News
Sieger in Dutch newspaper ‘Akkerbouwkrant’
Thursday 24 November 2016
Interest in the Drain-Jet drain jetter from Sieger has also been growing in the media. The latest edition of the special interest magazine “Innovation & Entrepreneurship” from the newspaper ‘Akkerbouwkrant’ features an article in which our product specialist discusses maintenance of drainage systems and Sieger’s market position.
The newspaper ‘Akkerbouwkrant’ gives farmers a wealth of information on innovative developments concerning crop growing and opportunities for entrepreneurs. The November edition focuses on “Investment and Business Development”, with topics including soil management, investment, conversion and crop selection. The timing is perfect. Investing in a Sieger drain jetter now is an investment in a functioning drainage system, which is essential for good crop yields.
See the article with Sieger in the edition of ‘Akkerbouwkrant’
Translation of the article:
Drainage management – increasing the efficiency of crop yields
Many Dutch farmers have already invested in water management by installing their own drainage system. With a constantly changing climate, it has never been a better time to give drainage some serious thought, and not least because precipitation is becoming heavier and more extreme. “If you haven’t cleaned your drainage system properly, you’ll only know about it when things go wrong. That’s usually when you get heavy showers,” explains Sieger product specialist Martijn Geerdink.
Speaking directly to farmers on behalf of Sieger, Geerdink explains that drainage system maintenance is still too far down the list of priorities. “I try to raise awareness of the risks. A properly functioning drainage system ensures that your farmland remains usable. If your drainage system isn’t up to the task, then you run the risk of the land being under water for long periods of time, both while you’re working it and during the growing season. You then have a higher chance of your crops rotting. Water management is a crucial intervention in maintaining per-hectare crop yields. Investing in usable farmland during the 2017 cultivation and harvest season will automatically bring about an increase in the efficiency of your crop yield. This may seem a rather narrow way of looking at things, but any farmer who has ever had to deal with flooding on his land will welcome this approach”.
Visual inspections after every cultivation season
With the autumn period having been comparatively dry, the focus on maintaining water management systems has been slowly dwindling, but according to Geerdink, Sieger can be of great benefit to farmers at this time of year. “Harvest naturally dominates the summer months. But we recommend performing a visual inspection of drain jetters after each cultivation season, paying particular attention to the drive wheels. Aside from that, they are pretty much maintenance free. To stop things from freezing up, we also recommend getting cleaning out of the way before frostier temperatures set in. In this regard, November and December are the perfect months for carrying out this sort of work”.
Internet sales
All Sieger products have next-day delivery. “We don’t have a direct dealer network, rather we sell directly to end users over the internet. For farmers this means that prices are that bit lower than they would be at a dealer. We supply the product, the end user carries out the work. Sieger has deliberately chosen to launch a product that is easy to operate and without frills. It’s the only way for farmers to learn how to operate the machine without having much prior knowledge”.
The website gives customers more information about cleaning with the right pressure, an overview of options, causes of blockages and choice of nozzle. “Customers can choose from three models: Drain-Jet S, Drain-Jet HS and Drain-Jet WR. Each system has its own specific features, but all three are equipped as standard with a 500 meter flushing hose. In addition, all Sieger machines have a high-power water pump and drive with hydraulic motors. This gives all systems a huge cleaning capacity”.
Market leader
The Haaksbergen-based company aims to take over as market leader as quickly as possible. It’s an ambitious goal but, according to Geerdink, a realistic one. “We started internet sales a year and a half ago. Doing things this way makes us completely different to our competitors. The market for online sales of drain jetters is so large that we’re actually growing even faster than we had expected. We’re now supplying to the whole of Europe, but even so, we’re not at out limits. Sieger will continue to innovate. We’re currently working on development of a new nozzle for even more efficient cleaning. At the same time, we’re also looking at alternatives for drain jetter systems for use on sports fields”.