Celebrating 50 Years of Jerry
If you’re old enough to have been around in the fall of 1975, you know that it was a time of memorable moments. Baseball fans can’t forget Carlton Fisk’s iconic walk-off home run in Game 6 of the World Series. Or maybe the classic “Thrilla in Manilla” where Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier in the Philippines sticks with you. That fall also introduced us to the first season of Saturday Night Live.
All of those events are significant in one way or another, but they all pale in comparison to what happened on November 3rd of that year. That’s when a “kid” named Jerry Noteboom, with 3 months of welding training at vocational school (now NCC), walked through the doors of Sioux Automation on his first day of work.
Initially it was part-time – 3:30-5:30 during the week and 7:00-12:00 on Saturday. After all, he was still going to school. Long days with little rest – but that was the norm for Jerry. Growing up on a farm, a strong work-ethic and technical ingenuity were reinforced early in life by his father.
I give a lot of credit to my dad. We never brought anything to town. Dad fixed everything. Welding, changing bearings, whatever. And I’ve always liked fixing stuff. I think it’s a God-given talent that I have – to be able to figure stuff out by just looking at it and not needing somebody to tell me what has to be done.
When Jerry started, Sioux Automation Center (SAC) had been around since 1961 serving the ag market. So, throughout most of Jerry’s time, he was figuring out how to build and fix ag equipment. Whether it was building harrow carts, mounting scott silage boxes, end gates, or bulk bodies; fixing Westendorf loaders; or even taking a portable welder out to fix farm equipment discs in poor weather, almost everything was a custom job.
When I first started, JR Vander Tuin, my boss at the time, trusted a snotnose, wise guy to come in and figure stuff out. It was such a great learning experience. My first project on my own, I made a fifth-wheel trailer with a tilt bed for Siouxland Commercial Sweeping. And I still see them pulling that thing around.
It wasn’t until somewhere around 1983 that Jerry built the first service body, complete with mounting. Those first bodies were made with a wire welder in the repair area, almost as an afterthought. It was just a few years later that Service Trucks International (STI) was born.
Over the years, Jerry has served in numerous roles at SAC/STI, including Manufacturing Supervisor from 1998-2004, and Head of Repair (now Service Manager) ever since. And he has seen this company grow from a small regional ag equipment shop to a company that serves customers across the US. But he’s still learning and figuring things out. In 2023-24, the Service area made the switch from servicing ag equipment to solely focusing on service, repair, and remounting of STI products. It was certainly a steep learning curve.
It’s gotten better, but the first year wasn’t a lot of fun. I had quite a few sleepless nights. I could tell you anything about feed wagons or hydraulics, but coming into this and with the cranes, compressors, programming and all that stuff, I’m thankful that we have a support team for that, because it’s huge!
The Service Department now does repair, upfitting and DOT inspections for regional customers. It also does full chassis remounts and helps with R&D and testing for Tiger Cranes.
So, what does life look like after STI for a self-described workaholic? Well, he certainly won’t be sitting around with his feet up. Jerry has a 30-foot workshop where he enjoys fixing chainsaws and small engines. He will also do some short-haul and local semi driving. Beyond that, he will get to spend some well-earned time with his wife and do some traveling. He might even find time to catch the Summit League Conference Tournament in Sioux Falls.
Yeah, it will be a transition. It’s probably good to have a list of things to keep me busy, but things that I can do on my own schedule.
Jerry, we’ll miss you. We’ll miss the 50 years of knowledge. We’ll miss the stories…oh the stories! We’ll miss the work-until-you-figure-it-out attitude. We’ll miss the gravely voice and big laughs. But most of all, we’ll miss a guy who always showed his care and appreciation for the people he worked with – from co-workers to customers. Happy Retirement, Jerry!
