The document summarizes a large custom farm shop built by Plunk Brothers, Inc. to accommodate their large farm machinery. The 120x90 foot shop allows them to unfold their 36-row planters and 120-foot sprayer inside. It has strategically placed large hydraulic doors and an interior wash bay. An in-floor heating system keeps the different work areas comfortable.

1. of the doors. An inside wash
bay means the shop doesn’t
need a separate wall, so the
usable space stays the same
without making the building
bigger.
“We wouldn’t be able to
fold out our planters if we had
a wall in here,” Zelhart says.
An in-floor heating
system designed with zones
below the wash bay, main
area, and office keeps the
shop comfortable.
SUPER-SIZE SHOP CUSTOMIZED FARM STRUCTURE
ACCOMMODATES LARGE MACHINERY AND MORE.
W
hen the old
44×60-foot
building
wasn’t wide
enough to
unfold a planter, Plunk
Brothers, Inc., of Mansfield,
Illinois, decided to go big. In
2011, the shop owners built
a custom 120×90-foot struc-
ture for servicing mammoth
machinery.
“We have 36-row planters
that we use for seed corn
that we need to unfold and
work on in here,” says farm
manager Dale Zelhart. “In
the new shop, we can also
unfold the 120-foot sprayer
at an angle.”
With such a wide span,
there’s no question this
shop will hold a lot of
equipment. In fact, the shop
can accommodate 14 seed
tenders, two combines, or
five semis at once.
To get all of this machin-
ery inside, the doors were
Photography: Dave Mowitz
Illumination is provided
by T5 fluorescent lights
that turn on in an instant,
with no high-pressure
sodium buzz.
Rather than the standard
pegboard for tool storage, all
of the tools are kept in one
large, portable toolbox. If
needed, employees take the
toolbox to whatever they’re
working on in the service
bay. This helps keep the
shop clean and organized.
The Plunk Brothers, Inc., shop is large
enough for unfolding a 120-foot sprayer.
By Rachel Lium
strategically placed. The
building also has an L-shape
flow for equipment.
The shop’s major –
and massive – door is
hydraulically operated.
The high-tech door was
discovered at the National
Farm Machinery Show,
held each year in Louisville,
Kentucky.
“The door has a higher
wind rating at 90 mph than a
bi-fold or hydra-swing door.
That was a feature we liked,”
says Zelhart. “It’s smooth,
gives full clearance, and all the
weight comes down on the
standards. The door doesn’t
take long to open, and it closes
even faster.”
The door opens in 45
seconds, sits on itself, and
doesn’t pull on the outside of
the building.
Multiple work areas were
created, including a service
bay, an oil bay, and a wash bay,
allowing for close access to all
Plunk Brothers, Inc., includes
(bottom row left to right) Joe Plunk,
Mike Webber, Marty Manning,
(middle row) Dale Zelhart, and (top
row) Christopher Plunk.
Bonus Successful Farming at Agriculture.com | October 2016
o spS h