Machinery manufacturers Schuitemaker and Veenhuis plan to merge later this year. That’s according to a report in Dutch outlet/publication Mechaman.nl.

Both companies are based in the Netherlands. Irish readers will most readily associate Veenhuis with the manufacture of slurry tankers and related equipment.

Meanwhile, Schuitemaker is becoming an increasingly well-known brand here in Ireland, primarily due to its self-loading silage wagons.

Walter Veenhuis, the managing director of Veenhuis, was reported as saying (albeit translated into English): “The two family businesses have been working in the agricultural sector for many generations. With this merger, we would see added value in marketing, sales, innovation and production for the sectors in which we operate together.”

Schuitemaker’s director – Gerrit de Graaf (pictured below) – explained: “In recent months we have explored together what might result from a possible intensive collaboration between our company and Veenhuis.

“Both organisations have been active for many years [manufacturing] machines for agriculture.”

Since November 2018, an entity known as Wadinko has owned a chunk of Schuitemaker. It is reported that the families that own each company will remain shareholders in the new merged entity, along with Wadinko.

Schuitemaker, which is based in Rijssen (the Netherlands) employs around 140 people. Veenhuis, which is based in Raalte (also in the Netherlands) is believed to employ around 40 staff.

Wadinko is described as a “regional investment company”.