KIRPY, a historic company going back over 100 years

Founded in 1912 by Mr GARRIC, KIPRY enjoyed its first success with the construction of a special plough, the “Décavaillonneuse“, used by melon farmers to replace work previously carried out by hand.

The first ploughs were manufactured at the locksmiths and vehicle repair yard run my Mr POCQ in the centre of Layrac. It met with immediate success. After the region’s wine growers, KIRPY ploughs become widespread throughout France. André GARRIC chose the trading name KIRPY by fusing the familiar forms of his wife’s and son’s names.

After a fire that destroyed a section of the factory, Mr GARRIC extended the factory by building 3 new units housing forging, machining, tooling and assembly, in addition to a number of warehouses, including one for spare parts.

Plough factory in the early 20th century, later to become KIRPYs
KIRPY head office and production site in 2018

Thanks to the dynamism of Mr GARRIC, KIRPY ploughs were exported worldwide.
Beginning in 1918, KIRPY vineyard ploughs were used in the vineyards of California.

Post-war period

After WWII, KIRPY signed a contract with the UK manufacturer FERGUSSON, based in Coventry, for the construction of a fully automatic and easy-to-operate plough with a single control stick to the right of the seat. The contract covered the delivery of 12,000 ploughs over 4 years.
The factory then had 250 employees and in 1948 produced:

6,000 vineyard ploughs
3,000 swivel ploughs
1,500 ard ploughs
800 mechanised vineyard devices
120 scarifiers
200 types of balance
150 rippers

Growth continued during the post-war decades, driven by the necessary mechanisation of agriculture.

Stone crushers

1962 – the factory changed hands and was now managed by the TANGUY family, which gradually shifted the business towards the processing of stone by marketing Stone Crushers and Pickers from 1975.
1986 – KIRPY was taken over by François LENOIR, who developed the stone removal range, offering as many machines for stone crushing in vineyards as for cash crops.
1999 – KIRPY extends its range of machines by acquiring BELIN patents and offers 2 additional agricultural models and a Crusher for civil engineering.
With over 40 years’ experience in stone crushing and at the request of our customers, a route opens up into civil engineering. KIRPY is proud to offer the highest performance range on the market.

“The KIRPY” (stone crusher) has become a generic name both domestically and internationally in the earthworks sector, with the biggest names in civil engineering (VINCI, EUROVIA, SPAC, BOUYGUE, DENYS, etc.) using our machines.

There are multiple applications:

Earthworks: Crushing subgrades, platforms, paths, roads, in situ recycling.
Pipelines: Crushing material produced by excavation works, restoration of agricultural land following construction projects.

Our customer base includes the most prestigious of ski resorts in France and Europe (Domaine des 3 Vallées, Courchevel, Val d’Izère, La Plagne…), which use KIRPY crushers to prepare the slopes.
The stone removal range includes crushing tools, rakes and stone pickers.

A pioneer in the 1990s with its side-discharge stone pickers and following the success of the hopper stone pickers, KIRPY offers a new generation of machines of even higher performance and unbeatable quality.
Designed for high-production sites, the new side-discharge stone picker type RDL 15-25 incorporates the best components for maximum productivity: 2.5 metres working width, 3.2 meter discharge, loading capacity 150 to 200 tonnes per hour… some 100-120 m3/h.
Staying true to its origins, KIRPY manufactures a wide range of soil preparation tools, subsoilers, chisels, heavy cultivators, etc.

Asparagus harvesters

Our beautiful region of Nouvelle Aquitaine has a diverse abundance of crops and the labour crisis in asparagus farming has led KIRPY to developing a harvesting machine. After 8 years of research, the RGA KIRPY universal asparagus harvester has achieved well-deserved success.
In 3 years, over 50 machines are harvesting asparagus in France, Germany, China and Peru.

Today some 40 people are employed by KIRPY. Everything is designed and produced in the same buildings. Technology and machines offering ever greater levels of performance make KIRPY a model company among the landscape of French manufacturers.

Tobacco harvester

Seeking to diversify its business, in collaboration with GATC (Garonne Adour Tobacco Cooperative), in 1995 KIRPY launched the tobacco harvesting machine (BURLEY and DARK tobacco). Success was immediate, with over 1,000 machines now operating worldwide and many more excellent export opportunities. Our international customer base includes SOUZA CRUZ, PHILIP MORRIS and JAPAN TOBACCO INTERNATIONAL.

See the KIRPY range

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