Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Paul Kaeb, KSi
At a glance: Paul Kaeb, president and CEO of KSI, was recently named Kansas Exporter of the Year, recognizing the innovative conveyor belt system that he developed to move seed efficiently.
More information: Ron Wilson, rwilson@ksu.edu, 785-532-7690
Photos: Ron Wilson | Paul Kaeb
Website: Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
June 25, 2025
By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University
The Kansas Exporter of the Year award is being presented and the Governor of Kansas has made the trip to present the award in person.
It’s not a trip to Kansas City or Wichita. This innovative company is based in rural northeast Kansas. The company developed an automated seed conveyor system that transformed the industry.
Paul Kaeb is president and CEO of KSi, the 2024 Kansas Exporter of the Year. An Illinois farmboy, he was trained as an electrician. He moved to Kansas to see relatives, got a job at Wenger Manufacturing, and stayed.
At right: Paul Kaeb | Download this photo
When his brother came to visit, the brother mentioned that he had applied for a patent for a cleated conveyor belt system that could move seed very efficiently. Before that time, seed was moved by conventional grain augers and 50 pound burlap bags.
“I grew up on a farm and remember my dad shoveling grain with a scoop shovel,” Kaeb said.
Kaeb’s brother was busy with other projects and asked Paul if he had an interest in commercializing the conveyor belt system. Paul decided to try it. “It was a step of faith,” Kaeb said.
In September 2001, he launched this new business, called KSi Conveyors.
Kaeb took his new product to the big Louisville Farm Show for a demonstration. “The critics said there was no way this would ever work, but we proved it did,” he said.
“When I worked at Wenger Manufacturing, I observed LaVon and Don Wenger,” Kaeb said. “They inspired a lot of people to start a lot of businesses. I wanted an open door policy like them with a culture that encouraged positive values, such as high integrity and glorifying God.”
Based on those values, the business began to grow. This was the time when the industry was changing to bulk handling of seed. The KSi conveyor system made this possible.
“This was what changed that industry,” Kaeb said.
In 2007, KSi opened a new manufacturing plant in Sabetha, a rural community of 2,493 people. Now, that’s rural.
KSi started building bulk seed handling sites around the country. Typically a seed site would consist of a set of seed bins with a horizontal conveyer system. When customers requested automated controls, KSi leadership decided to build control panels for the system.
“We were first to bring automation to that aspect of the seed industry,” Kaeb said.
KSi also diversified into developing precision, high speed seed treatment systems. “Our system enables a customer to mix fungicide or insecticide into bulk handling systems at a dose of milligrams per seed,” Kaeb said.
Automation led to huge advances in technology and data management.
“We are firm believers in API,” Kaeb said. API stands for Advanced Programming Interface, essentially meaning that multiple software systems can communicate and exchange data.
“It had been used in banking, but was new in agriculture at the time,” Kaeb said. “In the seed and fertilizer industry, it meant that input data could be combined with harvest data into one platform.”
KSi has sold equipment coast to coast and beyond, to Germany, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, Australia and more. In addition to Sabetha, the company has offices in Illinois and Brazil.
KSi is very much a family-oriented company. Paul’s brother, Todd, is chief operating officer of the Illinois facility. In Sabetha, Paul’s son, Jason, is COO and son Duane is chief technology officer.
The company’ s CFO is Paul’s son-in-law, Neal Kellenberger. Son Matthew was with human resources before going into the overseas mission field.
Christian faith and community service are fundamental qualities of the company’s leaders. “We offer all employees 40 additional hours for community service or humanitarian aid work, above their paid time off,” Kaeb said.
When the Governor came to present the Exporter of the Year Award, he shared a document with the verse, “Give to the Lord the glory He deserves.”
For more company information, see www.ksiedge.com.
We commend Paul Kaeb and all those involved with KSi for making a difference with positive values and technology, beginning with innovative conveyor systems in agriculture. That’s a great message to convey.
Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at www.huckboydinstitute.org/kansas-profiles. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit www.huckboydinstitute.org.
***
K‑State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county extension offices, experiment fields, area extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.ksre.ksu.edu. K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.