“Consistency is a good thing,” says Business Manager Ryan Hohm. “Reliability and parts availability is one side of that, of course, but the good thing about our product is that it has stood the test of time. And if customers suggested things that needed to change, then we would.”
Grain Journal recently spoke with Hohm to find out more about the company’s background and position as a leading supplier in the grain industry.
Company History
CR Mfg. was founded in 1984 by Chuck Roehrich, who had worked at Heartland Ag in Grand Island prior to founding his own company. According to Hohm, Roehrich was mechanically inclined, and he was able to identify a need in the market for a grain probe that was simpler and more serviceable than what was available at the time. While still working a full-time job, Roehrich developed, produced, and installed the first Shuttle Grain Probe – and the rest is history.
“The basic design from that first probe has not changed a whole lot to this day,” Hohm explains. “Probes really haven’t evolved in a mechanical way, other than just reliability upgrades in the last 25 to 30 years. If you look at a probe today, it looks very similar to what it did back then.”
The company is known by the moniker, “The Original True Blue,” because the color of its probes always has been painted blue, “which was what customers recognized at the first stages of the company,” Hohm says. He adds that there are other probes available in the industry now that also are painted blue, which is why the company uses the word “original” in its slogan.
Even though the probes are still the same basic design, the industry and how they are used has changed significantly over the years. “At first, the probes were basically a tool to assist the person doing the hand sampling,” explains Hohm, “Then they were moved ahead of the scale to free it up for weighing empties and staging trucks while they test the sample. About 15 years ago, we developed larger models that can rotate far enough to do two lanes. This led to the development of remote probe systems so companies could fully utilize the dual-lane capabilities. We now routinely install systems 300 to 500 feet from the office with the grain line overhead or underground.”
Since its founding, CR Mfg. has remained a family-owned business. Owner and General Manager Thomas Kell says growth in demand for the company’s products over the years can be attributed to safety, efficiency, and industry requirements for more testing of grain.
“We still sell probes to elevators that have never had one but realize they need to get away from climbing on trucks to take a hand sample,” says Kell.
Everyone wants to improve the efficiency of their operations. “It takes less than a minute to sample a truck with our probes and greater emphasis on food safety and quality has increased the need to sample both inbound and outbound trucks.”
Products and Services
CR Mfg. can custom-build a complete grain truck probe system.
“We offer the probe and accessories to fit your particular needs,” Hohm explains. “We have rough service, all-weather cameras and LED lights that mount on the probe and turn with the probe so you have an excellent view of the trailer at all times.
“Our cameras also are used to identify drivers, monitor truck scales, and for inspection of empty trucks and railcars. Traffic lights are available for managing two-way traffic on scales and assuring a higher level of safety while probing a truck, so the driver does not pull away too soon,” says Hohm.
“There are several commercial-grade intercom systems for communication with the truck drivers. They utilize a speaker-mic like a drive-in but also have a telephone handset if there is too much wind or engine noise. If the facility requires a bill of lading from the driver, we have a bank-style, two-way pneumatic tube system for receiving and sending paperwork.”
Elimination of downtime, especially during harvest, is a big concern for customers, adds Kell. “Probes have become such a vital part of their operation that they can’t operate without them. Preventive maintenance programs have become an increasingly important part of our customer service. Customers are having us rebuild older probes and keeping them as a backup rather than taking them out of service when we install a new one.
“Handling the samples before and after they are tested is an expanding market for us. Integrating our system into automated testing equipment to eliminate handling is now common. We have developed three styles of grain reclaim systems for returning the sample to the truck or consolidating it for transport to the elevator,” he adds.
Company Vision
Hohm says one of CR Mfg.’s biggest selling points is that it still manufactures, installs, and services what it sells. Since the company manufactures its products rather than outsourcing them, Hohm says it stocks every component on hand to ship the same day for replacement parts. “That’s a large factor in our success. We can get parts the same day or next day regionally to our customers.”
Additionally, Hohm points out that the company offers superior tech and parts assistance, because the company builds and handles the parts in-house every day. “We’re a smaller company, so our employees are cross-trained to answer just about any question. The guys in the shop are involved in more than just one piece of the process. Most of our employees have field experience, as well as manufacturing experience with the probes, so we feel like being a small company gives us that advantage with the capabilities of multiple tech people on hand at all times at the source.”
At the end of the day, Hohm says the company’s goal is to provide unmatched customer service and a high-quality product. Given that the company’s very first customer who bought its first probe is still a customer today, it’s safe to say that CR Manufacturing is doing something right – and that’s not about to change.
