Over 150 years GRIMME

OVER 150 YEARS GRIMME

In the year 1861 was the basic established in a forge in Damme, Lower Saxony, Germany by Mr. Franz Grimme's great grandfather.

The change from a local forge to a specialist for potato technology started in the 1930ies with the launch of the first potato harvester. The first machine was built 1,000 times, the at that time called "potato basket for diggers" one row windrower type "Unerreicht". This machine was mainly sold in Lower Saxony and East Prussia.

Since 1956 GRIMME produces tractor trailed harvesters in series. The first machines were exported to the Netherlands, which is still one of the main sales areas. 1966 Grimme sets a milestone in the company history: with the first hydraulically operated potato harvester they managed to take over the market leadership in Germany within one year. In 1969 Franz Grimme senior developed the first self-propelled potato harvester in the world. In the meantime, manure spreaders, hay tedders and silo harvesters have also been built. 

In 1970 the current owner Franz Grimme joined the company and became managing director in 1980. 1999 Grimme introduced it's own planting, handling and storage technology. 2003 launched GRIMME their first six-row self-propelled beet harvester: the MAXTRON 620 with 490 HP and a bunker of 22 t. In the same year the former owner Carl Hobbs sold the company SPUDNIK from Blackfoot, Idaho to the GRIMME group. Today SPUDNIK is the market leader in North America and the second largest potato technology manufacturer worldwide.

In 2012 GRIMME took over the beet manufacturer KLEINE in Salzkotten and acquires a majority shareholding in the Danish vegetable technology specialist ASA-LIFT in 2013. In 2016 Christoph Grimme and in 2019 Philipp Grimme, the fifth generation of GRIMME, joined the company.

Today there are more than 2,700 employees working for the GRIMME group in 7 different production places and in 11 subsidiaries around the world. The sales and service subsidiaries are in Belgium, China, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia,Turkey and U.S.A.