Ben Burgess and Company was founded in 1931 by Ben Burgess, Edward Burgess and Norman Marshall. 1931 was the perfect time for an agricultural engineering company to start, as it was the absolute bottom of the post war agricultural depression.

Our first tractor franchise was the Marshall that was produced by Norman’s father. This was at a time when the farming community did not yet accept diesel power and it was thought of as a rather daft idea!

Despite the early scepticism, and by means of an awful lot of demonstrations and some contracting, the popping sound of the diesel tractors soon became popular around the farmyards of Norfolk.

With the success of the Marshall tractors came other franchises such as Turner Tractors, Claas Combines and Lundell Foragers. In 1963, Ben Burgess was appointed as one of the first John Deere dealers in the UK.

With the growth of the business came the need for better local coverage in Norfolk. This brought the acquisition of Ben Burgess Beeston in 1962, along with Eric Matthews and Co.

About 20 years later, further development led to the construction of Ben Burgess Aylsham, providing coverage in north east Norfolk.

Although agriculture has always been the primary business, over the years other companies have joined the fold…

In 1962, Ben Burgess Garden Equipment (now known as Ben Burgess GroundsCare Equipment) was born to serve horticultural customers throughout Norfolk. Two years later, Ben Burgess purchased F C Walker, a sheet metal engineers, to compliment the crop storage department. A few years later, in 1973, Ben Burgess took over an electric motor company from an old friend named Reggie Hagg.

It was 14th June 1986 when Ben Burgess was awarded his MBE.

Ben Burgess Newmarket joined the group in June 2003. This purpose-built branch further extended the renowned Ben Burgess commitment to our customers in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex.

Grain specialists Bloomfield Installations and electrical motor rewinders, Thomas Wilch & High, have more recently joined the group.

Further additions are Ben Burgess Coates and Ben Burgess Ellington. Both branches were acquired in September 2013 and provide sales, service and support to the local agricultural community in Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.

If you would like to read more about Ben Burgess MBE, his book “My Life in Agriculture” is available from us with all proceeds going to the Ben Burgess Nelson Memorabilia Collection appeal fund.