In 1946, Leon Dinkel began working for Bill Nelson and Tony Knieval in a business located at 315 S. 1st St. They sold & serviced Allis Chalmers, Kelly Ryan, G.I. Corn Pickers and Hudson cars. Leon was to spend the next 6 years learning the farm equipment and car business. Early in 1952, Leon, along with his father, Elmer, and brother, Loren, bought the business from Tony Knieval and it became Dinkel Implement Co. As agriculture continued to change, the size of farms increased and the number of implement dealers decreased. During this time, many changes were taking place at Dinkel Implement Co., too. Dry years in the 50's brought about a demand for irrigation. Dinkel Implement Co. (Leon) began to sell & service irrigation equipment to a large area of Northeast Nebraska. Buyouts and mergers brought about the demise of Hudson cars and G.I. pickers in the mid 50's. At this time, the New Holland and New Idea lines of equipment were added. Both of these lines became more important to Dinkel's and it's customers with the introduction of the New Idea UNI-harvester in 1965 and the New Holland series of combines in 1967. Elmer Dinkel passed away in 1964. In 1968, Leon decided to drop the Allis Chalmers tractor line to become a "short-line" only implement dealer. Leon Dinkel passed away in July 1978. Larry and John continued Dinkel Implement Co. with the same attention to sales and service to their customers as Leon had done for so many years. After working at Vulcraft and serving in the Armed Forces, Larry Dinkel has been employed full-time by Dinkel Implement since 1971. John Dinkel had been employed part-time at UPS from 1973-1978 and full-time at Dinkel Implement. John has been at Dinkel's exclusively since 1978. Late in 1978, John and Larry expanded their service capabilities by adding a service building at 209 Washington Ave., two blocks west of the Norfolk Livestock Market. In 1986, Larry and John decided to once again offer tractors, introducing the Kubota tractor line to their customers. The many buy-outs and mergers in the 80's brought additional lines to Dinkel Implement. The White line was added in July 1988; the following December, Larry and John made the decision to add the Ford and Versatile tractor lines to their growing offering of farm equipment. New Holland Genesis tractors and Twin Rotor combines contributed to a large increase in business during the 90's. In 1991 Dinkel Implement Co relocated to the present location at 3615 W Norfolk Ave. (West Highway 275). Larry and John made the decision to relocate after years of research. The need to be able to do business more efficiently was a primary concern. Efficiency was improved by having all the employees together at one location. The result: better than ever service to the customers of Dinkel Implement Co. In 1997 Dinkel's sold the 25,000th New Holland TR combine to roll off the line at the plant in Grand Island. A special ceremony was held in Grand Island to commemorate the event. In 2002 Dinkel's and their customer gave a great reception to the new, New Holland CR combines. In 2004 Dinkel's expanded their service building to accommodate servicing combines and self-propelled forage harvesters in-season and during non-use times. Additional service personnel were also employed at this time.
2008 found Dinkel's making several changes. New Holland Construction machines were added to broaden their line-up of equipment; the MacDon draper head was added to compliment the New Holland CR combine; and Brad Dinkel (John's son) joined Dinkel Implement. At Dinkel's 2010 Customer Appreciation held at the D'Vent Center, approximately 1200 customers heard Dr. Tom Osborne speak. In 2012 New Holland Construction dropped wheel loaders from their offering. Dinkel's added the JCB line of equipment, primarily skid loaders, telehandlers and wheel loaders to continue servicing customer demand. In fall of 2012 Geringhoff corn heads were added to Dinkel's product offerings. Also in 2012, Dinkel's made the investment to construct a 72'x165' Morton building to keep customer's combines, etc., out of the elements. In late summer, Dinkel's made a long-term investment to add a 36'x150' extension to the main building's offices, parts and showroom area. All at a time of the worst drought in 50+ years.
2013 brought the Kinze line of planters to Dinkel's. Dinkel's - Norfolk - continues to be locally owned and managed by Larry, John and Brad Dinkel. The Dinkels and 30 full and part-time employees strive to serve our valuable customers' needs. Thank you for you business and friendship.
