Today we stopped into a museum that we regularly drive by when going between downtown Pella and the house we are watching. It is associated with and on the campus of the Vermeer Corporation. This international manufacturer of agricultural and industrial equipment is headquartered in Pella on a campus known as The Mile. It borders a one mile stretch of road, now named Vermeer Road, starting with Plant 1 and ending at the property where fonder, Gary Vermeer lived and raised his family. The museum is located in the Global Pavilion at the one end of the campus.
The museum was free to visit and even has a gift shop, if you’re so inclined. It provided an informative overview of the corporation’s history, charitable efforts, agricultural and industrial equipment lines, and even a few ideas that never really caught on.
The bronze statue was commissioned by the company
for its 50th anniversary in 1998 to honor the men and women
who have contributed to making the company
a global corporation.
which powered hammer mills and cornshellers
directly from a tractor’s power takeoff,
eliminating the need for long belts
to be attached to tractor flywheels.
I don’t understand what that above means exactly,
but it sounds helpful, and I like corn.
There was a whole exhibit on the effects of a tornado that hit the plant on July 19, 2018. 400 guests from around the world and nearly 3,000 team members were on site celebrating Vermeer’s 70th anniversary. Towards the end of the day, the campus sustained a hit from an EF3 tornado,, with wind speeds reaching 144 mph. While no major physical injuries or loss of life occurred, there was quite a bit of destruction to the campus as shown on the photos below.
As non-farmers, there was a lot of information that was helpful for us in learning about the many processes that the Vermeer equipment was designed to help facilitate/improve.
Additional exhibitions detailed their expansion into the design and manufacturing of industrial equipment, including for landscaping/clearing land and the laying of pipelines or utilities.
My favorite section might have been the 10 innovations that didn’t make it, just ‘cause that seemed like something most companies might not share.
All in all, it was a pretty interesting museum. We would recommend to others. The price is right, the exhibits are helpful without being overwhelming, and if you are really impressed, the gift shop sells some quality items.
Peckish Travels 
4 replies on “A Local Museum for an International Company (3/31/25)”
And my fine traveling friends!! What country might this be in? Lois Z.
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We’re here in the US, an extended stay in Iowa.
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I reckon I could have spent a full day there. 😁👍
S.J.B
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It’s always the places I don’t hold out much hope for that tend to be the most interesting. We checked with our brother-in-law that used to farm, and he says that Vermeer makes good equipment.
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