T-L Irrigation Company Celebrates Golden Anniversary

A half century after he founded T-L Irrigation Company, President LeRoy Thom remains enthused about both agriculture and irrigation. Reflecting back, he observes, «It’s really been fun to help in the development of center pivot irrigation. When I first started selling hand-move systems we talked about 80-to 100-bushel an acre corn. Now we talk about 200- to 250-bushel yields. Today there’s nothing that can take the place of a center pivot irrigation system.»

The Hastings, Nebraska, manufacturer of hydrostatically-driven pivot systems celebrates its Golden Anniversary this year. Begun during the dry «Dirty 50s», the company now has more than 250 dealers world-wide. The thousands of center pivot systems T-L has produced since are presently irrigating crops in 44 states and in more than 40 countries.

Several important characteristics differentiate T-L Irrigation Company from other irrigation equipment manufacturers, according to Thom. First, and what he’s always regarded as most important, is its «We’re farmers» philosophy. Thom says the Company’s marketing decisions are always based on how a farmer would view and use the product to make money.

Second, the «We’re farmers» concept is also expressed in the Company’s unique hydrostatic center pivot design that relies on hydraulic oil flow rather than electricity, and utilizes either planetary or worm gear drives. Thom also points out farmer-important advantages such as continuous movement without thousands of stops and starts, being much less prone to downtime, easy for a farmer to maintain and operate and no danger from high voltage electric shock.

T-L Irrigation leads the irrigation industry in providing warranties that are two to three times longer than any other center pivot manufacturer. T-L also offers aluminum and stainless steel options in addition to galvanized steel. T-L can also provide financing to buyers through T-L Credit Co., which can be more flexibile in precisely fitting the buying needs of its customers.

After talking with farmers for many decades, Thom says that the best thing they tell him is, «‘I’ve run my T-L for five years and it’s never stopped. It’s made me money’. I want to buy another T-L’.»