![]() ![]() The third generation of the Kice family, including J.D., is in senior management, and the fourth generation is coming up. Most of these are utilized in the grain handling and food processing industry. These systems are used for dust and other air pollution control, pneumatic conveying, air activated processing, and air stabilization and energy conservation applications. Today, Kice Industries is a leader in the production of industrial air systems and components. With the experience that Kice already had, this would prove to be a natural.įast forward to the 1990s. Instead of metal elevators carrying and, all too often, damaging the grain, it was possible to move the grain pneumatically with air systems, using vacuums and air pressure. Today, fans are the third largest Kice product division.Ībout this time, a new concept was emerging: pneumatic systems for handling and moving grain. These would prove to be even better than the ones they had been purchasing. With typical resourcefulness, the Kices designed and produced a new fan of their own. Kice could no longer buy them on the market. Suddenly, Uncle Sam needed all the industrial fans which were an essential part of the Kice systems. That led to major orders for Kice products.Īnd just when things were going well - boom. They investigated the situation and found that the high yields were due to the use of the Kice aspirator. Their mill in Wichita, Kansas was generating exceptionally high yields of grain product. But in 1949, the Pillsbury Company began buying Kice-type cyclones for many of their mills all around the country.Īt the same time, managers of the General Mills corporate office noticed something unusual. Until the late 1940s, the Kices had sold most of their products to mills in Kansas. It is said that the principles he used have never been improved on and are incorporated in most cyclone systems around the world today. He had also designed a cone-shaped, cyclone system. Some years before, Bill Kice had designed an aspirator which used air to clean grain. Kice Metal Products Company began in 1946. But when World War II hit, Bill went to work in the wartime aviation industry in Wichita again.Īfter the war, Bill Kice and sons went into business for themselves in Wichita. Here Bill was busy, working in the sheet metal industry and raising three sons. In 1929, the Kice family moved to Newton, which at the time was a town of about 11,000 people. His contact with Walter Beech and others in the aviation industry may have given him some insights into airflow, which would also come in handy later on. There were several airplane companies in Wichita at the time, and many of them bought sheet metal parts from Bill Kice. Bill shared some equipment in Wichita with a mechanic who worked for Walter Beech - the same Walter Beech who founded the Beechcraft airplane company. In the 1920s, he installed sheet metal in several flour mills in the southwestern U.S. Bill learned a lot about metal working in those days, and he began a career in sheet metal work. As the blacksmith worked, he was joined by his grandson, young Bill Kice. Let's begin our story back in the 1870s, when Ira Kice set up a blacksmith shop northeast of Wichita. told us the fascinating story of Kice Industries. Hold on to your hat, this is today's Kansas Profile. That's right, in this case, the air is not for flying airplanes but for moving grain in a safe and sanitary way. Because near Wichita, we'll meet a company which has been a pioneer in the use of forced air in the handling of grain. But today, the term Air Capital takes on a whole new meaning. That's Wichita, home of the aviation industry. I'm Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University. ![]()
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