The bicentenary of the birth of Rudolph Sack - agricultural machinery pioneer

Rudolph Sack, born in 1824, is one of the most outstanding personalities in the history of agricultural engineering. Growing up in humble circumstances in Löben near Leipzig, he lost his father at an early age and had to work on his parents' farm as a child. Despite these challenges, he received a solid basic education: In addition to primary school, he received private tuition and lessons in drawing and arithmetic from a surveyor.

At the age of 18, Sack left his parents' business and gained valuable experience as a manager on various estates. He was quick to identify the weaknesses of the ploughs commonly used at the time, which were difficult to guide and did not turn over the soil optimally. After six years, he returned home and devoted himself to his professional development. He attended agricultural events and regularly exchanged ideas with progressive farmers.

Together with a neighbouring blacksmith, Rudolph Sack finally developed a steel plough that ploughed deeper with less pulling power and crumbled the soil better. This innovation required numerous experiments, but the result was convincing: The new cart plough required only half the power, turned the soil more efficiently and was easier to guide and adjust. The farmers in the neighbourhood were delighted, and demand soon grew.

The crucial breakthrough came in 1857, when one of his ploughs reached the estate of Count Bobindky in the Ukraine. The Count was so impressed that he placed a large order for 120 ploughs, followed by a further 80. To meet this demand, Sack travelled to England and had the ploughs manufactured by Garret & Sons.

Following on from this success, Rudolph Sack founded his own company in Leipzig in 1863. In the years that followed, this company developed into the world's leading plough factory and laid the foundations for ground-breaking innovations in agricultural technology that continue to set standards today.

After the 2nd World War, the company Rud. Sack Leipzig was transferred to the public ownership of the GDR and became the "Leipziger Bodenbearbeitungsgerätefabrik VEB, formerly Rud. Sack". After reunification, BBG became a subsidiary of the AMAZONE Group in 1998 following several changes of ownership. Today, our Leipzig site is a state-of-the-art production facility for non-reversible soil tillage and is constantly being expanded.