60 years of Innovation

– C.C. Hoffman

Entrepreneurship is not only an American trait, but it certainly is one that seems to be more prevalent here than in other parts of the world. Independence, self-reliance, and necessity have often combined in the heartland to produce a myriad of products, ideas, and innovations that have contributed to the advancement of industry, economy, and our country.

The story of Vittetoe, Inc. is one such story here in our backyard. The almost 60 year history of this endeavor is replete with examples of innovative thinking, development, and overcoming challenges to not only survive, but also to thrive.

It begins in the 1960s just outside of Keota. Here, Francis Vittetoe needed flooring to elevate hogs off the floor. Getting the hogs up accomplishes two things: first, it gets the animals up and out of floor litter, waste, and other materials that can lead to health issues; second, it allows waste products to filter below which in turn makes it easier to clean. Not only did Francis need this for himself, but his neighbors were looking for a solution to the same problems.

Francis developed a wood and metal based flooring system allowed the individual floor boards to be easily replaced/removed when necessary, but also solved the elevation and cleaning issue. He did this in a garage (as many good products got there start) and grew from there. Soon, many in the area were using Vittetoe’s flat flooring system. Manufactured entirely locally, the endeavor began to grow quickly. The business incorporated in 1965 and started manufacturing more flooring systems.

The following decade, Francis’ son David took over. Eventually to be joined by his brother Bernard. At this time, Vittetoe’s began researching new materials for their flooring systems. While wood was a good and cheap option, it had one problem. It tended to decay rapidly, especially as the numbers of animals on a given farm continued to increase over the years. This lead to steel being chosen to construct the entire floor system. At first this was a carbon steel, but was to be replaced by stainless later. Regardless of the materials, the flooring continued to be manufactured on site just south of Keota.

The next decade (mid 1970s to mid 1980s) saw the business continue to grow in floor manufacturing. More people were employed (both full and part time), and processes were refined. During this time the company also began selling other products essential to raising pork (watering units, fixtures, heaters, and the like). It was the mid 1980s that would see then next big change for Vittetoe Inc.

You see, while the family was running the hog flooring business, they were also still farming their own land. And, as things are wont to do, changes happened in how grain was harvested. The new crop of combines worked great for getting the crops out, but they had a problem. They tended to leave chaff in large piles behind the machine. These piles caused problems during harvest and then the next spring. Being predisposed to innovation, the Vittetoes began developing a combine attachment that would spread the chaff evenly.

After research and development, they came up with the Vittetoe Chaff Spreader. Research included developing ways to attach to most of the popular brands of combines. They took the product to market mainly through implement dealers and soon were selling a number of units every year. Thousands of spreaders were manufactured during the 1990s and 2000s, but eventually the feature was added to most major brands as an internal component. However, Vittetoe’s still manufacture the attachment and sell it regularly to this day.

The early 1990s also saw the company join forces with a building company. This has allowed Vittetoe Inc. to offer turn-key hog operations since 1993. Here, you can tell the company the size and type of operation (farrow, finish, both, etc), and they will develop the plans, build the appropriate buildings, and outfit them with necessary and desired features so that you need only bring the animals to start producing pork! In the early years, those operations were on the order of 40 crates or so, but over time the operations they produce have grown to 1000 crates in size or greater.

Along the way, they also have developed other product lines such as Show Stopper Equipment, Friesen Seed Handling Equipment, KSI Conveyors, and EPS buildings. Show Stopper might be the most recognized of these. This line of products was put together to help livestock showers display their animals. Vittetoe’s provide everything from harness, leads, and grooming equipment to their own line of manufactured groom tables, gating, and shoots.

Today, Vittetoe’s is still a vibrant and varied business. David and Bernard are semi-retired and the third generation of the family is working their way into the business with Todd, who manages the daily operations. They employ 30-35 people full and parttime and actively support their community in many ways.

The retail store is open to the public Monday through Thursday 7:30 am to 5 pm and Friday 7:30 am to 3 pm. You can also shop and purchase online at their website www.vittetoe.com. The store is located at 2112 Keokuk-Washington Rd., Keota, IA 52248.