History
Simba started in 1976 when the founder Keith Burton identified a growing market for equipment to suit large (300hp+) tractors entering the UK, having spent 25 years farming in Africa (Simba is Swahili for lion).
Development of the Company was rapid, and its products soon gained a strong reputation within the market place, particularly with professional farmers who were often involved with development work.
Whilst more established names within the industry faltered in the 80’s and 90’s Simba took advantage of opportunities such as the introduction of the straw burning ban and became a major force in the UK market during this time. Exports developed and the company now has a strong presence in Europe, the Middle East, and as far afield as Australia and New Zealand. Sales have also recently been made into the USA and Japan.
Horsch Maschinen GmbH is a German Company with a very similar ethos to that of Simba’s and in 1999 the two Companies entered into a reciprocal trade agreement.
By doing this the two Companies worked in partnership to market the two product ranges alongside each other in their home market. At the time Simba’s drill range was coming to the end of its commercial life and the Horsch drills were seen as the perfect replacement to this aging range.
By 2005 Simba was a major force in the cultivator drill market within the UK and the innovations continuing within the Simba product range, the company now has arguably the widest and most comprehensive range of equipment it has ever had. New Simba products targeted at 80 – 100hp tractors open up further opportunities to the company and now many more farmers can benefit from the innovations built into these machines.
Improving manufacturing efficiency and reduction of production costs has not been overlooked.
Besides a manufacturing facility at the Headquarters in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, Simba’s products are also manufactured in Hungary, the choice of location often dependent on the final destination of the product and the exchange rate ruling at the time. The recent weakening of the pound against the Euro has resulted in more production being brought back to the UK.
Today the company’s products are designed very much with the European markets in mind, that’s not to say that Simba are neglecting the UK market, more positioning itself to take advantage of the vast potential these other markets offer. This philosophy is epitomized by the new SL Cultivator, which was launched in November 2007 at the Agritechnica show in Hanover having been shown to the UK dealers a month earlier at a series of regional launches throughout the UK. So far the company has sold nearly 500 units in less than 18 months, half for the UK market and half for the export market. This huge growth has seen the company increase its turnover from £13m in 2006 to over £28m in 2008.
Much has been done over the past 2 years to build a European dealer network to support this is and now that is all but complete. A full listing is shown under the dealer section. Our after sales resources have also been increased to provide a level of backup required for professional farming operations throughout Europe and beyond.
Simba still has a reputation for strength which, in the early years related to the products that it offered; now it is in many other areas as well such as the technology it employs to develop and test innovative products, the manufacturing facilities in different locations and the very strong management team based at its headquarters at Sleaford in Lincolnshire.
New product development continues and most recently the DTX 300 has been added to the range along with trailing kits for the 4m Mounted X-Press. Major research is also undertaken with the company now involved with over 20 oilseed rape trials throughout the UK.
As has always been the case, the company aims to provide good practical advice to its customers and the recent series of technical publications serves to illustrate this point and all have been very well received by farmers, agronomists and consultants alike. This ethos will continue as Simba continues to develop in the future.
