by Sterling Allen
for Agri-Times NW
Hermiston — Cecil Rock was raised locally near Irrigon and honed his trade at an early age working with his father in their irrigation business. Today, he heads globally-recognized Pierce Corporation, one of the world’s leading center pivot manufacturers. Rock has been with Pierce for twenty-eight years and frequently calls on Pierce customers throughout the Columbia Basin or meets with his staff at Pierce’s Northwest Distribution Center at the Port of Morrow in Boardman. Company President since 2004, Mr. Rock recently sat down with Ag Times long enough to share the fascinating origins of this Oregon-born company.
Since R.H. Pierce first opened his doors in 1932, the company has been sparked by innovation. At that time, irrigation pipe was constructed of steel, often old recycled boiler tubes. Because of the weight, they were limited to a length of twenty feet and difficult to move. During the widespread advancement of agriculture in the early thirties, farmers were desperate for water delivery systems to expand acreage. Mr. Pierce, an engineer and machinist, came to their rescue with the development of the simple, yet effective Chevron Gasket. He filed and received a patent on a new coupling and gasket in 1934. This watertight invention allowed the pipes to be easily moved through the fields which meant more acreage could be easily irrigated. Aluminum Pipe soon followed and RH Manufacturing Company begin to grow.
After developing a full line of irrigation fittings and related components, R.H. sold the business in 1957 to a group of prominent investors, the Giustina and Papé families, but not before seeing the next phase in the evolution of effective irrigation begin - the Center Pivot. Early on, these systems were propelled by water or hydraulic drive. But by the late 60’s, electrical powered Pivots were coming of age, providing better water uniformity and ease of operation. Everyone wanted on board. Pierce began production of their Pierce CircleMaster in 1970. A decade later there were approximately sixty manufacturers but Pierce prevailed and became one to the largest providers to the Pacific Northwest. An estimated twenty-five percent of Umatilla County was irrigated under Pierce equipment primarily installed by their then dealer, Pendleton Grain Growers. Demand worldwide had begun to grow as well. In 1978, Pierce became the second irrigation company to market to Saudi Arabia. Soon, sixty-percent of their business was being done overseas. In 1984,the then Eugene-based company was presented the Governor’s Oregon Exporter of the year Award. “We have, and continue to leverage global mentality into our business plan and as to how it applies to our base products. Our corporate culture has become synonymous with our tagline “Irrigation on a global scale” “ Rock tells us.
With the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991, market dynamics in the Middle East were severely challenged. Export sales came to a halt and Pierce management decided to renew their focus on the domestic side. During this period, vast changes were made to Pierce’s Pivot Dealer Network and new system designs were implemented. These changes again made Pierce an attractive company to outside investors and in 1997, they were acquired by Fresno Valves and Castings of Selma, California.
Pierce Corporation split their business units and sold again in 2004 to an investor group with strong international ties. “Pierce has remained agile enough to navigate both international and domestic markets,” Cecil says.
“For over three decades, our scope of business has remained committed to global agriculture with Pierce equipment installed on all continents except Antarctica .” After the release of their Global Platform, the CP-600 in 2006 Pierce began to focus the direction on control automation. “As more emphasis is put upon farmers to automate due to labor and better water application practices, the irrigation industry must continue to keep pace,” Rock reminds us. “Unlike other pivot manufacturers, Pierce took a non-proprietary, open architecture position allowing ag producers to operate on farm networks. Using a wide variety of Wi-Fi devices to control their systems remotely. SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) programs allow visual interface with the farm and irrigation system while collecting other data pertinent to operations. This technology allows farm managers to monitor water, electricity and plant inputs throughout the life cycle of the crop and provide reports for better management, now and in the future. More will be added to these networks ever year, in many areas growers are approaching full farm automation and this trend will continue.”
Pierce recently participated in the opening of a factory in China to serve the Australasian market and also has production operations in the Middle East. With the Port facilities at Boardman, Pierce is well positioned to benefit from their global presence and facilities.
Pierce Headquarters are located in Junction City, Oregon. Pierce markets their products through a global dealer network. All dealer are supported from their call center there as well. Pierce engineering including, research and development start at Pierce Headquarters. However, Pierce conducts much of its product testing here locally in the Columbia Basin. The next time you see a new Pierce Machine as you drive down the highway, look close. It may well be a brand new product from this 80 year old innovative company.
Editor’s note: Pierce Corporation is fortunate to have the leadership skills that Mr. Rock provides after nearly four decades in the irrigation business. PNW growers are equally fortunate that they have a locally-based company with ties worldwide that remains committed to assist in their irrigation needs. Rock’s father, Cecil Rock Sr., still operates a contracting service installing center pivots. He lives in Irrigon and turns 85 in August.
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