40 Years HORSCH: Innovation endures
This year, HORSCH Maschinen GmbH celebrates its 40th anniversary. During this time, the company has developed into one of the world's leading manufacturers of agricultural machinery. An occasion for the management to take a look at the past and into the future.
Michael Horsch
“The basis of our company is our passion for farming without a plough which has been anchored in the family for generations. It all started much more than 40 years ago. Back then, our intention had not been to found a company. The incentive for mechanical engineering came from the need to develop seed drills for no-till farming.
After a lot of trial and error, one of the first machines we created was the Seed-Exactor, a tiller with a seed bar for direct seeding. At that time, we struck a completely new path, new ground with our direct seeding system.
The business subsequently developed further, and more machines were added. All of this was still run under the roof of the HORSCH OHG, a company which several family members were involved in. In 1984, we finally founded a company only for mechanical engineering and from 1990 onwards, we experienced a very strong growth worldwide due to many new developments.
Looking back on the last few years in particular, it is clear that the vision of why we founded the company fits even better today than it did back then, especially when we talk about environment, diversification and changing climatic conditions. It is interesting to see that a company of this size has developed from this vision which we initially thought we were alone in.
From the very beginning, our top priority was on being close to our customers. We provided information on arable farming topics and the corresponding technology and were always at hand to offer advice. This close dialogue with the customers still drives me today. And you can only feel this driving force if you remain close to the customer.
20, 30 or even 40 years ago, nobody would have expected us to be at this point today. Many small milestones have led us to this point. The basis and motivation for all this is a passion for arable farming that drives the entire family. For the future, it is important not to lose focus. What characterises us is our special closeness to our customers and the loyalty and support of our employees we enjoy at all our sites. This really makes us very proud, and we will do everything we can to maintain and improve this. In the end, the true value of the company is defined by what each individual contributes every day."
Philipp Horsch
"When I look back on the past few decades, I am first and foremost grateful. I am grateful for what has happened and for the many formative moments and stories. It is remarkable how much support we have received in various places - from our customers, partners or suppliers. Looking back, the knowledge that so many people stand behind us in a favourable way is one of the key findings.
Our company has gone through turbulent phases of growth and change. But our employees have always been by our side, not only internalising our corporate DNA but also living it every day. Their pragmatic approach and their commitment are indispensable.
Personally, I have always been motivated by the fact that I have been able to contribute and to achieve a lot together with various people in our environment. Not only on the product side or in the company, but also with regard to the development of arable farming in the past few decades. All over the world, we have brought arable farming forward and being a cog in this is my constant motivation. It's always great to take on new challenges, push things and work on new products and strategies for arable farming.
What sets us apart from others is the close and direct contact we maintain with farmers. This closeness allows for precisely understanding their needs and requirements and for responding to them with regard to the product development. We learn and develop a great deal based on this contact which means that together with our own expertise something new can quickly emerge from this combination.
Another core competence that is deeply rooted in our corporate DNA is the way we work together as owners in the company. It is a very good foundation that stabilises us immensely. Even with respect to issues that hit us from the outside.
In the future, digitalisation will become a primary topic. Nevertheless, our central focus will remain on farmers and arable farming. Our core expertise is and has always been the construction and development of machines which we will continue to pursue with commitment and passion in the future.
We are ready to take on the challenges that lie ahead and lead our company into a successful future. Our asset is our flexibility and agility. We will continue to develop innovative solutions together. It's about people, emotions and the fact that we want to make a difference in this world."
Cornelia Horsch
"In retrospect, the years have passed incredibly fast, and I'm always amazed at how big our company has become. I'm grateful for the good times we have had and the interesting and varied job I am allowed to do. I have always enjoyed the opportunity to work internationally and with many different people and mentalities. I am particularly grateful for our employees, with whom we were able to develop the company together. Another huge advantage during these years was that I was able to combine family and career.
Some very intensive years lie behind us. The past few years in particular were characterised by many crises, be it war or the Covid 19 pandemic which challenged us time and time again. Despite these difficult circumstances, we have always proven ourselves, been agile and found good solutions.
What characterises our company is our remarkable diversity. We combine a wide range of skills, experience and personalities both in the management team and among our employees. Every single one of us tries to make the best possible use of their individual strengths what in my view is a crucial key to our sustainable success. In addition, our flat hierarchies encourage an innovative way of working based on direct availability and open communication. This new way of working is specifically geared towards the requirements of the next generation and creates a dynamic and future-orientated working environment. Our culture of diversity and openness is the engine that drives us.
Agriculture is a very down-to-earth sector, and our customers also are down-to-earth and extremely pragmatic. Our roots are in arable farming which gives us a deep understanding of the challenges our customers face. Due to a constant dialogue, we can offer them specific solutions. Our most important objective is to satisfy our customers. Accordingly, one of the things we work on is a professional service.
Even though digital media and new technologies bring about changes in all areas of the company and digital communication increases, we want to remain true to the principle that nothing can replace the personal contact with our customers. This direct exchange is and remains indispensable.
Looking ahead, I am looking forward to the next years which we will shape together with the next generation. Together with our employees, customers and sales partners, we will continue to tackle and master the challenges that lie ahead."
Theo Leeb
"The co-operation between HORSCH and LEEB began many years ago. The first joint project was realised in 1994 in the form of a fertiliser spreader. After that, I worked on one or two projects for HORSCH every year, always in the field of R & D and prototype construction. In 2000, a self-propelled sprayer for plant protection applications was developed. As HORSCH's tillage and seeding technology sector had grown considerably, they decided to focus on these lines of business. So we agreed that I would continue to develop the plant protection sector on my own responsibility under the name LEEB. We always left the door open to merge the whole thing again as soon as the sales potential would reach a certain size and we could utilise the synergies from both companies. This is how the HORSCH LEEB Application Systems GmbH was founded in 2011.
From then on, we grew every year which was not always easy, but we were happy to take on this challenge. The basis of this growth was to combine product and brand and use the existing structures. In retrospect, no two years were the same. Processes we implemented one year were already obsolete the following year. Therefore, constant adaptation was and still is necessary.
We also experienced an immense growth with regard to staff; in Landau, we now have 630 employees. My constant motivation is to provide people with an appropriate environment and opportunities for their personal development and to see how they are used to develop their potential.
Being close to our customers is a key factor for our success. Direct contact is important to us and to me personally, especially if we receive positive feedback, our customers are satisfied with the products and we see clear advantages in the technologies.
In the plant protection sector, we currently are confronted again and again with discussions regarding sustainability and environmental impact. Our job is to protect the plants. The challenge I see is gaining social acceptance for this. To comply with the new regulations, technological solutions are always required which is a great motivation for us. We want to work proactively to preserve resources. This means applying crop care agents in the most targeted way possible. With regard to the climatic challenges, it is important to meet the increasing performance requirements on the technology in order to make optimum use of the application window.
Our strengths are the continuous development and the close co-operation with our customers. This closeness combined with innovative capacity will continue to drive us in the future to find efficient and sustainable solutions."