New Sukup engineer honored for collegiate paper

SHEFFIELD, Iowa -- Tyler Rau, a 2016 graduate of Iowa State University, has received the K.K. Barnes Student Paper Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE).

Rau and his paper, The Evaluation of Stirring to Control Weevils in Stored Maize (Corn), were recognized in July at the annual ASABE conference in Orlando, Fla.

Rau, who is now employed by Sukup Manufacturing Co. as an engineer, said it was “satisfying and rewarding” to win the student paper competition. He said his research was conducted during his last two years at Iowa State. “I was excited to see all the hours of hard work pay off.”

A screening committee evaluated student-written papers based on the relevance of the topic to the field of agricultural, food, or biological engineering; the proper use and/or interpretation of data; originality and/or thoroughness of study; validity and worth of conclusions; and conformance to good paper and technical writing standards.

Rau’s research used Sukup stirring machines to stir weevil-infested corn in 12-hour intervals. Rau then evaluated how the stirring of the corn affected the population of the weevils and the quality of the grain. The research focused on alternative post-harvest loss reduction methods for Third World countries, specifically sub-Saharan Africa.

Rau said he is grateful to family, friends and people at ISU and Sukup Manufacturing for their support and aid during his research and participation in the K.K. Barnes competition.

Sukup Manufacturing Co. founder Eugene Sukup, who had conducted weevil-control research in the past and was instrumental in prompting Rau’s research, called Rau “a brilliant young engineer who sees the need for helping people store maize so it is not infested with weevils. His work will help them overcome this storage problem.”

Sukup Manufacturing Co. is headquartered in Sheffield, Iowa, and covers 1,000,000 sq. ft. of office, manufacturing and warehouse space. The company employs over 500 people, making it one of the largest employers in North Central Iowa. Three generations of the family are now active in the business.

Sukup’s product line includes on-farm and commercial grain bins, portable and tower dryers, centrifugal and axial fans and heaters, stirring machines, bin unloading equipment and bin floors and supports. Sukup also manufactures a line of material handling equipment that includes bucket elevators, drag conveyors and chain loop conveyors, as well as a line of steel buildings.

Sukup has six distribution centers located throughout the Midwest. Sukup products are sold throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as in over 80 foreign countries.