Holmer Maschinenbau

Holmer Maschinenbau GmbH is a German agricultural machinery manufacturer based in Eggmühl, a locality within Schierling in Bavaria. The company focuses on specialized harvesting technology, particularly self-propelled sugar-beet harvesters. Its website describes more than 50 years of developing agricultural machines intended to support field work, including beet harvesting and loading as well as slurry spreading. The company presents its equipment and services as combining modern technology with practical, cost-conscious operation. Its product range includes the Terra Dos beet harvester, Terra Variant system vehicle, and Terra Felis beet cleaner-loader. The official website also lists RRL and Secatflex SL. The Terra Dos is a central product family: the German Wikipedia account traces production of the first Terra Dos type to 1996, while the site describes the Terra Dos 5 High Performance as a high-output beet harvester for demanding conditions. The Terra Variant is a multi-purpose system vehicle associated with slurry application. Holmer also offers service support, service partners, and training. The company grew from Alfons Holmer’s family smithy and agricultural machinery repair and trading business, which he took over in 1969. In response to requests from regional farmers and sugar-beet organizations, it developed a self-propelled six-row beet harvester, delivering its first series-built machine in 1974. Subsequent improvements helped establish the company in self-propelled beet harvesting. Over time, it expanded its products and international reach, and acquired the Bottmersdorfer Gerätebau business in 2007, adding a self-propelled beet cleaner-loader and broadening its beet-technology offering. Alfons Holmer sold the company in 2004 to investment firm Afinum; Afinum sold it to the AVIDA Group in 2006. The supplied history says AVIDA renamed itself Triginta Capital in 2008, but does not establish Holmer’s present ownership. The available evidence describes exports to sugar-beet-growing regions worldwide and subsidiary operations in several European countries and China as of 2008. The company’s current website continues to present HOLMER products and services.

Holmer Maschinenbau began as the family smithy and agricultural machinery business taken over by Alfons Holmer in 1969. Initially, the business was concerned with agricultural machinery repair and trading. By 1973, it had diversified into manufacturing and other activities, while regional farmers and sugar-beet organizations were urging Holmer to develop a self-propelled six-row beet harvester. The company undertook the project after financing was assembled from its own investment, participating partners, and a Bavarian government grant. Hermann Paintner contributed to the design as an external collaborator. Holmer delivered its first series-built six-row self-propelled beet harvester in 1974. Early sales were slow, as farmers remained skeptical of large self-propelled machines and continued to favor lighter trailed equipment. Improvements to the harvester and the adoption of larger tires helped change its prospects; the company’s account identifies 1977 as a breakthrough year. Holmer also made stationary beet-loading conveyor systems and developed prototypes of self-propelled beet cleaner-loaders. In 1979, growing production needs led it to move from its old workshop to a larger site with a production hall and office building outside Eggmühl. The Terra Dos beet harvester entered production in 1996. Its articulated main frame and all-wheel steering were designed to enable more soil-conscious field travel. Holmer introduced the Terra Variant system vehicle for slurry application in the same year. These products broadened the company’s activities beyond the original beet harvester while retaining a focus on specialized agricultural machinery. In 2004, Alfons Holmer sold the business to Afinum, an investment company, citing a lack of family succession. Afinum sold Holmer Maschinenbau GmbH to the AVIDA Group in 2006. At the end of 2007, Holmer acquired Bottmersdorfer Gerätebau und Landwirtschaftliches Lohnunternehmen GmbH, whose activities included beet-harvesting technology. The acquisition added a self-propelled beet cleaner-loader and made Holmer a broader supplier in beet technology. The AVIDA Group changed its name to Triginta Capital in 2008. The company expanded its international reach into sugar-beet-growing regions. The supplied history reports subsidiaries in Poland, France, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine, as well as two presences in China, as of 2008. It also records strong deliveries to markets including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and China in 2011. On 30 June 2012, Holmer delivered its 3,000th sugar-beet harvester, a Terra Dos T3. The company’s current website continues to feature the Terra Dos, Terra Variant, Terra Felis, RRL, and Secatflex SL product names. It presents the Terra Dos 5 High Performance as a high-output model for challenging conditions. The supplied sources do not identify Holmer’s current owner or current management.

• 2012

  3,000th sugar-beet harvester delivered

• 2008

  AVIDA Group renamed Triginta Capital

• 2007

  Bottmersdorfer Gerätebau acquired

• 2006

  Afinum sells Holmer to AVIDA Group

• 2004

  Holmer sold to Afinum

• 1996

  Terra Dos and Terra Variant introduced

• 1979

  Company relocates to a larger site

• 1977

  Self-propelled beet harvester reaches a breakthrough

• 1974

  First series-built six-row self-propelled beet harvester delivered

• 1969

  Alfons Holmer takes over the family business

A specialist agricultural machinery manufacturer focused on high-performance self-propelled sugar-beet harvesting and related field operations.

• Terra Dos

  A self-propelled sugar-beet harvester family; production began in 1996.

• Terra Dos 5 High Performance

  A high-output beet harvester presented for challenging conditions, including slopes and heavy soils.

• Terra Variant

  A system vehicle introduced for slurry application.

• Terra Felis

  A product listed on Holmer’s official website.

• RRL and Secatflex SL

  Product names listed on Holmer’s official website.

1. 1Holmer Maschinenbau - Holmer Maschinenbau GmbHholmer-maschinenbau.com
2. 2High Performance - Holmer Maschinenbau GmbHholmer-maschinenbau.com
3. 3Holmer Maschinenbauwikidata.org
4. 4Holmer Maschinenbaude.wikipedia.org