HORSCH Maschinen GmbH group’s turnover exceeded €402 million in 2018, a new record in the company’s history. It’s also worth noting that for the third year running, turnover growth is measured in double digits. A solid 12% increase compared with 2017 (€358 million) is explained by a whole range of factors.
First, HORSCH, as before, keeps increasing investment in production and engineering development. Across every HORSCH product segment, uncompromisingly following its motto, the company focuses on client needs and offers effective solutions to meet them. This applies both to the tillage and sowing segments, and to crop-protection and on-farm logistics machinery.
One of the company’s most important priorities is developing individual solutions for the specific requirements of particular markets. Combined with excellent service and well-established work with top sales partners, the company manages to ensure that clients around the world get exactly the equipment best adapted to specific soil-climate conditions and regional features of the agricultural infrastructure.
Export’s share of the company’s total turnover consistently exceeds 80% (81% in 2018). At the same time, turnover grew within Germany too. Export’s share in Eastern Europe exceeds 50%. For several years running, HORSCH’s exceptional growth in sales volume in Ukraine especially stands out. In Western European countries, turnover growth came to 23%. In 2018, sales volume noticeably grew in France, England and the Scandinavian countries. Positive momentum was also noted in North America, Brazil and China. In this market, new for the company, success is explained by developing products specific to local-market needs and their regional production (for example, in Brazil).
As for production growth overall, here it’s worth especially highlighting the crop-protection-machinery and precision-planting segments. New arrivals in these, as well as in all other current segments, will be presented at the Agritechnica exhibition in Hannover this November.
The broad audience’s attention in Hannover this time will focus not only on machines, but also on technologies. For example, hybrid models will be presented, combining the best developments from classic and organic farming, currently being tested at the company’s model farms.
Public pressure is forcing farmers around the world to move away from stereotypical patterns and think about new solutions. In this connection, HORSCH has long since come to be identified in clients’ eyes as a partner offering not just high-tech equipment, but also well-developed systemic solutions for the industry’s current problems. Farming know-how is passed on to clients through numerous practical seminars, lectures, field days, or in the pages of the corporate publication Terra HORSCH.
New digital solutions in the form of Apps, Internet of Things technology, or revolutionary developments such as, for example, the Singular System for precision grain sowing (awarded a gold medal by the German Agricultural Society, DLG) make HORSCH a reliable partner for farmers in producing healthy, wholesome food in the future. The number of the company’s employees worldwide exceeded 1,600 people in 2018.
HORSCH’s production investment volume last year reached a record €30 million. In Ronneburg another production shop was put into operation, and in Landau the production floor space was increased more than threefold. The largest investment in the firm’s history (€23 million) is currently being carried out in Schwandorf.
Summing up, it’s worth noting that, despite adverse weather conditions in 2018, the company’s sales-volume growth was exceptional. This gives HORSCH’s management every reason for a positive forecast for 2019. The current year’s successful start confirms this.
