Horsch machines
| Horsch Maschinen GmbH
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1984 |
| Seat | Schwandorf , Bavaria , |
| management |
|
| Number of employees | 1600 (2018) |
| sales | EUR 402 million (2018) |
| Branch | mechanical engineering |
| Website | www.horsch.com |
The Horsch Maschinen GmbH (own spelling Horsch Maschinen GmbH) is a German manufacturer of special agricultural technology for agriculture . Today disc harrows , cultivators , seed drills (tine and disc sowing technology ), transfer trailers for grain and crop protection equipment are manufactured. The company became famous for three- wheel tractors and equipment for minimal tillage .
Company history
Beginnings
The company's history begins in 1969 with the takeover of the Sitzenhof estate in the Schwandorf district of Ettmannsdorf by the farmer Dankwart Horsch. On this approximately 300 hectare farm, he tries to cultivate the very stony soils with milling machines , disc drills , cultivators and rotary harrows . In 1972, after the initial difficulties, he was ready to be able to operate ploughless agriculture economically. In this way he creates the fundamental experience that leads to the development of special agricultural technology. In 1979 Michael Horsch went to the USA after completing his journeyman's examination in order to later run his own farm there. To do his community service, he had to return to Germany. During this time he tinkered with no-till machines. In addition, a related farmer encouraged him to further develop the technology for growing maize under foil. Today Michael Horsch is the managing director of Horsch Holding GmbH.
First machine developments
In 1980 Michael Horsch converted an Accord seed drill, which had pneumatic metering, to a milling machine with a working width of four meters. As a result, the seeds are placed directly behind the milling machine on the working horizon and covered by the fine earth that is thrown up. Crop residues and clods of earth then lie on it. This construction forms the basis of further Horsch seed drills. However, the power requirement of this device combination is over 200 hp . That is why a three-wheel tractor with 250 hp is developed by Horsch. The three wheels with wide terrar tires should keep the soil compaction as small as possible. The expansion of this system is started.
founding
In 1984, Horsch Maschinen GmbH was founded by Michael and Walter Horsch as a medium-sized company. They do not see it as a manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the traditional sense, but much more as a company for marketing their innovative concept. A 20 hectare field was set up at Gut Sitzenhof to demonstrate their new technology.
Further development and expansion
In 1997 the Horsch seed drill system was moved from a niche market to the actual, more predictable main market. However, this does not apply to three-wheel tractors. Therefore Horsch GmbH & Co KG is founded to further develop and market the concept of this system tractor under the name Horsch Technologie. Here we also cooperate with JCB and Claas . Horsch also develops stubble cultivation equipment .
In 1998 the FIT Center for Research, Innovation and Technology opens. It is used for contact with practitioners, customers, consultants and scientists in order to develop and convey optimal systems for the cultivation of arable land. In 1999, a distribution agreement was signed with the British company Simba, which sold Horsch devices in Great Britain and itself delivered soil cultivation devices in the colors of Horsch to Germany . In 2003 the production of the Trac was stopped. Since 2004 seeders and, since 2007 compact disc harrows produced and distributed. The cooperation with Simba was ended in 2011 and Horsch has been selling the machines in Great Britain since then.
In 2019 the company had locations in Germany, France, Great Britain, Russia, Brazil, the Czech Republic, China and the Ukraine.
literature
- Bauer, Georg: The fascination of agricultural engineering. 100 years of agricultural engineering - companies and brands in transition. Weltbild GmbH 2006, ISBN 3-8289-5402-2 .
- Horsch, Cornelia (Ed.): Wait a minute. 25 years of HORSCH Maschinen GmbH. Neufeld Verlag , Schwarzenfeld 2009, ISBN 978-3-937896-79-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b https://www.agrarheute.com/agrartechnik/news/horsch-hoechstem-umsatz-unternehmensgeschichte-552687 .
- ↑ Horsch with the highest turnover in the company's history. March 25, 2019, accessed April 9, 2019 .