TRADE AND MARKET I NG Christoph Grimme Schmiede.one as the Grimme innovation brain in the digital field. This is an independently-operating company under the wing of the Grimme Group and develops software for Grimme as well as for third parties. Thirteen people are now working full-time, who develop and market a range of digital solutions’, says the enthusiastic young entrepreneur proudly. ‘They sometimes come up with solutions that we, as Grimme, cannot or cannot yet use. If someone else can, why not sell it? In the footsteps of father An example can be seen during the Grimme Technica trade fair in the showroom of Grimme Technicom. Here, employees of Schmiede.one explain the www.hektor.one internet platform, where you can anonymously use an online programme to search for the used or new machine you would like to have. The programme searches in the range of machinery offered by affiliated mechanisation companies in Germany, is the explanation. To do this, simply fill in your wishes via a number of choices and questions. You will then receive a return offer via e-mail. By starting up his own Schmiede.one subsidiary, Christoph more or less follows in the footsteps of father Franz who, shortly after joining the family group, founded the Internorm ‘I often say to our employees: our tie must always be more neatly knotted than that of the competition.’ doing. I don’t yet see harvesters being robotised in the short term. You’d get a long way in the field, but the machines also have to take the road and, at the end of the day, they need to go back to the farm and the shed and may have to refuel as well. For all these movements and actions, we won’t have a suitable and safe digital solution for a long time yet. ‘In past years, we’ve grown with our machinery from size XS to XXL. In the future, Grimme will again sell more size XS machines.’ Kunststoftechnik company in Damme in 1987. Since then, this has made parts such as bearings and sieve belts for both Grimme’s own machines and third parties and has become a major player in this segment. Driver not replaced yet ‘And then there’s the digitisation of the harvesters themselves’, Grimme continues. ‘For now, I don’t see it as a goal to replace the driver on the harvester, which the car industry is now busy With the constant renewal of software and sensor technology, we want to ensure that the driver gets help with activities such as lifting and that you get the best harvest results regardless of driver A, B, or C. Meanwhile, an hour has passed, so a last quick question. And as far as the competition is concerned, does he still see danger, or opportunities, there? ‘The time of big, bigger, biggest is over. Farmers in Europe don’t want bigger, they do want smarter. In doing this, we must ensure that we’re always better than the others. I often say to our employees: our tie must always be more neatly knotted than that of the competition. In past years, we’ve grown with our machinery from size XS to XXL. In the future, Grimme will again sell more size XS machines. China is an example of this, and other countries such as India will follow suit. ‘Fifty percent of the world’s potato cropping area is not yet mechanised at the moment, so that’s where our growth opportunity lies’, the young entrepreneur says confidently. ● Leo Hanse Potato World 2019 • number 1 7 Pagina 6

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