Capital Equipment News February 2020

MATERIALS HANDLING

Bolstering the offering

Having established itself as a one-stop supplier for the agricultural community – representing three leading tractor brands from one stable – Dicla has in recent years bolstered its offering with a range of its own Dicla-branded materials handling solutions, as well as some leading international brands. Not only have the solutions extended the product offering, but have also allowed the company to expand its sectorial reach, writes Munesu Shoko .

I n 1993, Dirk Tijsen designed and manufactured tunnels for self-planting of vegetables. This turned out to be such a success that in no time he had 18 tunnels producing flowers and vegetables. About a year later, he was appointed as the sole distributor of vegetable seeds by a Netherlands-based company, Rijk Zwaan Seeds, while supplying the tunnels on a commer- cial basis as well. In 2009, Dicla Farm and Seed (Pty) Ltd was formed,

following the merger of Dicla Farm and Seed cc and Tijbros Agricultural Machinery cc. Over the years, the company has expanded its horizons by continuously adding several products and services to its stable. Today, the company supplies tunnels, net house structures, irrigation equipment, greenhouse plastic, shadenet, seedlings, tractors and agricultural implements. Under the leadership of Johan Tijsen, who took over from his father in 2011 as MD, the company has been on

16

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS FEBRUARY 2020