In years to follow, Ray’s hybrids withstood a drought and their increased popularity led to the opening of Hagie’s Hybrids seed corn plant in 1944. Ray’s desire to further improve his own operation and that of his neighboring farmers resulted in a vision. In 1946, to help reduce the painstaking time associated with detasseling, Ray developed a self-propelled “personnel mover.” The originality and efficiency of the product created high demand. At the end of World War II, Dow released the pesticide/herbicide, commonly known today as 2,4-D, for use in the control of broadleaf weeds. A problem solver at heart, Ray envisioned a more efficient solution for application of the product and in 1947, he invented the world’s first self-propelled sprayer and forever changed the landscape of application in agriculture. In years to follow, Hagie Manufacturing earned a reputation as an industry innovator by providing the market with new solutions for evolving farming needs. A few of Hagie Manufacturing’s industry firsts include the invention of the four-wheeled Hagie sprayer, front-mounted boom, and a high-clearance Nitrogen toolbar. As the inventor of the industry, we have a strong responsibility to continue to be the leader in application. We remain committed to providing innovative solutions to optimize our customer growth. As a result, today our customers are capable of performing various full season applications with STS attachments, making it the most versatile application machine on the market.

As a manufacturer of application solutions, our team is comprised of a team of experts whose passion comes from solving problems in the industry. We have a reputation for saying yes to our customers with unique needs and constantly trying new things in effort to provide the most innovative solutions for the evolving needs of the industry. Innovation is everywhere and you never know where the next great innovation will be generated from. Past, present and future, Hagie Manufacturing is committed to being the problem solvers in the industry.

Source:   The Wright County Monitor -- Clarion,  Iowa -- August 7,  2014

Clarion’s Hagie Manufacturing: It started with Ray Hagie

 By: Karen Weld, Contributing Writer to the Wright County Monitor

As Clarion embarks on its 150th anniversary, we might ask ourselves, what would the Clarion area look like without Hagie Manufacturing, Ray Hagie, as well as his next coming two generations? Where would we be without the influences of the Hagies? The picture would be entirely different. What started on a Wright County farm 67 years ago, is now a world-wide corporation, based in Clarion and employing more than 500 team members.

How it began --- RAY HAGIE

 Born in 1910 on a farm southwest of Clarion, Ray Hagie always considered himself a farmer. Returning to the family farm after his Iowa State University graduation in 1933, Ray used his education to experiment with the coming of ‘hybrid seed corn’. At the same time, the Midwest was greatly impacted by drought for several growing seasons. Ray’s ‘new fangled’ bred crops, out produced the open pollenated corn in neighboring fields and led to the founding of Hagie’s Hybrids in 1934. In 1943, Hagie’s Hybrids opened a seed corn plant in the town of Clarion. A born innovator, Ray worked to improve the painstaking work of removing corn tassels by hand by developing the first ‘people mover’ self-propelled detasseling machine in 1946. The machine was original and efficient. In 1947, Hagie Manufacturing was born.

 AND THE COMPANY GREW

 According to Alan Hagie, the third generation Hagie family member to lead the business, Hagie Manufacturing has been selling its equipment world-wide since 1956. “Up to thirty percent of our business is outside of the United States.” Ray’s son John, who served as the company president beginning in 1981, turned the reins of the operation over to his son (Ray’s grandson) Alan in 2010. Alan said, “I admire the number of farming changes both my grandpa and father have lived through. Think back to how different faming is now than 67 years ago when the company started.” Several things have remained the same: the Hagie family continues to be a ‘farm family’, owning and farming a number of acres in Wright County; and working to continue to innovate ways to help producers maximize their opportunities to add to their profitability. The company’s Ray Hagie main focus is marketing innovative solutions to large producers and co-operatives, which perform applications for hire.

HAGIE MANUFACTURING TODAY

Hagie Manufacturing continues to thrive and grow based on the same principles which we started back in the late 1940s. “We are committed to our team members, our customers, and our community,” said Alan. “Very few companies are top-to-bottom like ours is. Most manufacturers make their product; then that product goes to a dealer to be sold. We manage the whole experience. From making the product to our sales representatives in geographical areas; from our service technicians to the end-users in their fields. We stay close to our customers.” According to Alan ‘money is a poor motivator’. “The reason for getting up in the morning can’t be about making money,” he said. “Instead if I can get up each day, and hopefully our team members as well, look for ways to change the world, we will be successful. Can we help to impact the lives of our employees and their families? Our vendors? Our community? How can we develop a product which will lower the cost of food production and add to the profitability of the producers who use what we make? If we can do that we will all be a success.” Hagie Manufacturing values the people who form the culture of the company. “We are always looking for people to help form our culture of wanting to contribute to the person working next to them and the business as a whole,” said Alan. “Skills aren’t the only thing. We want people on our team who don’t only care about themselves, but are invested in others. The company has made a large investment in customer support in the recent past. Alan said, “We are investing a significant amount of our profits in additional training for our service employees, service trucks, and parts. Hagie equipment is more than product innovation. We must give a superior customer and product experience.” The third thing on Alan’s list: investment in engineering. “We have drastically increased our engineering investment in the past five years,” he said. “Our growth and innovation has been unbelievable. Our 2014 model year includes an entirely new cab, the engine layout has changed, and as well as features a new advance drive system. It is much more sophisticated than in the past.” A couple of newer innovations: fertilizer application and targeted nitrogen application when corn plants most need it versus fall/spring application. The 2015 model has been on the market for about a month and continues to be improved and refined.

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE?

 “More of the same,” said Alan. “Be good listeners to our producers and look at the markets to see what’s coming ahead. We need to be part of solving problems and be better stewards on our land, our water quality, and finding solutions as producers work to feed the world.” The Hagie family and Hagie Manufacturing team members are each given a minimum of two paid days annually to volunteer to a cause of their choice, of which many of these efforts contribute resources and invest time toward the bettering and enhancement of the Clarion community. One example of recent efforts include Hagie team members helping to clean up the yards of community residents affected by this summer’s devasting storms. Organizations and worthwhile causes come to their collective and individual attention. Nearly one-half of Clarion’s 150 years has been highly influenced by first by Ray Hagie and now the team at Hagie Manufacturing. There is no doubt that ‘influence’ will be part of the ‘Hagie culture’ in the future. Thanks to businesses and people like these, Clarion is the town it is today.