About Us
Monosem was founded in 1945 by a blacksmith named Edmond Ribouleau in Largeasse, France. Edmond took an interest in issues with transplanting tobacco, and developed the SUPER PREFER transplanter and began manufacturing and exporting his machine. In the early 60’s, he designed a mechanical metering system for direct seeding sugar beets, and increased production to keep up with manufacturing needs. In the 70’s, Edmond developed the first Pneumatic Vacuum Meter and Microsem attachment for the precision application of microgranulated products. During this time Edmond passes the company along to his son, Michel.
In 1980, Tony Bakker formed Advanced Technical Implements (ATI), and began importing and distributing the Monosem planter line into the United States. The Kansas facility became a staging point for final assembly and distribution of Monosem planters, the FIRST Precision Vacuum Meter in the United States. This new technology along with “Americanizing” the product allowed Monosem to provide a new level of precision to specialty crop farmers and quickly establishing Monosem as the leader in specialty markets (Sweet Corn, Cucumbers, Onions, Peanuts, and Sugar Beets). ATI eventually became Monosem, Inc. as new products were being introduced to the markets.
In February of 2016 Monosem, a family-owned company, was purchased by John Deere. The acquisition of Monosem has helped expand distribution, as well as gaining access to new technology, while retaining its brand and colors.
Today, Monosem has more than 350 seed disc options, ranging from carrots, cotton, and corn to onions, peanuts, and edible beans. Monosem’s motto has always been to provide customers with a quality, precise planter built to last. While other companies use plastic to reduce their costs, Monosem continues to use long life materials such as stainless steel and aluminum to ensure the durability, accuracy, and quality that customers have come to expect from a Monosem planter. This, combined with Monosem’s modular design, allows customer to configure planters to fit their individual farming operation. Monosem continues to build planters from 1 to 24 rows, with custom configurations going as large as 50 rows and 66 feet wide.
For more than 80 years Monosem, has been delivering quality precision vacuum planters to more than 80 countries worldwide. Monosem’s history is dotted with continuous product innovations. Starting with the first precision vacuum meter in North American, first Patented Twin-Row planter, first seed stagger for Twin-Row (Sync Row®), and first narrow transport planter with factory install tracks. Monosem’s corporate headquarters are in Largeasse, France with offices in Kansas, USA and Belarus.