Atlas Testimonial: “Our only regret is not getting one sooner”

“Our only regret is not getting one sooner”

Minnesota feed mill more than satisfied with their Altas feed trailer

Eric Wright, a feed truck driver at KBQ Inc., tells us about a memorable experience he had while driving his Atlas rear unload feed trailer:

“One day I pulled into a site where our other feed truck was unloading. He had about 8 ton left to unload. I set up to my bin, ran 18 ton into that bin, switched bins, unloaded 6 ton to empty the trailer, put my auger back and was finished before the other driver was done. I did 24 ton to his 8 ton. The grower was there as well and had to pick his jaw off the ground. He was so amazed that a trailer could be that fast.”

Wright has been a feed truck driver at KBQ, Inc., a private feed mill based out of Minnesota, for just over 6 years. He said after seeing the Atlas demo they were sold. They’ve had it for two years now and couldn’t be more satisfied.

“We love the speed at which it unloads, and the ease of maintenance on the trailer.”

About KBQ

The history of KBQ dates back to the 1800s when the home farm was purchased by a private family from the railroad. The farm has been recognized since as a Century Farm in the state of Minnesota.

In it’s early years, they focused on both finishing barns and farrowing operations. In 1980’s the farrowing operations were phased out and contract finishing developed. In 1990’s they began to expand and started focusing more on genetic control of hogs in order to deliver consistency, lean meat, efficiency and maximum pig flow.

In 1994, KBQ Inc was born. The private feed mill now has multiple farrowing farms and many finisher farms. The mill does between 500 and 600 tons a feed per day.

Why the Atlas?

KBQ chose the Atlas feed trailer because they were looking to add more tons in less time without adding more trucks to the road. They previously purchased purchased the Sudenga NXT and Big Boy but after seeing a demo of the Atlas high capacity feed truck they were sold.

“On a average day I can put 2 more loads a day through the Atlas. Our trucks typically average 4 loads a day. I am turning a 3 hour loads into 2 and a half with out even pushing hard,” said Wright.

On one occasion Wright started a timer as soon as he pulled in the driveway of a farm. He set up the auger, unloaded into two bins, closed the compartments, put the auger in, did his paperwork, and hit stop when he left the driveway. 12 minutes 41 seconds. That was the total time spent on site for 24 ton in 2 bins. This is a major time savings compared to the almost 45 minutes it took before.

“Would I recommend the Atlas? Without a doubt. We are working on ordering another one to add to our fleet. The low cost of ownership is amazing, if there is down time it is simple to work on to allow faster up time. Our only regret is not getting one sooner,” explained Wright.