10 years later Franz Grimme took control of the company from his father, who at that time employed 330 people at the Damme site. In 1985 he married a local school teacher, Christine and their first son Christoph was born in 1988. Christoph has recently joined the family business, with responsibilities for international production. In 1990 their second son, Philipp was born, who currently works for the agricultural machinery group AGCO, based in Africa. Over the past 36 years, Franz Grimme has developed a successful international group employing over 2,200 people. The Grimme group are active in over 120 countries worldwide, and produce a full range of innovative potato, beet and vegetable technology. Despite the recent milestone, Franz Grimme remains an active part of the team, working each day at Damme while also taking the time to visit subsidiary companies abroad. He retains control for the Grimme group along with 6 employees, who together form the Grimme steering team. Employees in Damme surprised Franz Grimme on his birthday, by singing a birthday song in front of his office accompanied by the Grimme house band "Take Red".
During a surprise birthday celebration, Franz Grimme was awarded honoree citizenship of Damme by local mayor Gerd Muhle, representing over 16,000 local residents. The unanimous award was in return for commitments toward the local area. A tireless campaigner for local interests, Franz Grimme has never lost sight of the company's roots in Damme. He remains head of a local community foundation, and patron of the Andreas Foundation (charitable institution). Franz Grimme also finds time to support several local cultural and sportive activities.
From left to right: Gerd Muhle, political group chairmen Hugo Giese (CDU), Florian Ewald (SPD) and Hugo Bertelt (FDP), Christine, Christoph, Philipp and Franz Grimme.
