SEEDMECH Acquires Competitor

After years of intense competition with HEGE (Hans-Ulrich Hege Saatzuchtmaschinen GmbH) in Hohebuch, Germany, WINTERSTEIGER took advantage of its competitor’s financial difficulties to acquire the company in 1999.

In the years that followed, the two nearly identical product lines were merged into one through considerable effort: The Nurserymaster Elite and Hege 140 plot combines were combined to create the Classic, which is now part of the WINTERSTEIGER product portfolio as the Classic Plus plot combine; the Hege 160 combine was further developed into the WINTERSTEIGER Delta.

The integration was difficult at times—longtime competitors were slow to become partners, and the merger did not yield the hoped-for gains in market share. In 2003, the Hohebuch production site was relocated to Ried, and production was transferred in several stages. Some HEGE employees also moved from Hohebuch to Ried. Today, WINTERSTEIGER continues to use the HEGE name on seven machines.