Product Of The Year: Truly Memorable IRON
March 20, 2009 
Who would have ever thought that a letter could generate so much excitement among the manufacturers of big ag equipment? Yet when CropLife IRON announced it was accepting votes for its second annual Product of the Year award this past November, companies actively competed for the prize. By the close of voting just before Christmas 2008, the CropLife IRON Web site had received just short of 500 votes for the five finalists for the coveted trophy.
“It’s really amazing just how competitive these companies got once they realized one of their products was in the running for the award,” says Eric Sfiligoj, editor, CropLife IRON magazine. “There were many days when we would check the totals, and one company would be ‘jamming the ballot box,’ so to speak, with votes. The next day, a different company would end up doing the exact same thing.”
For the 2008 Product of the Year award, the five finalists were: the Patriot 3330 sprayer from Case IH; the 7660 sprayer from Spra-Coupe; the MultiBin spreader from New Leader/Highway Equipment; All-Wheel Steering from Hagie Manufacturing; and the 8275 Predator sprayer/spreader from GVM. The winner was announced at the annual Wisconsin Crop Production Association conference and trade show in Madison, WI.
“I’m excited to report that two products gathered over 100 votes each, and the final margin of victory was only 41 votes,” said Sfiligoj during the award presentation on Jan. 14. “In the end, however, there could be only one Product of the Year winner.”
All-Wheel For Power
Hagie’s All-Wheel Steering reduces the sprayer’s turning radius from 18 feet to less than 10 feet. It is available on all 2009 models of Hagie’s STS10 and STS12 units.
Accepting the “big I” trophy for Hagie was Chad Georgeson, a sales representative for the Clarion, IA-based company.
“I’m honored to accept this award on behalf of Hagie,” said Georgeson. “Hagie has a long history working with big iron going all the way back to the company’s first product in 1947. It’s nice to know that this tradition of excellence continues and is being recognized by the good people that publish CropLife IRON magazine.”
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