Royal de Boer Barn Equipment is back

In coming years, Royal de Boer Barn Equipment in Leeuwarden will focus on barn equipment and manure technology. The company has recently been acquired by the German investment firm Mutares.

Read this article (in Dutch) in the Agrarisch Magazine 2021.

‘We're independent again, and we're proud of that.’

Before this, Royal de Boer Stalinrichtingen was the property of GEA Farm Technologies. However, GEA has shifted its activities with a desire to focus on automatic milking and feeding. Mutares, a German investment firm, acquired the barn equipment company. ‘We will continue independently, under our own name,’ says commercial director Henri Geerts. The company plans to focus on barn equipment and manure technology. ‘We are working on building up a new dealer network with short lines of communication towards the livestock farmers.’

Mutares owns 21 family companies. These companies, like Royal de Boer Stalinrichtingen, were once disconnected from a multinational. ‘Mutares invests in the future of Royal de Boer Stalinrichtingen, with the objective of selling us again at some point,’ says Geerts, who, along with Leo Eekhof and Pieter van Dellen, forms the three-man management. Royal de Boer Stalinrichtingen employs almost a hundred people, and has a turnover of € 30 million. The company has its own production site for steel products in Leeuwarden, where investments will be made in coming years.

1,000 kilometres

With a number of new dealers, Royal de Boer primarily focuses mainly on dairy farms in a radius of 1,000 kilometres around Leeuwarden. The company offers barn equipment, including, among others, cubicles, water troughs and ventilation curtains.

In coming years, the company will also heavily focus on manure technology, such as manure scrapers, manure pumps and manure management. ‘We have a strong range when it comes to manure,’ says Geerts.

‘When it comes to barn equipment, we are a one-stop-shop,’ Geerts says. He explains that furnishing a barn requires custom solutions. ‘By combining the knowledge and experience of the customer, dealer and Royal de Boer, we can realise optimal barn designs that ideally suit both the cows and the livestock farmer. We then translate this to assembly and installation plans, which form the basis for the structural design made by the construction consultant or contractor. That is our strength, that is what distinguishes us,’ says Geerts.

We love cows

In early 2021, Royal de Boer Stalinrichtingen will present itself with a new logo and a new website. The cow is the central theme in this. There is a good reason why the new slogan is: ‘Royal de Boer, we love cows.’ With a new business model and growth strategy, Geerts has faith in the future of the company. ‘We have more than a hundred years of experience in the sector. We are independent again, with our own identity. That is something we're proud of.’