Linamar Corp., an advanced manufacturing company, also based in Canada, purchased Salford two years ago for $260 million Canadian. Linamar said it was purchasing Salford to add to its agricultural line of equipment. Salford notified workers and Iowa Workforce Development about the planned closure Tuesday. It’s the latest in a series of layoffs sparked by a slowdown in the U.S. agricultural economy. Farm income is forecast to fall 25.5% this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, largely due to lower prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and other commodities, as well as higher production costs.

Salford also has a U.S. production facility in Cornelia, Georgia, and parts distribution centers in North Dakota and Ohio. Salford makes fertilizer spreaders, cover crop seeders and a range of tillage equipment.

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| Member since 2007

The acquisition of the Salford will expand Linamar’s agriculture’s portfolio, which is currently anchored by MacDon Industries Limited. 

Aside from MacDon, Linamar is steeped in agricultural manufacturing history, having owned White Farm Equipment in the 1980’s along with Western Combine, who manufactured combines under the Massy Ferguson brand in the 1990’s. Linamar’s OROS Division in Eastern Europe also manufactures combine corn and sunflower headers under the MacDon and OROS brands. 

“We are very excited to join the Linamar family,” said Geof Gray, President of Salford Group. “Linamar and MacDon both have excellent reputations in the industry and we believe the combination of our resources, our respective brand strengths and distribution networks will enable Salford to compete and innovate at a higher level with greater market coverage, delivering even more value to dealers and farmers.” 

“This is an exciting and important acquisition for Linamar,” said Linda Hasenfratz, Linamar’s Executive Chair and CEO. “Salford has a strong portfolio of differentiated products in the crop nutrition application and tillage segments. These are areas we had identified in our agriculture growth strategy as highly attractive segments for future product diversification.” 

Following the sale, Salford Group will continue to leverage its established manufacturing and distribution network to sell products under the Salford brand. It’s headquarters will remain in Salford, Ontario, Canada. 

“Coming to the team at Salford aligns with my passion for commercial application and gives me the opportunity to provide leading solutions for application businesses,” Webster said. “Having recently been involved in a global role I am excited to get back to working directly with customers, dealers, and the products.”

He will focus teams within Salford’s engineering, marketing, operations, and other departments on providing innovative solutions and greater value to commercial application businesses.

“We’re excited to have David join Salford Group and further improve our commercial application offering by leveraging his experience, strategic insight and market connections,” said Brad Baker, Salford’s vice president of sales and marketing. “Valmar and BBI held the commercial application market as a key part of their business strategy for decades. Since these two companies merged with Salford Group nearly a decade ago, commercial application has become a part of Salford’s DNA. Solidifying Salford’s commercial application business unit, and hiring David to lead it, is a renewal of our commitment to serve commercial application customers, and Salford’s goal to continue to grow this space.”

Member since 2007 |

Rodgers will lead the territory sales managers of the western United States and also be responsible for focused oversight of sales and marketing in the region. He joins a team of existing sales managers, including Lee Kirkpatrick and Scott Ousdahl.

“We are excited to have Tom join the Salford Group sales leadership team,” said Brad Baker, Salford Group’s vice president of sales and marketing. “The breadth and depth of his experience in the industry make Tom a great fit for this challenging and important role.”

Rodgers brings 28 years of experience in the agriculture industry. His most recent employment in the agricultural tire operation at Bridgestone/Firestone included leading the development of global business and managing North America sales and marketing activity.

Rodgers also is a fourth-generation landowner in Pike County, Ill., and has a history of service in ag-related organizations.

Member since 2007 |

You have temporarily closed your plants to disinfect your operations. You have reduced your staff levels to create more space on your plant floors. You have formed response teams, shuttered conference rooms, established work-from-home operations, accelerated sanitation protocols, suspended (or reduced) travel, redesigned work spaces, installed clear barriers on plant floors, eliminated high-touch points, installed temperature-taking stations, staggered break schedules, required masks in certain spaces, closed your campus to visitors, and launched campaigns to reinforce safety messages.

Those measures, while effective, do not land at the top of the list of your successes. In a poll of about a dozen member companies conducted last week, we learned the things that matter most in your workplaces were communicating effectively, accommodating employees, and simply being nimble.

At Dirt Dog Manufacturing, the company transitioned to four, 10-hour shifts a week to reduce exposure and give employees an extra day to react to the emerging reality of schooling from home.

Marc Ivey, vice president of business development for Dirt Dog, said the company also intensified its outreach to dealers.

“Even though we took our salesmen off the road early in the process based on shelter-in-place orders, we were intentional in making extra phone calls to our dealers simply to check on them, their staffs and their families,” he said. “We were available to answer questions, of course, but we made it clear that the intent of the call was a simple check-in.”

Other companies cited communication as key to their success as well.

Steve Sukup, president and CEO of Sukup Manufacturing, has been publishing a weekly video message to dealers.

Brad Baker, product manager with Salford Group, said the company organized daily meetings in the earliest days of the pandemic. Senior managers met first then shared information with their respective groups. The meetings kept everyone informed on a fast-changing situation and offered reassurance to employees that the company was committed to their safety.

At SMA Inc., the company implemented policies like those throughout the industry and ultimately adapted them based on geography.

Luke Gazaway, national sales manager, said what was a company-wide ban on travel was modified based upon region. Territory managers can now travel at their discretion but communicate with customers in advance about the circumstances at their operations and their comfort level with visitors.