Investing in innovation to meet Australian growers’ harvest needs

28 February 2022

Australian vegetable growers are set to reap the rewards of the acquisition of ASA-LIFT by GRIMME, which has resulted in the brand expanding its harvesting machinery options to across more than 30 vegetable crops.

Vegetable harvesting technology in Australia has been given a boost, with the Landpower Vegetable Centre adopting the latest innovations to meet current demand.

The centre has fully integrated ASA-LIFT into its range of vegetable harvesters available to Australian customers. This follows the completion of GRIMME’s acquisition of the company.

The acquisition consolidates GRIMME’s position as the world’s leading manufacturer of cultivation, planting, harvesting and handling equipment used in the potato, beet and vegetable industries.

ASA-LIFT was established outside Copenhagen in 1936 to serve the needs of Danish vegetable growers. Expanding into international markets in the 1960s, it quickly became recognised as a market leader.

The ASA-LIFT T-300DFH in action.

Takeover success

GRIMME originally acquired a 70 per cent share of the company in 2013 and purchased the balance in 2020. It has invested heavily in new product development and production facilities over the past seven years.

This has allowed ASA-LIFT to significantly expand its operations, which now offers more than 150 machines across 30 different crops, including beans, beet, cabbage, carrots, celery, chives, fennel, onions, parsnip, potatoes, leeks and lettuce.

“ASA-LIFT has always enjoyed a reputation for innovation, quality, performance and after-sales service,” Landpower Vegetable Centre Product Manager, Haydon Martin, says.

“The integration with GRIMME over the past eight years has opened up significant improvements in terms of electronic and manufacturing technologies. Each design draws on the considerable experience gathered from throughout the world.”

Landpower Vegetable Centre first displayed its ASA-LIFT equipment at Hort Connections 2021 in Brisbane, and has since received significant interest in the range.

“The addition of this range furthers our expertise in vegetable production and means we can now offer a complete range of cultivation, planting, harvesting and handling technology across all of the major vegetable crops grown in Australia,” Haydon says.

“We already offer ASA-LIFT in New Zealand so we will be able to access knowledge, experience and technical expertise from our business there to ensure our Australian customers get the best possible start with their machinery.

“We are also planning to widen our portfolio of products available in Australia to ensure we can provide complete solutions for as many vegetable growers as possible across the country.”

An international brand

GRIMME also owns SPUDNIK, a US potato harvesting machinery manufacturer, and two OEM manufacturers – INTERNORM, which produces polyurethane products, and RICON, which produces webs and conveying technology.

Founded in Damme, Germany in 1861, the family-owned company employs more than 2,700 people worldwide, has a physical presence in 12 countries and operates in more than 120 countries.

Haydon paid tribute to Vin Rowe Farm Machinery in Warragul, which has represented the ASA-LIFT brand in Australia for the past 40 years.

“Landpower has represented GRIMME in Australia and New Zealand for the same length of time, and we respect the level of commitment that Vin Rowe has made to grow the brand over the years,” he says.

Landpower Vegetable Centre will have ASA-LIFT on show again at Hort Connections 2022, which is being held at the Brisbane Convention Centre from 6-8 June.

About Landpower

Landpower is the largest privately-owned farm machinery distributor in Australasia. It represents some of the world’s leading farm machinery brands, including CLAAS, AMAZONE, GRIMME, JCB (New Zealand) and Vaderstad (Australia).