The self-taught blacksmith whose inventions changed how America plants and harvests — from a shop in Williamsburg.
Jon Kinzenbaw opened a one-man welding and repair shop in Williamsburg, Iowa, in 1965. A relentless inventor, he built the first commercially successful grain cart and pioneered folding, front-fold, and twin-line planters that let farmers cover far more ground.
His inventions, protected by dozens of patents, grew Kinze Manufacturing into a major farm-equipment company that remains family-owned.
Kinze's planters and grain carts became fixtures across the Corn Belt, and Jon Kinzenbaw's story — a farm kid with a welder who built a global company — is an Iowa classic. He was inducted into industry halls of fame for his inventions.
The company remains one of the largest employers in Iowa County.
Kinze is based in Williamsburg, Iowa. A leading family-owned maker of planters and grain carts, still based in Williamsburg
1965.
Jon Kinzenbaw — founder and inventor (1965); pioneer of the grain cart and folding planter
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