ROCHESTER SILO:

An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

Expand/CollapseOVERVIEW

Creator: Rochester Silo (Rochester, Minn.), creator.
Title:Rochester Silo records.
Dates:1968, 1973-1982.
Abstract:Product line and sales information from a Rochester, Minnesota manufacturing company engaged in the production and sale of farm storage equipment.
Quantity:2.5 cubic feet (2 boxes) and 5 catridge film reels: Super 8 mm.
Location:See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Expand/CollapseHISTORICAL NOTE

Rochester Silo was established in 1941 and manufactured dry tamp stoves for silo construction. In 1959 Chris and Martha Price purchased the company. The company's growth continued, its product line expanded to include wet cast staves, and the Prices' two sons, Ray and Jerry, joined the firm. In 1968 a new plant was constructed just north of Rochester, which produced a unique new stave of solid construction called the Rochester "Module." Development of the company's product line continued, including bottom unloading systems and slurry-vats for liquid manure. New plants were built in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin (1973) and Thorp, Wisconsin (1978), and a division office opened in Peru, Indiana (1979).

Between 1959 and 1979 Rochester Silo became one of the nation's leading silo manufacturers, with sales reaching $22 million. The company was the first silo manufacturer to penetrate the Soviet market in the early 1970s and created the first mobile silo plant in the United States. Sales sunk in 1986 to $1 million and the company declared bankruptcy and reorganized in 1989. Presently called Great Lakes Silos, the company was still privately held by the Price family in 1991.


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Expand/CollapseSCOPE AND CONTENTS

Product brochures, training manuals, price lists, meeting agendas, flip charts, and films related to a family-owned company engaged in the manufacture and construction of farm storage systems. The records consist primarily of material describing the construction and operation of the company's silos and slurry-vat systems, and sales training manuals on selling skills and giving background information on dairy nutrition and liquid manure handling.

The records include promotional material that describes the design, construction and operation of the company's product line; sales training manuals related to sales technique and giving background information on dairy nutrition and liquid manure handling; and material related to administrative procedures and sales meetings.


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Expand/CollapseADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Rochester Silo Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

Accession Information:

Accession number: 14,488

Processing Information:

Processed by: Frank Hennessy, June 1991.

Catalog ID number: 990017141350104294


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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

LocationBox
147.C.16.3B1General information workbook, profile of progress, and grading system manual.
Product brochures.
The Truth About Modern Storage, 1968.
Richester Silo's Family of Products.
Basic product sales manual.
Target selling. 2 folders.
The Habit of Selling, 1979.
Systems education.
Advanced sales training, 1979.
Price lists, 1980 and 1982. 4 folders.
Competitor's brochures and price lists.
Corporate procedures, no. 1-149. 4 folders.
Dealers' meetings, 1973-1978.
LocationBox
148.C.1.1B2Manure.
Crop clinic, 1973-1974.
Construction training, 1975.
Forage and grain management, 1975-1976.
Forage-Stor and Corn-Stor operators manual.
Auto-stor operators manual.
Ration balancing system.
Slurry-Vat systems sales manual, 1980-1982. 2 folders.
Mark IV flip chart.
Corn-Stor and Forage-Stor flip chart.
Location
Shelf Q-9-A (Room B-105.7)Forage & corn storage, undated. 1 cartridge film reel: Super 8 mm.
Forage flo, undated. 1 cartridge film reel: Super 8 mm.
The Rochester story, undated. 1 cartridge film reel: Super 8 mm.
Truth in competition, undated. 1 cartridge film reel: Super 8 mm.
V-3 module, undated. 1 cartridge film reel: Super 8 mm.

Expand/CollapseCATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:
Agricultural machinery industry -- Minnesota -- Rochester.
Cattle -- Manure -- Handling.
Manure handling.
Selling -- Agricultural machinery.
Silage machinery.
Silos.
Persons:
Price, Chris.
Price, Gerald P.
Price, Ray.
Places:
Rochester (Minn.) -- Industries
Document Types:
Motion pictures.

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