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John Oncken: Raemisch Implement looks to the future

John Oncken  —  5/22/2008 12:46 pm

A key to a nation's success in providing food for its citizens is the mechanization of its food supply production.

Hunter-gatherers are lucky to feed themselves and their families; those who raise food primarily from their own hand labor may provide for themselves and an extended family. Countries that are mechanized can feed themselves and the world.

America has always looked to mechanization. From the horse-drawn plows of the early days of farming to the slow and heavy steam-driven behemoths that pulled the wide plows that originally broke the prairies of the west to today's modern line of farm tractors and planting and harvesting equipment, our food supply has kept well ahead of a burgeoning population.

Janesville's "Sampson," the "Eagle" produced in Appleton and the "Wisconsin" made in Sauk City were tractors made in Wisconsin for a few years and survive now only in antique tractor shows.

The Allis Chalmers made in West Allis and the Case made in Kenosha were the pride of Wisconsin in the post-World War II industrialization boom in the 1950s and 1960s. Both are memories as well.

Sixty years ago, every rural town had one or more farm equipment dealers. Rein & Dahle at Stoughton and Lappley Implement at Oregon and the "machinery row" on Williamson Street in Madison come to mind.

As farm equipment got bigger and could plow more land, combine more grain and spread more manure in a days time, farm equipment dealers got bigger, fewer and farther between.

With modern machinery came the need for fast service. The farmer can't wait a week or even a day to have equipment repaired and running.

Today, farm equipment dealerships often include multiple stores under one owner. Single-location operations must be modern and offer rapid access to parts and service.

Raemisch Implement Inc., located in downtown Dane north of Madison, is a family-owned, single-location farm equipment dealership with 19 employees. The facility has long been cramped for space, and its store and repair facilities are old and in need of modernization.

Big changes are coming for Raemisch Implement. It is moving about six miles east into new facilities being built from the ground up, alongside Interstate 39-90-94 at DeForest.

Today you see construction equipment working on the site. Soon two buildings, a showroom-repair-headquarters facility and a storage building, will be visible. By September, Raemisch Implement will be doing business at the new location.

Owners Jack Raemisch and his son John are eagerly looking forward to the new location. A fire in December destroyed their repair shop in Dane, and they have operated out of some makeshift buildings since then.

John Raemisch, 39, admitted they had discussed changing their business in recent years.

"I said we'd be in a new building by the time I was 40," he says. "This will happen a bit earlier."

"We either had to get smaller or get bigger," Jack adds. "The farm equipment business is always changing."

Raemisch Implement actually started at Springfield Corners a half dozen miles away on U.S. 12. Jack Raemisch's father, Percy, was an Allis Chalmers and Oliver dealer starting in 1935 and moved the business to Dane in 1944.

Percy Raemisch died in 1965, leaving sons Jack and Jim to run the business. They did so until 2004 when Jim sold out, leaving Jack and his son John to carry on.

Over the years they have seen the demise of Allis Chalmers that was replaced by Duetz-Allis. In 1990 AGCO came on the scene and assembled a wide range of farm equipment brand names, including AGCO, Massey-Ferguson, White and Fendt.

Once the decision was made to expand and relocate, the Raemisches began planning. They bought 65 acres of land on County I just north of the busy County V exit off of the interstate. It will be highly visible from the interstate and easy to reach.

Ideal Builders in Madison is the general contractor, and machines are roaring and rumbling as they form the 11-acre site. Foundations will be laid within days.

Although Raemisch Implement is, and will remain, a one-location farm equipment dealership, they do business throughout Wisconsin and all adjoining states.

"Farmers will travel 400 miles to look at equipment," John says, but the store also does 25-30 percent of its business over the Internet.

The father and son team is betting that the decision to invest more than $2 million in a facility will keep Raemisch Implement and its customers in business for a long time to come.

Farming history suggests they're on the right track.

John Oncken is owner of Oncken Communications, a Madison-based agricultural information and consulting company. He can be reached at 608-222-0624 or e-mail jfodairy@chorus.net.

John Oncken  —  5/22/2008 12:46 pm