ANDRAG - Head Office - Bellville

On February 4, 1896 Paul Andrag arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, having left Germany to work for the Moravian Mission near Caledon. His task was to manage the trading store at Genadendal.

During 1904 he started his own business in Cape Town and subsequently transferred to Saron, situated between Gouda and Porterville in the Cape and continued with a trading store. Paul noticed that the local farmers faced many problems due to a lack of proper equipment. He knew that European agricultural machinery could solve some of these difficulties and began to import equipment to sell locally. Well-known agencies were acquired, including Lanz Tractors, Perrot Irrigation, Deutz Engines, John Deere Tractors, Fahr Combines, KSB pumps and others.

In time, his 5 sons joined him in the business,  

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which by the end of World War 2 was called P Andrag & Sons. Together, they introduced many pioneering and innovative ideas to South Africa, inter alia: rubber-tyred tractors, sprinkler irrigation, useful varieties of plants (Including Lupins and Serradella), locally manufactured ploughs and irrigation tubing and many more.

In 1950 Agrico Machinery (Pty) Ltd was founded to resume importation of Lanz Tractors. The branch network of Agrico grew steadily to follow the demand for its products. During 2000 the shareholders merged the Andrag and Agrico companies into one, larger group. This was done to make use of synergies in manufacturing, marketing and distribution. In 2016 Agrico sold its mechanisation division to focus on its core business, the efficient use of water. Today there are 33 branches spread over Southern Africa, all focused on providing customers with the best advice and service regarding their irrigation needs.

Three factories produce implements, tractors, centre pivots, quick coupling pipes, PVC pipes, polyethylene pipes, filters, micro jets, aluminium and iron castings, electric valves and crop sprayers, etc.

Currently five shareholders, who are all university graduates, are active in the day to day management of the company. Three successful generation successions have taken place, often a critical stage for a family business.

Our management style is conservative, yet innovative. We believe in quality products, value for money and excellent service. This philosophy resonates well with our main customers namely agriculture, construction and industrial companies. These customers generally have a low mobility and tend to favour long-term business relationships, based on mutual trust.