The Berky GmbH (former Anton Berkenheger GmbH & Co. KG) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

company that manufactures

machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...

s, specialized

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...

s and

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

s for water maintenance. The company is based in

Haren (Ems) Haren (Polish 1945: ''Lwów'', Polish 1945–1948: ''Maczków'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany in the district of Emsland. History Haren was first mentioned in the Middle Ages (around 890) in a registry of the Corvey Abbey. Around 1150 th ...

in the

Emsland Landkreis Emsland () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Leer, Cloppenburg and Osnabrück, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (district of Steinfur ...

region.

History

The co-founder, farmer and chairman of the Meersbach Water and Soil Association, Anton Berkenheger received the first patent for a hydraulic, three-wheeled special

s for

mowing A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reapers ...

ditch banks in 1963. Together with the civil

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Gerhard Knoll and Josef Göcking, he founded Anton Berkenheger & Co. KG in Haren-Erika.By 1968, they already employed 15 people. In the same year, the company moved to a production facility at the Haren harbour. In 1977, a new production facility was built in Haren-Emmeln with a total area of 1,500 m² for production, storage and office. It was expanded in the following years to a total area of about 3,000 m². By the mid-1980s, the company was already manufacturing and distributing slope

mower A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reapers ...

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

attachments, mowing boats and

forklift A forklift (also called lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various c ...

s in Germany. Since the 1990s, the distribution of special

s and

s was also expanded abroad. At the end of 2015, the company Senwatec joined the Anton Berkenheger Group. This made it possible to produce other types of special boats, such as amphibious dredge boats. The company Gilbers from Geeste also became part of Berky in 2019. Through this acquisition, additional mowing machines and attachments, such as

flail A flail is an agricultural tool used for threshing, the process of separating grains from their husks. It is usually made from two or more large sticks attached by a short chain; one stick is held and swung, causing the other (the swipple) to st ...

and double-knife

s, were produced.

Machines

Vehicles

The land

s produced by Berky include a three-wheeled slope

, which was designed for

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

clearing and embankment mowing.

Boats

Aquatic weed harvesters and mowing boats

Mowing boat with front clearing rake Collecting and unloading waste from an Indonesian river Berky produces a range of mowing boats and

aquatic weed harvester An aquatic weed harvester, also known as a water mower, mowing boat and weed cutting boat, is an aquatic machine specifically designed for inland watercourse management to cut and harvest underwater weeds, reeds and other aquatic plant life. The ...

s. While mowing boats are equipped with different machines and tools, such as double knife T-cutting units or front collecting rakes, for cutting and collecting aquatic plants,

s are able to cut plants at the front of the boat by using a U-shaped double-knife unit and simultaneously collect them on a loading area via a front conveyor belt that reaches underneath the water surface. In the reverse direction, the collected plant material is unloaded on shore via said conveyor belt.

Specialized garbage collecting boats

By using

s, especially in the

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n region, it was noticed that the specialized boats are also suitable for cleaning waters from

debris Debris (, ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier, etc. Depending on context, ''debris'' can refer to ...

and removing

plastic waste Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

. Due to this discovery, the

s were converted into special

garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...

collecting boats. The waste floating on the water surface is collected by the conveyor belt, that is reaching into the water and transported to the loading area of the boat. Nowadays, garbage collecting boats are used worldwide, for example in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Custom made aquatic weed harvesters can also retrieve larger debree or waste pieces by using a clamshell bucket.

Amphibious vehicles

The company also produces specialized

amphibious vehicle An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian), is a vehicle that is a means of transport viable on land as well as on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious bicycles, ATVs, cars, buses, trucks, railway vehicles, combat vehicles an ...

Tools and special machines

Aside from boats and land vehicles, Berky manufactures tools and machines for water maintenance. In addition to various

s, such as double-knife cutting units,

flail mower A flail mower is a type of powered garden/agricultural equipment which is used to deal with heavier grass/scrub which a normal lawn mower could not cope with. Some smaller models are self-powered, but many are PTO driven implements, which can at ...

s or mowing baskets, the company also produces machines for

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

maintenance, such as mechanic loppers and tree saws.

Gallery

Berky Weed harvester 6540.jpg,

Aquatic weed harvester An aquatic weed harvester, also known as a water mower, mowing boat and weed cutting boat, is an aquatic machine specifically designed for inland watercourse management to cut and harvest underwater weeds, reeds and other aquatic plant life. The ...

weed harvester 6520 from Berky.jpg, Small

with U-shaped double-knife cutting unit Berky Böschungsmäher Typ 2200.jpg, Three wheeled slope mower Berky Dredge King Typ 6780.jpg, Dredge boat with hydraulic stilts and transport tube Berky Mäh-Hark Kombi Typ 5200.jpg, Mower-rake combination Berky Mähsammelboot Typ 6520.jpg,

unloading Common water hyacinth Berky handeführter Balkenmäher.jpg, Formerly produced hand-operated double-knife mower Berky Mähboot historisch.jpg, Predecessor of the today produced mowing boat

External links

{{Commons category, Berky, position=right
Official website

References

Agricultural machinery manufacturers of Germany Commercial vehicles German companies established in 1964 Emsland