competition

What We Learned at Farm Show Season

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 11:00:03 GMT

We Went to Listen. Here's What Ag Manufacturers Told Us.

When you're new to a market, the best thing you can do is listen. So this season, our team spent time at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, walking the floor, looking at equipment and talking with the people who design, build, and source ag parts.

We didn't go to sell. We went to learn. Here's what we heard.

1. Downtime is the real cost

A part that fails in the middle of planting or harvest doesn't just cost the price of a replacement. It costs days a farmer can't get back. Manufacturers told us durability and consistency matter more to them than almost anything else.

What it means for us: parts that fit right and hold up, verified with CMM inspection before they ship.

2. Volumes don't fit the automotive playbook

Many ag parts run in hundreds or low thousands a year, not hundreds of thousands. That's often why they end up machined, fabricated or welded, because traditional high-volume tooling doesn't pay off.

What it means for us: low-volume stamping that makes forming practical at ag volumes.

3. A lot of parts haven't been looked at in years

We heard the same story again and again: a part was designed a long time ago, it works, and nobody has had time to ask if it could be made better. Welded assemblies were the most common example.

What it means for us: a fresh engineering look at existing parts, and assembly consolidation where several pieces can become one.

4. Suppliers need to be easy to work with

Ag teams are lean. They want a supplier who responds quickly, communicates clearly and doesn't need hand-holding to go from a print to a quote.

What it means for us: a simple path from sample to quote. We'll walk through it step by step in December.

What we're taking home

None of this surprised us, and that's encouraging. These are the same problems we've spent decades solving in automotive. The difference in ag is the volumes, the environment, and the stakes during the season, and we're building our approach around those.

Bring us your part

If we didn't get a chance to meet at a show, we'd still like to hear what you're working on. Send us a print, a sample or a question. Let's explore what's possible.

Email: quotedata@compenginc.com · Call: (616) 677-3343 · Web: competitionengineering.net

Next week: meet the team behind CE's ag work.

Why We're Bringing Our Manufacturing Experience to Agriculture

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 05:00:02 GMT

Decades of automotive tooling and stamping taught Competition Engineering to find a better way to make every part. Here's why that matters for ag equipment.

Last week we announced that Competition Engineering is now serving agricultural equipment manufacturers. The first question we usually hear is a fair one: why would an automotive tooling shop get into ag?

The short answer: the problems ag manufacturers face are problems we've been solving for decades.

Automotive taught us to question every part

In automotive, there's no room for a part that costs too much, weighs too much or takes too many steps to build. Every component gets looked at again and again. Can it be stamped instead of machined? Can three pieces become one? Can the tool be designed so the part comes out right the first time?

That habit of asking is there a better way to make it? is what we're bringing to ag.

Ag equipment has room to improve

Ag equipment is built tough, but many of its parts are made the way they've always been made. We see the same patterns again and again:

Welded assemblies built from several pieces that could be one formed part
Machined or fabricated parts that never had the volume to justify tooling
Aftermarket parts that were never re-evaluated after the original design
Lower annual volumes that make traditional high-volume stamping hard to justify

Each of those is an opportunity to lower cost, reduce part count and improve quality.

What carries over from automotive

Tooling design expertise: we design and build our own production tooling, so we know how to make a part stampable from the start.
Low-volume stamping: our prototype and low-volume experience makes stamping practical where high-volume tooling doesn't fit.
Assembly consolidation: we've spent years combining components to cut cost and improve quality.
Process discipline: tight tolerances, CMM inspection and three shifts running seven days a week.

What we're not claiming

We're not pretending to be ag experts on day one. Farmers and ag engineers know their machines better than anyone. What we bring is a different set of eyes on the parts inside those machines, and the engineering and tooling to act on what we find.

Bring us your part

Have a welded assembly, a low-volume part or an aftermarket component you've always wondered about? Send us a print or a sample. Let's explore what's possible.

Email: quotedata@compenginc.com · Call: (616) 677-3343 · Web: competitionengineering.net

Next week: what we learned at farm show season.

We don't just make parts. We improve them.

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:06:10 GMT

Competition Engineering is now serving agricultural equipment manufacturers.

For decades, Competition Engineering has designed production tooling and built precision sheet metal parts for the automotive industry, where every part has to fit right the first time. Today, we're bringing that engineering mindset to a new market. Competition Engineering is now serving agricultural equipment manufacturers.

We don't just make parts. We improve them.

Most metal formers can make a part from a print. We start with a different question: what if there's a better way to make it?

Ag equipment is full of parts made the same way for years. Some are welded assemblies of several pieces. Some are machined or fabricated because volumes never seemed high enough to justify tooling. Some simply cost more than they need to. That's where an engineering partner can find savings others overlook.

How we help ag manufacturers

Tooling design expertise: we evaluate components through an engineering lens, not just a manufacturing one, and tell you if a part should be made differently in the first place.
Low-volume stamping: we make stamping cost-effective for ag applications where traditional high-volume production doesn't make sense.
Assembly consolidation: we look for ways to combine components, cutting part count, lowering cost and improving quality.
Aftermarket innovation: we re-evaluate parts that never justified a tooling investment before, and find a way they can.

Behind that is a team that knows how to deliver. We're based in Marne, Michigan, just outside Grand Rapids, and have been part of the Huizenga Group since 1997. Our 75 people run three shifts, seven days a week, in a 68,000 sq ft facility with in-house tool build, laser cutting, hydroforming, stamping presses, CNC machining and CMM inspection.

New to ag, not new to manufacturing

We know we're a new name in the field, and trust is earned. Over the coming weeks we'll share what we've learned from ag buyers and engineers, introduce the people behind our ag work, and open up our shop so you can see how your parts get made.

Bring us your part

If you're sourcing stamped, formed or assembled parts for planters, harvesters, tillage or anything in between, send us a print, a sample or a question. Let's explore what's possible.

Email: kadams@compenginc.com

Call: (616) 677-3343x118

Web: competitionengineering.net

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