TRIALS Equipment is the market leader for field trial technology in the UK and became part of the WINTERSTEIGER group in 2019 when the Austrian company acquired a majority shareholding. Our colleagues in south-east England develop, produce, and sell machines and equipment for private plant breeders, official testing institutes, universities, and service providers, primarily for the domestic market.

Even prior to this development, TRIALS Equipment was an important sales partner for WINTERSTEIGER. After more than 40 years in the business, founder and owner Colin Coleman retired and handed his company over to WINTERSTEIGER.

From Coleman Engineering to TRIALS Equipment

• In 1986, Coleman Engineering converted the first conventional combine for seed cultivation, thus starting a new line of business.
• In 1989, seed cultivation company Sampo approached Coleman Engineering to offer their combines under franchise.
• A comprehensive range of WINTERSTEIGER trial machines was then added to the Sampo machines in 1991.
• In the late 1990s, WINTERSTEIGER purchased German firm HEGE and Coleman Engineering became the exclusive sales partner for these machines.
• In 2001, Coleman Engineering became TRIALS Equipment with a focus on machines for seed cultivation.

TRIALS Equipment is not just an important sales partner. Since 2018, the team has also been developing special solutions for WINTERSTEIGER, such as the Tool Carrier and straw scales for the Quantum plot combine. The merger in 2019 saw WINTERSTEIGER further strengthen its market position in the UK, and an extremely flexible development partner with extensive experience in small series for seed cultivation was integrated into the WINTERSTEIGER group.

Today, TRIALS Equipment also distributes spare parts for SERRA, BVL, and Rolland machines, and is the only importer in Great Britain to supply the distributor network. As of 2023, TRIALS Equipment employs 18 people – two of whom have been with the company since it was founded. TRIALS Equipment sells more than 80 machines per year.