Gray Lewis and Frank Patterson Jr., both vice presidents of Patterson and Wilder Construction Company, were honored Aug. 13 with a Gold Key ceremony at John Deere’s Dubuque Works.

The Gold Key ceremony followed a tour of Deere’s Dubuque, Iowa, factory, which is located on 1,465 acres.

At the ceremony, the customer arrives at the end of the line just as his machine is nearing completion. Once the final assembly steps are performed, the production line is stopped so that the customer is the first person to operate his new machine. The event is capped by the customer driving the machine off the end of the production line, a finished product.

Patterson and Wilder purchased a John Deere 310SJ tool carrier backhoe from R.W. Moore Equipment Company. R.W. Moore salesman Brian Metcalf also attended.

“It’s just amazing how important the entire Deere organization makes you feel on an event like this,” Patterson said. “From the personal tour of all the facilities to the people on the floor truly being thankful for our business, the Deere people really show how much they care about the customer.”

Patterson & Wilder Construction Company Inc. was incorporated in the state of Alabama in September 1962. Through the years, the company has been involved in many different facets of construction, but has developed a specialty in the pipeline industry. It has offices in the southeast and works throughout the United States.

Gold Key ceremonies are available through the local John Deere dealer for any product produced in North America.