Written by Rachel Martin
Agricultural implement manufacturer Lemken has said its sales have remained steady over the last year, despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The firm, which is headquartered in north-west Germany, reported a turnover of €365 million during 2020. It’s down slightly on the €380 million on its books in 2019.
The cancellation of international exhibitions has been a blow to many machinery companies.
Chief executive Antony van der Ley said demand was particularly high for seed drills and hoeing technology, adding that the new year has also started well reporting “very good levels of incoming orders”.
Sales in the German home market have remained consistently high, although international sales continue to dominate with a 77% share in total sales.
In 2020, the company’s largest markets included France, Russia, the USA and the UK, with substantial increases in sales for the last three of these countries.
Van der Ley said: “We are happy and grateful that we were able to maintain our production throughout the past year without placing the health of our 1,631 employees worldwide at risk.
“We have achieved our ambitious goals for both sales and results and are very satisfied, even though we exited the field sprayer sector.
“We have also been able to bolster our service for specialist dealers, farmers and contractors at the highest level.
“However, we would certainly be delighted if we were able to have face-to-face contacts and events again soon so that we can demonstrate the benefits of our methods on the fields for everybody to see.”
Last year, Lemken took a clear decision to stop sprayer production and focus its strengths fully on the manufacture of modern precision hoeing technology.
Lemken’s subsidiary Steketee increased its sales by 30%. Its product portfolio includes customisable hoeing machines, with camera-controlled individual plant detection.
Lemken has also successfully established its new fertiliser spreaders on the market, which are available in a range of models to service diverse operating conditions.
New products and innovations
With high growth expectations, Lemken invested in new assembly processes in its Haren factory, which has been set up for the manufacture of seed drill technology since the beginning of the year.
New market offerings include the hybrid cultivator Koralin 9 for ultra-shallow tillage, the compact cultivator Kristall for working widths of up to 10m and the new OptiStone overload protection for ploughs.
In the seed drill segment, Lemken has started manufacturing its updated, new Saphir and Solitair models, including a double tank/hopper (for more seeds or fertiliser), the Solitair 23 front tank with ISOBUS control and the 6m-wide Solo seed coulter bar with independent chassis.
Among new products to be introduced are a large-scale seed drill and extended precision drilling technology with the Azurit and its innovative DeltaRow technology.
Lemken has also made progress on its digital technology, with the ‘iQblue connect’ information exchange system set to be the first accessory system on offer that intelligently automates the operating functions of tillage implements via the tractor controls.
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