When you think of potato harvesting equipment, the name Grimme immediately springs to mind. This is no coincidence as the Grimme Company has been around for over 155 years, having being founded by the German Grimme family in 1861. Since its establishment, the firm has grown considerably to employ more than 2,000 people across its various facilities, as well as training 124 apprentices each year.

Grimme produces more than 150 different machines, with 85% of its production exported to customers in 120 different countries through a global dealer network as well as 11 subsidiaries in Belgium, China, Denmark, England, France, India, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Turkey, the US and, of course, Ireland.

The Grimme Company is still family-owned and is led by the fourth-generation Franz Grimme, who is supported by his wife Christine and sons Philipp and Christoph.

To complement and expand its business, the Grimme Company also owns other companies involved in root crop harvesting, including American potato equipment manufacturer Spudnik, German sugar beet equipment manufacturer Kleine and Danish Vegetable equipment manufacturer ASA-LIFT .

To strengthen its backup service, Grimme also owns the Ricon Company, which is responsible for parts; Internorn, which offers plastic engineering services; and finally Grimme Solutions, which looks after its engineering needs.

Irish connection

Grimme potato machines were first used in Ireland in the late 1960s and at that time were imported into the country by Myles Kehoe, with sales and service support provided by Brian Cooper. In the late 1970s, Meath Farm Machinery became the importer, with the support still being provided by Brian Cooper. In the early 1980s, a new importer took over responsibility for both sales and service, which continued up until 2012 when unfortunately they went into receivership.

This left a void in the market, which Grimme needed to fill in order to ensure continued product support for customers who had Grimme machines working in the field.

On 29 March 2012, Grimme Ireland Equipment Limited was formed as a subsidiary of the Grimme Company and was headed up by Cecil Morgan, who is responsible for all machine sales, with product support provided by Brian Finnegan in service and Sean Mason in parts.

Initially, the small three-man team set up in a rented premises shared with the Rooney family at The Naul Motor Company in north Co Dublin. At that time, most machine repairs were carried out either on site or outside, as the rented workshop was not large enough for the machines to actually fit inside. The parts were stored in a container at the rear of the premises and the office operated out of one half of a portacabin.

It was obvious that they needed a larger premises, with a workshop capable of housing machines as well as a proper parts department and offices for administration and accounts.

In June 2013, they moved to their current premises in Ballyboughal, which proved to be a positive move, allowing the company’s business to grow, soon becoming a team of three technicians, one apprentice, two parts personnel, and an accounts manager.

Due to the continued growth and development of the business, the search for a new larger premises began approximately 18 months ago. After discussions with the German management team, it was decided they should purchase land and build a purpose-built premises to accommodate the company and its future growth.

One of the most important factors for Grimme was the positioning of the new site in order for customers to have easy access from the north and south of the country. After discussions and negotiations with Fingal Council, a 2.23-acre site located on an industrial area near the Balbriggan bypass and less than half a mile from the M1 at junction six, was agreed on.

The 1,200sq m building will incorporate a dedicated parts area, a four-bay service department and feature modern services and facilities. Grimme hopes that this €2.2m investment will reinforce its commitment to its Irish customers, and the importance of their business into the future.

Speaking about the new premises, branch manager Cecil Morgan said: “We look forward to its completion and hope to be able to further strengthen our market share and continue our product support to both new and existing customers.”

Head of Grimme UK and Ireland Barry Baker also commented: “The Irish and UK market presents more challenges than central Europe. We feel that this multi-million euro investment will help us establish permanent roots in Ireland and support customers going forward.”

Work officially commenced on the new building on Wednesday 23 November 2016 after the sod turning was performed by Christoph Grimme, the oldest son of company owner Franz-Grimme, and Franz- Bernd Kruthaup, general manager of the company. The new building is hoped to be completed by July 2017, and fully operational for the 2017 harvest.