Even from the beginning the company and its doings have been characterized by initiative and customer contact. It only took a short time before the production of auxiliary equipment and small machines, for instance horse-drawn carriages, for the local farmers was started.
In the early thirties the first 2 row potato machine was developed, a unique machine at that time. Developments intensified and in the early fifties the first 1 and 2 row potato diggers were developed, and this was the foundation for the subsequent batch production. The potato diggers were pioneering in the gentle and careful treatment of the potatoes, and it soon became the preferred potato digger of the “potato women”, because the machine left the potatoes behind in neat rows on the ground. The women were now able to concentrate on picking up the potatoes, it was no longer necessary to root deep in the soil for the last potatoes.
With the spread of tractors in the agriculture there was opened up for the possibility to replace the manual work by growing beets with machinery. In 1962 the first 2 row beet lifter model Lift-up, with focus on fodder beet, was produced in co-operation with local farmers. The company and its customers once again showed that it is worth co-operating on development projects, which the production size of more than 35.000 machines during the years clearly indicates. The machines grew in size and in capacity. The company grew as well and gave places of work to the families in the village, among these 4 of the 5 sons from the Norlyk Family.
In 1963-64 the first potato harvester, that was able to harvest the potatoes into a tank, was developed. It was distinguished by treating the potatoes gently and carefully and by the large capacity at that time. In the late sixties the size of the production of these machines has reached a number of 150 machines per year.
In 1965 the beet combiner was included in the range of Thyregod machines, and in 1985 the beet cleaner/loaders as well. The company was now among the most competent producers of harvesting and cleaning machines for beets, not only in Denmark but also in Europe.
The development continues steadily. The traditional forging jobs for instance construction of prototype is by now replaced by new jobs. The company has become a modern machine factory, where the newest technology is used to develop and produce the products. Construction by using 3D computer programs and production by using CNC machines are “tools”, which are used by the employees every day. Our pivotal point for all activities are maintained where everything started: to develop machinery solutions in co-operation with the customer and with focus on his challenges, demands and needs.
The customer is no longer “only” the local farmer, he is still important for the development of our machines, but by now he is also complementary to colleagues from many parts of Europe, Japan and Chile in South America.
A generational change is made in 1997, where Hannah Norlyk and Peter G. Pedersen had come to be the head of the company. The export share has increased during the years, and they choose to take the consequences of that by changing the company name after the product name instead of after the family name. Until the year 2000 the company is known as Maskinfabrikken Thyregod A/S. In 2000 the company collaborates with Cormall Agro Holding A/S and Kongskilde Industries A/S in buying Tim Maskinfabrik A/S. In 2001 the products of Tim and Thyregod are gathered in Thyregod under the name of Thyregod A/S. The production constitutes by now about 22.000 m2 and the staff of employees is past 100.
The product development is today made in co-operation with the sugar factories, the users and the dealers of the machines. The development is rapid growing in dimension and pace.
The result is a production program dealing with: beet harvesters 2 to 4 rows, beet cleaner/loaders with a capacity up to 250 ton/hour, stone pickers and stone rakes, trailers from 12 ton to 25 ton and with a capacity up to 40 m3, 18 rows cultivators with cameras, and as subsupplier of for instance watering machines and self-propelled slurry machines.
The subsupplier jobs are characterized of that the customer markets its own products, and Thyregod A/S is making development, production and service.
All machines where the range covers from simple solutions to machines equipped with advanced technology: for example serveillance by video and contactfree sensors, the purpose is not only advanced machines, but to create better and cheaper solutions for our customers – and again their customers.
The knowledge of Thyregod A/S competence and the machines we produce is all the time spread. A few years ago it was Japanese customers, who found the factory in Give. During the last year China has become a new market, just as there have been enquiries from the Middle East.
Collaborators within industry has as well become aware of the competences which the staff from Thyregod A/S possess, and co-operations develop constantly to the benefit for everybody concerned. The company has become a subsupplier to a number of leading companies in Denmark and Germany, for example within agricultural machines, shop equipment, mountings for building trade and components as well as factory lines for the windmill trade.
The Norlyk family has per February 2004 decided to sell their share of the company to Thyregod Holding A/S, Sønderborg. The ownership structure behind Thyregod Holding A/S thus consists of the companies Cormall Agro Holding A/S, Danagri Holding A/S, Kongskilde Industries A/S and J.H.J. Holding ApS.
The company continues the focusing increase through a close co-operation with the importers and users of our machines and machine solutions. A co-operation in addition to the production phase also includes: sale, development, technical documentation, for example safety investigation, CE marking, operation instruction and spare part books.
Service and spare part supply are as well 2 of the companies crux competence.
Thyregod A/S is growing through our customers – and their customers – success with our common products. The dialogue with the customer is thus today our starting point.