Becoming president a dream for Great Plains' new leader
Lydia Kautz, Abilene Reflector-Chronicle, Kan.
5 min read
Jun. 8—Editor's Note: The following story was originally written for our annual progress edition. The story was completed in March.
"Since I've been a young person, I've always had a dream of being able to run a company," said David Disberger, president of Great Plains Manufacturing.
Disberger has taken over where outgoing former president Linda Salem left off. Disberger stepped into the office of president at the start of 2023.
Disberger has been working in the industry for 36 years. He said he has a similar background to Salem.
"I grew up in Kansas and have enjoyed living here through my childhood," he said.
Disberger attended school at Kansas State University and started a co-op engineering program with Caterpillar in Illinois. This led to a full-time job at Caterpillar. He remained with the company for about 19 years, a career that led him back to Kansas in the end. He was working for Caterpillar in Wamego when he was recruited by AGCO. He worked for AGCO for nine years.
About eight years ago, Disberger said Salem invited him to join the Great Plains Manufacturing team in Salina — an offer he accepted.
At Great Plains Manufacturing, he has served as vice president of engineering and later the president of the Ag Division. He would eventually become executive vice president overseeing the manufacturing, the trucking division and the agriculture division. This is the role he filled before being selected to take over Salem's place as president.
Disberger said he anticipates challenges with his new role.
"Being able to identify (and) recruit enough people to fulfill the visions that we have," is a challenge Disberger said he expects to run into as president. These prospective recruits will include everyone from members of the production team to technical experts.
These team members will help as Great Plains Manufacturing makes the, "transition from building iron to building iron and technology solutions for customers," Disberger said.
This is not the first big transition in the company's history.
During Salem's time with Great Plains Manufacturing, she has ushered the company through many changes.
"I think the thing that has been most important to me has been that I had a really good team of people to work with," Salem said. "Nobody accomplishes anything alone. So being able to grow with that team of people, transition from a private company to being part of a public company and keep that team of people and then grow that team — to try to accomplish everything that we needed to — that's probably what makes me feel the best."
Great Plains Manufacturing has seen tremendous growth in Salem's time at the company.
When she started with the company in 1994, she estimates it was a $120 million business.
"Today, we have 3 million square feet of manufacturing space," she said. "We are approaching $1 billion in sales."
The company employs about 2,200 people and has experienced "a tremendous amount of growth both in facilities and people and product line expansions," Salem said.
In 2016, Great Plains Manufacturing became part of Japanese-based manufacturing company Kubota, which contributed to further growth and led to opportunities to work with sister companies across the globe. Salem describes the partnership with Kubota as, "challenging, but in a good way," and, "an adventure."
Disberger said he looks forward to continued growth with Kubota. He said he enjoys the prospect of helping to, "provide good jobs to the rural part of Kansas," and growing local communities.
"It's something I think is really fantastic for us as a state and for us as a company here," Disberger said.
Great Plains Manufacturing has facilities in communities around the state including in Abilene. Disberger said local governments in these communities have made a positive difference for the company and he has enjoyed working with them.
He has high hopes for the future.
"I believe that Great Plains is a tremendous company," Disberger said. "One of the things that excites me about this company is our focus on taking care of our customers and taking care of our employees. And to me, those are the foundations of what makes for a wonderful environment and a great place to be able to lead an organization — to be able to keep that type of culture alive within the company. And I look forward to being able to do that."
Salem entered into semi-retirement Jan. 1. She is a graduate of Kansas State University and a CPA. She began her career in Kansas City where she worked for four years before her husband urged her to come to Salina. Salem moved and started a job with Kennedy and Coe. This is where she learned about and got to know Great Plains Manufacturing. Salem said she began working at Great Plains Manufacturing in 1994.
"I came in on the finance side — Director of Financial Reporting — and after about five years I became the Chief Financial Officer," she said.
Later, Salem would move into the operations side of the business where she would eventually become President of the Land Pride division. She would continue to move up in the company, becoming Chief Operating Officer of Great Plains Manufacturing and in 2013 becoming President and CEO, which is where she remained until she chose to retire this year.
"I'm just at the point where my husband and I decided it was time to have more time together," Salem said.
She said she felt Disberger could adequately replace her as president.
"It has been very much a privilege to be allowed to lead this company," Salem said. "Both before they were acquired by Kubota and after Kubota. Kubota is a highly capable, honorable company. They're a pleasure to work with and the people in this organization are amazing. I'm with (Disberger), the communities are wonderful to work with and it's been a blessing in my life."
For Salem, the future holds more time with family, travel and the cultivation of new hobbies.
"Lots of things, lots of possibilities," she said. "I'm looking forward to just a new stage in life. However, I am working here three days a week through this year and — who knows — maybe there will be part-time work here in the future too. We haven't decided yet."
