Once a company that focused mainly on grassland machines, Pottinger entered the arable farming sector in 1975 by taking over the 'Bayerische Pflugfabrik' plough factory in Landsberg.

Its next major change came in 2001, when the Austrian company purchased the Rabe seed drill plant in Bernburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, marking Pottinger‘s entry into the crop establishment market, and expanding its tillage portfolio to include mechanical, pneumatic and mulch seed drills.

Over the past quarter of a century, the company has continued to expand its range of seed drills, such as the mechanical Vitasem seed drills, the pneumatic Aerosem seed drills, and the universal Terrasem seed drills.

According to Pottinger, these drills offer farming businesses "new capabilities in precision sowing combined with optimum seedbed preparation".

Updates, features and awards

In 2003, Pottinger presented its mulch seed drill Terrasem 2003 at Agritechnica in Hanover.

Six years later, in 2009, it launched the updated Vitasem mechanical seed drill, which the company claims offers "even more precise metering".

The company launched a direct fertilisation system in 2012 on the Terrasem seed drill that introduced a new feature of "depositing nutrients exactly where they were needed, right next to the seed".

The following year, its new generation of Aerosem seed drill won the 'Machine of the Year' award at Agritechnica, a win that was credited to the machine's patented intelligent distribution system (IDS) along with its precision combi seeding (PCS).

In that same year, Pottinger also launched their Fox compact combination, which was aimed at increasing seed drill flexibility.

Between 2019 and 2021, the manufacturer added more new features to the Aerosem series, such as the Aerosem F, a seed drill with a pressurised hopper system.

Pottinger also introduced a new item to the product range in 2022, the Amico front hopper, which offered a choice of distribution systems for soil preparation implements in an attempt to provide the "optimum combination of tillage, fertilisation and sowing".

Entry into precision planter market

In 2022, Pottinger took over MaterMacc, an Arable Precision planter manufacturer.

This merger brought precision planters and integrated new technologies for modern arable farming into the Pottinger product range.

The Puro precision planter is the first joint development between the two companies, which Pottinger said brings together MaterMacc's "many years of experience" with its own "agricultural engineering expertise and high quality standards".

It said the Puro is "a new chapter" that continues the company's 150-year family history.

Pottinger said it aims to carry on the same mission as when it started: "To build machines that make farmers' lives easier, more efficient and more successful".