The idea appeared on the field
Kuxmann – fertilizer spreader from 1895 up to the present day.
“This should be done but better and easier,” said Henry Kuxmann when in 1894 he distributed manually fertilizer on the fields of his father and realized that it was not so easy to distribute the fertilizer evenly. Since then, he began to study the issue and was confident that next season he will no longer throw fertilizer by hand.
In a short time he constructed a fertilizer spreader, which already in 1895 was patented. As a true Westphalian Kuxmann named his machine “Westfalia”. This trademark of fertilizer spreaders was registered for Kuxmann until 1970.
At the beginning of the industrial era the name of Westphalia was very popular among the inventors and manufacturers. Although different companies have no relationship to each other, but up to the present time there are companies and products under the name of “Westphalia”. “The only thing they have in common is a good name, the progressiveness and high quality, innovative because Westphalia stood behind it and stands” says the great-grandson of the founder Sebastian Kuxmann.
Already the first Westphalia fertilizer spreaders were characterized by the fact that they could evenly distribute both dry and pasty fertilizer. This was due to a new type of the spreading mechanism. An endless conveyor belt equipped with special spreading fingers accelerated fertilizer to the field through a slot at the back of the fertilizer hopper. Unlike wooden components and distributing sieves, which were installed on machines of other manufacturers, in Kuxmann spreading mechanism there were no swelling or blockage. Westphalia’s spreading function was continuous and uniform. This is stated in the leaflet of 1927 “The company guarantees.”
Kuxmann created the fertilizer hopper made of wood and thus largely avoided the aggressive influence of caustic fertilizer. The chain links of the implemented “Goliath ” and “Kuxmann” belts are not in contact with the fertilizer. Transporters are equipped with articulated rod lubrication chamber. The patented Kuxmann transport belts were even advertized as self-cleaning. According to the operation manual, it is necessary to clean chains from the liquid organic fertilizer.
The Westfalia fertilizer spreader found it’s customers, as stated in the leaflet, “in all civilized countries,” Already by 1927 about 120.000 pcs. of Westfalia speaders were produced. The parent company intended to be closer to the customer. Therefore, branches were established in the Silesian places Schneidemühl and Sagan, as well as in Huntingdon in England. Even in France, Poland and in Czech Republic seven “Westfalia” factories were built.
Kuxmann supplied spreaders for farms of any size. The delivery scope ranged from “Standard” model, designed for horse traction to a model “Extra” with a 4m working width, driven by a tractor. With the tractor traction three spreaders could be hung side by side allowing working widths of up to twelve meters. For transportation of large machines on narrow roads, spreaders could be transmitted into a transport position – exactly as in the modern harvesters – hinged in the transport position.
Kuxmann machines took an active part in the land reclamation in the Netherlands. When draining the Züdersee and Seudersee large Kuxmann spreaders distributed tons of lime behind the giant crawlers.
In addition to fertilizer spreaders Kuxmann also produced potato harvesters, making farmers’ life much easier, as well as span-dogs and transportation means for forestry. Typically for Bielefeld, also bicycles and sewing machines were produced.
During the war it was planned to produce ammunition at the Bielefeld factory. However, before production started, the factory was destroyed by a direct bomb attack. The outer branches were closed or liquidated.
After the war production of spreaders in Bielefeld renewed. Also other goods were successfully manufactured.
Nowadays Rainer Kuxmann, since 1976, together with his wife, in a third generation develops the same business that his great-grandfather started in 1894 and the idea that blessed him on the field: production of spreaders.
Fertilizer for large areas, electronically controlled, with a capacity of up to 18m³ and a spreading width 12-36 meters are developed by Rainer Kuxmann and sold worldwide.
Written by Wilfried Gehr
