Trimble takes over Müller-Elektronik

Trimble signed an agreement on Wednesday 24 May to acquire Germany's Müller-Elektronik. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017. 

Müller-Elektronik (founded 1977) specializes in implementation and precision farming solutions. No financial terms for the acquisition have been disclosed.

Müller is seen as a pioneer
The German company has more than 375 employees and is regarded as a pioneer of precision farming. Müller is best known for developing, manufacturing and selling electronic control units. The company also made an important contribution to the development of the ISOBUScommunication protocol. 

This allows one terminal to operate multiple instruments and machines, regardless of manufacturer. ISOBUS standardizes settings, reduces downtime, minimizes installation and user challenges and facilitates data exchange and machine control. The solutions developed by Müller-Elektronik have already been adopted worldwide by the various major agricultural OEMs.

Combine forces
Combining the technology from Trimble and Müller will allow new solutions for agricultural entrepreneurs to be combined. Previously, they had great difficulty using the various hardware and software products in agricultural machinery. 

In particular, the addition of the German company creates a system in which farmers, consultants and retailers can easily build field regulations. They can transfer those regulations to implementation, making it easier for farmers to adopt new agricultural solutions. 

"The acquisition of Müller-Elektronik recognizes the importance of variable application solutions, as well as the importance of an integrated platform," said Darryl Matthews, vice president of Trimble. 'Müller's ISOBUS solutions are already compatible with a large number of manufacturers. This capability, along with existing Trimble capabilities, will allow us to expand our role for variable rate applications.”

Christian Müller, Managing Director of Müller-Elektronik: 'Our systems, combined with Farm Management Software, will enable various OEMs to deliver integrated plug-and-play solutions directly from the factory.'

Acquisition includes more
The acquisition of Müller-Elektronik also includes the activities of WTK Elektronik, a German company, ME-France, ME Sudamerica, a company in Argentina, Mueller Electronics Inc. and a company in North America.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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