The Mission Statement of the North Carolina State University – Co-operative Extension is quite simple:
North Carolina Co-operative Extension partners with communities to deliver education and technology that enrich the lives, land and economy of North Carolinians.
Tim Britton, Extension Agent in Field Crops for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in Johnston County, lives that mission every day. Among many other tasks, Britton took on the job of coordinating the 2010 summer tour for the Johnston County Agri-Business council. This organization is comprised of a couple hundred farmers, bankers, municipality employees, farm supply companies, nursery owners, turf grass management companies and Department of Agriculture people that make the county's ag businesses flourish.
Britton schedules monthly meetings and periodic educational trips for the group to major points of interest in the state. This month's journey took them to the North American Headquarters of the KIOTI Tractor Division of Daedong Industrial in Wendell, in neighboring Wake County. According to Britton, "I knew that a number of Johnston County residents work at KIOTI and felt that their tractor product line would be of interest to the group."
Britton connected with KIOTI Marketing Development Manager Ron Parrish, who was more than pleased to invite the group over to their facility for a tour. "The company started out in Wilson, NC, then built the new facility here in Wendell a few years back," states Parrish. "We are all very proud of our modern headquarters here and the products we distribute for the parent company." It is nice to be able to showcase our company for such a prestigious group." Over 60 people made the trip, including the organization's President, Don Edwards, and Treasurer, Joe Gregory.
Once at KIOTI, the group was met by Tony Brown, KIOTI's National Sales Manager for the United States. Brown put on a PowerPoint presentation that highlighted the history of the South Korean company – which has been supplying quality tractors to the North American markets for over 25 years – along with a brief review of the current product line, new products and company news. The show gave the group a virtual tour of the huge Daedong facility in South Korea along with other interesting facets of this organization.
Following this informative indoctrination, the group was split up into four smaller groups and given a walking tour of the Wendell facility. Four KIOTI tour guides – Mark Barham, Aaron Batten, Peggy Newsome and Julie Tant – along with technical product experts Terry Coley and Gerald Johnson, explained how KIOTI works from Warehouse to Assembly to Parts to Shipping to a hands-on visit of the tractors themselves. The tour was followed by a swing through KIOTI's impressive administrative offices on the way to some much needed refreshments in the company's lunchroom.
Britton was pleasantly surprised with KIOTI. "This is a great bunch of people here and it was quite obvious that their product quality and customer service are superb. In Johnston County, we all grew up surrounded by red and green tractors. We are beginning to see some orange KIOTIs out there and I think I can speak for the group in saying that we can see why. These products are very well made and supported."
Mike Greene, KIOTI's Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, thanked the group for their time and kind attention before employees handed out a gift bag to each of the attendees. According to Greene, "It was a privilege to have these people come and visit our company. Our goal was to welcome them for a nice visit and leave them with a good feeling about us and a good understanding of how fellow North Carolinians are making a major impact on the growth of this company across North America. We would like to extend an invitation to similar groups around the area to schedule a visit with us and hope that Johnston County's Agri-Business members will come see us again soon."
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KIOTI offers over 30 tractors in the 22-90 horsepower range and will soon introduce their new MECHRON UTV – the Ultimate Transport Vehicle. For more information on KIOTI, please visit them at www.KIOTI.com or call 1-877-GO-KIOTI.
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KIOTI Tractor Hosts Johnston County Agri-Business Group
