German sugar beet harvester maker Holmer is the latest company to be snapped up by the ever-expanding French Exel Group.

Holmer claims to be the world’s biggest-selling sugar beet harvester manufacturer, and has 380 employees in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and the US.

The acquisition of Holmer means the group now has four beet harvester brands – Agrifac, Holmer, Matrot and Moreau.

Holmer developed the first self-propelled six-row sugar-beet harvester in 1974. It claims to be the market leader in this sector with more than 3,000 Holmer harvesters operating worldwide.

Holmer also produces the extraordinary Terra Variant systems tractor, a specialist machine aimed mainly at contractors looking to apply liquids, solids and mineral fertilisers.

In the UK, Holmer products will continue to be provided by importer Standen-Reflex of Ely, Cambridgeshire.