As a company, Horsch has its roots set deeply in the tillage fields of Bavaria where the young Michael Horsch developed a maize seed drill that covered the planted row in plastic film, leading to the establishment of Horsch Maschinen GmbH in 1984.
Since then the company has relentlessly carved a niche for itself in the tillage equipment sector and now operates in all of the world’s major markets.
Up until now, tillage has been its sole focus but in early April it formed a partnership with a young forestry equipment company that had been created by three of its former employees.
Forestry trailers
Gepima is the company concerned; it was founded in 2022 Michael and Markus Pirkenseer, and Reinhold Rosel and it set out to develop high quality and innovative forest machinery.
Just like Michael Horsch, Michael and Markus Pirkenseer were brought up on the family farm although it was forestry which constituted a major part of the enterprise.
The brothers realised early on what a crucial role the right technology plays with regard to forest management and the role that machinery plays in its efficiency.
Engineering background with Horsch
Both had worked for many years in the development section of Horsch and thanks to the experience gained in practical forestry they gradually developed new concepts and ideas for operations within it.
The foundation of Gepima was the starting point for the further development and sales of state-of-the-art forest technology with three products that were ready to go at the launch of the business.
These items sold well and the young company immediately enjoyed success enabling it to further expanded its range, which was based on forestry trailers featuring steering and articulated drawbars.
Combining competences
The brothers stayed in touch with Horsch which prides itself on being a family firm adhering to Christian values and in the course of intensive discussion it was decided to combine the competences of Horsch and Gepima with the formation of a new Horsch Pirk Forestry GmbH.
The actual detail of the agreement remains undisclosed but Horsch notes that the cooperation “will use established structures of the Horsch Maschinen GmbH and create synergies to push technological developments and develop new markets”.
This is a bold step for the company for the forestry market is a new one to it, yet it feels that by combining its resources with the expertise of innovators who are known and trusted, this new venture will add to the company’s growth.
