Bredal A/S
A Danish family-owned manufacturer of high-quality spreaders with a focus on simplicity, precision and reliability. For more than 50 years, we have specialized in the development and manufacturing of high-quality lime and fertiliser spreaders aiming for simple, low-cost operation and sturdy design. In recent years, our product line has been expanded to include winter equipment in the form of sand and salt spreaders.
Company details
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- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Agriculture
- Market Focus:
- Internationally (various countries)
The Founding of Bredal A/S
The business foundation was laid by Poul Thøgersen, who was the local blacksmith in the village of Bredal, and Niels Sørensen, a very inventive young man. Throughout this partnership, Poul brought Niels’ ideas to life and the local blacksmith evolved into a serial manufacturer of agricultural machinery to supply the local farmers needs.
After only a few years, Poul Thøgersen withdrew from the company and was replaced by the local farmer, Johannes Buhl Jensen, who entered the company in February 1950.
The early production covered spreaders that could be drawn by both horses and tractors and the initial focus on spreaders was quickly supplemented with harrows, commercial fertiliser and manure spreaders.
In the 1950s Bredal successfully launched the “digger plough” for mounting on tractors to improve field grip. The spreading products showed to be a great success from the very beginning of their launch. This positive interaction with the agricultural sector prompted Bredal to continue in this direction.
The initial success of the Bredal products was additionally spurred by the fact that World War II was declared over and the Danish agriculture industry was rapidly growing due to the Marshall Plan.
The First Lime Spreader
The foundation for the current production of lime and fertiliser spreaders was laid in late 1965 when the first lime spreader was put into production, a model that was subsequently named the B46. The production of lime and fertiliser spreaders was soon shown to be very successful and required the company to phase out other products to be able to meet the demand for lime spreaders.
By the 1970s demand was so great that there was no longer enough space in the manufacturing facilities in Bredal. Consequently, a new division was built in Bredballe close to Vejle, Denmark in 1976. The brand-new manufacturing facilities enabled Bredal once again to meet the rising demand for its spreaders.
During the 1980s Bredal developed the very popular B2-B8 Series, which were the first spreaders for spreading fertiliser only. This series was enormously successful and thousands of units were sold both within and across borders.
From Maskinfabrikken Bredal to Bredal A/S
For many years, the company was named Maskinfabrikken Bredal A/S, which was very convenient in the company's mother tongue as 'Maskinfabrikken' is Danish for 'machine factory', yet with the increasing sales across borders, the name was changed to Bredal A/S in 2007 to ease the difficulties of pronunciation for foreigners. The name 'Bredal' comes from the fact that the company was founded in a village named Bredal. The village of Bredal is located in Denmark close to the town of Vejle. In fact, one of the company's two factories was situated at the original address up until 2015.
One of Today`s Biggest Manufacturers of High-capacity Spreaders
Today, the production process focuses on spreaders for various materials. Nonetheless, an increasing greater share of the production process has been changed towards the contracting and construction industries. However, the vast majority of the products are still manufactured for the agricultural industry.
Bredal is currently one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of high-capacity spreaders, and the market is no longer limited to the local farming community. Today, Bredal has its own importers in most parts of the world, and the familiar red Bredal colour is known in large segments of the agricultural community all over the world.
Today, the company’s activities are still dispersed at two locations in Vejle, Denmark. More specifically, the company has a location for receiving raw materials and processing and welding the spreaders, while the other location (approx. 3.5 kilometers away) is the site of a painting facility, assembly unit, stocks, administration facilities and Bredal’s new Testing Centre.
Bredal is today still a family-owned business and the initial core values of high quality, precision and reliability remain our top priorities.