A bale handling equipment manufacturer is hitting a milestone and to celebrate Triple C is building a special HydraBed to be sold for a good cause.
Jay Russell, general manager of Triple C Inc., which produces HydraBed equipment in Sabetha, Kansas, said the company is about to build and sell its 20,000th HydraBed. That specific unit is based on one of its signature units, HydraBed HB3200, and will be renamed HB20000 with a commemorative decal scheme.
The special edition will be featured on BigIron, which has agreed to advertise, sell the unit and take no commission on the HB20000. Proceeds will be used for scholarships to send children to an American Diabetes Association camp in Augusta, Kansas. The program is designed to help children age 8 to 16 with a fun experience that features educational and camping activities.
Russell, whose spreadsheet records each sale, said the first HydraBed was sold in 1983 to a rancher, Otis Dewey, of McDonald, Kansas. As he was recently reviewing the manufacturing numbers it dawned upon him the company was nearing its 20,000th unit to be sold. He knew it was an important milestone but was not sure how to commemorate it.
Russell said that he first met Kent Schnakenberg, a salesman at Navrat’s Office Products, over 20 years ago when Schnakenberg was calling on Triple C. Nearly 10 years ago he and his brothers decided to turn their “biking addiction” into a way to raise money and bring awareness to Juvenile Diabetes.
“I had visited with Kent about this before but it became a little bit more personal for me when a young girl, who grew up next door to where my family lived until we moved in 2016, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a few years ago,” Russell said.
With that thought in mind he decided to ask his production manager at Triple C, Juan Gonzales, what he thought about the idea of donating the 20,000 HydraBed for charity the morning it was halfway through production.
“‘Oh man, that’s awesome’ and in the next breath he (the production manager) said ‘how would you ever pick one though? No matter what you choose you can’t go wrong with helping kids.’”
Russell was appreciative of the inquisitiveness of Gonzales and his genuine concern for children. “Honestly the whole idea of giving the bed to a charity could have just gone by the wayside if he hadn’t walked through and asked me what I was thinking about,” Russell said.
After getting a commitment from the production manager that he wouldn’t say anything, Russell solicited the thoughts of company executives and original owner Galen Ackerman as a sounding board. Cemented with enthusiastic support the idea went forward and the entire 30-employee Triple C team wanted to help.
“Every person I talked to liked the idea and it was complete shot in the arm with excitement about the whole thing. So it has been full steam ahead ever since.”
The HydraBed is a flush mounted, live-hydraulic powered bale handler that is integrated into a flatbed pickup truck that is three-quarter or 1-ton in size. The HB3200 is designed for a flatbed length from cab to axle of 56 inches with a width of 7 feet and a length of 8 feet 8 inches. It carries a retail price of $17,000 with installation.
The project was fitting, too, because many dealers and customers also practice giving back to their local communities and the commemorative bed fits into the spirit, Russell said and he was particularly pleased that Triple C employees were enthusiastic in their support and willingness to help.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
