Today, LEMKEN is one of the leading suppliers of professional crop production technology with more than 1,600 employees and 29 sales subsidiaries worldwide. This year, the family business marks its 240th anniversary with plenty of events for its employees, sales partners and customers.
Wilhelmus Lemken started forging ploughs, cultivators and harrows for local farmers near Xanten on the Lower Rhine 240 years ago, and these early products have remained part of the product range ever since. In 1969, Viktor Lemken took over the management of the family business and drove its development through industry-defining innovation. As a result, LEMKEN is now the most experienced specialist for ploughs in all major agricultural markets around the world. Stubble cultivation technology has come a long way from the renowned Smaragd model from 80 years ago to today's flagship, the Rubin 10. At the same time, the company's innovative plough technology ensured its breakthrough as the market leader and set the benchmark for the entire industry. With an increasing focus on exports and the opening of eastern markets from the 90s onwards, LEMKEN continued to experience strong growth. Its product range was extended to include seed drills and seed drill combinations, and employee numbers have grown steadily since.
Nicola Lemken is now the 7th-generation manager of the family business, and she continues to focus on professional crop production that is characterised by innovation and high quality: “We stand for efficient, sustainable agriculture and, together with our sales partners, we enable dependable, safe and efficient work processes for farmers and contractors all over the world in a wide range of applications and for highly diverse approaches to crop production. Our customers can always rely 100% on exceptional implement technology and comprehensive service. To deliver on this promise, we work closely with specialist dealers and our highly qualified service team.”
LEMKEN, the specialist for agricultural technology, focuses its product range on tillage, sowing and crop care. The company realigned its crop care segment earlier this year and now focuses fully on its strengths in camera-controlled hoeing technology and the selective application of crop care products. Managing Director Anthony van der Ley looks forward to the company's ongoing positive development: “The LEMKEN brand enjoys an excellent reputation far beyond our home market in Germany. Our goal is to lead this family business successfully into the next generation by offering innovations that benefit our customers optimally.”
The responsible use of resources has played a key role at LEMKEN production sites for over 15 years. The company's factory in Alpen is carbon-neutral in its consumption of electricity, thanks to on-site combined heat and power plants and extensive, smartly controlled energy cycles between administration and production facilities.
LEMKEN's profile additionally includes a corporate culture that is deeply appreciative of employees. The company values long-standing experience and sound staff development very highly. It is therefore only appropriate that LEMKEN focuses strongly on its employees while celebrating its 240th anniversary. Employees' reminiscences have therefore been collated with highlights from the company's history and information about current technological developments on the website 240lemken.com. The result is a fascinating web special on the company's 240-year history, and customers are warmly invited to contribute their ideas and stories.
