John Deere enters distribution agreement for 'revolutionary' baler design

John Deere has announced it is entering an allied agreement with Mike and Jason Grady, owners and inventors of Twin Pak balers.

Mike and Jason, a father-son duo, run their Grady Twin Pak custom baling business out of Farmington, New Mexico. The pair did contract work and were required to pack a certain amount of three-string bales, which required a large number of employees and balers to get that output. That's where their idea for the Twin Pak baler came in.

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While John Deere already has a fairly robust selection of balers in their line-up, the Grady Twin Pak will compliment their existing line. The Twin Pak is a three-string baler with patented-technology allowing it to pack up to two square bales of hay at the same time. It can pack bales between 90 to 120 pounds, filling a gap in Deere's current baler offering.

Rob Rippchen, global baling and mowing business manager for John Deere, says the Twin Pak is a "revolutionary small square baler."

"There has not been a lot of innovation in the small, square baler space by any company," Rippchen says. "I would argue this is probably the first innovation in 25 to 30 years around small square balers, and it dramatically improves the customer's productivity and profitability, which we're confident we'll have customers very interested in."

The future of Twin Pak

The three-string Twin Pak was designed to solve a very specific problem the Gradys were facing, but that won't be all from their company. John Deere and Twin Pak will spend the rest of 2022 integrating Deere parts into the balers, and begin testing a two-string version of the Twin Pak baler.

For now, Deere will begin integrating the Twin Pak into their line-up over the next few years, starting with a fresh paint-job. While the Twin Pak currently has a color-scheme that is distinctively not Deere, expect to see that changing soon.

"The demo balers that we'll have out this summer will be John Deere-green, but they will still have the Grady branding," says Rippchen.

JD Link integration is also in the works for the Twin Pak as part of Deere's long-term plans to fully integrate Grady's baler into its brand.

Availability

John Deere dealers will have exclusive rights to sell the Twin Pak baler in the United States. Select dealers in Arizona will start distributing the Twin Pak in 2023, with plans to expand distribution as capacity increases. Deere will begin taking early orders for the Twin Pak baler in September, for delivery sometime in 2023. For more information, visit deere.com.