Sukup Gets in on Ireland Game Day Fun

“Make it happen” is one of several values at Sukup. And their tool and die machinists are masters at it, with a team of them recently creating a customized trophy for the Iowa State VS. Kansas State football game in Dublin, Ireland.

The idea started with Sukup President and CEO Steve Sukup, who said they enjoy flexing their creativity and specific skills for special projects whenever possible. According to the company, creating the traveling trophy was their way of adding to the excitement of the game.

"We've got lots of customers in Kansas and so I thought this would be a good time to do a trophy," Sukup said. "If we win, we will leave it on the shelf here, and if Kansas wins, we can send it out there and they can display it at one of our dealerships out there. Folks enjoy these projects and we enjoy using our expertise in other fields."

The 30-pound steel trophy, which resembles a grain bin with a stock of wheat and an ear of corn on either side, was designed and produced by Nick Sukup with material handling production control and Kolton Koenen and Justin Ausborn with the tool and die department.

H-D-CAL alum Koenen, who went through a training program at NIAAC several years ago to prepare for his position, told the Chronicle that he appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with his coworkers on more creative projects like this one.

According to Koenen, he and his team went through several ideas for the different elements of the trophy before landing on their final version. As with all of their projects, they started with drafting a blueprint through their computer software before bringing it to life with their machinery, sculpting the pieces to fit perfectly with one another.

“It’s really exciting to start with nothing and go through the whole process and end up with something really neat,” he said.

The traveling trophy arrived back at the Sukup headquarters, after traveling to Ireland, on Wednesday morning, Sept. 3. It is one of many special projects Sukup has worked on over the years, including creating trophies for IndyCar.