Sales of new tractors slumped to around 143,000 units in Europe during 2014, and many in the industry predict it could fall again by another 5-10% during 2015. Tractor makers continue to tighten their belts and prepare for leaner times ahead. Take Agco, for example, which has reduced its global workforce by 10%, some of these cuts made at its factories in Marktoberdorf (Fendt) and Finland (Valtra). “The reduction in the head count was very sad but we had no other option than to react quickly to the changing market,” says AGCO president and CEO Martin Richenhagen. Speaking at an MF press conference at SIMA this week, the AGCO boss says hopefully the company will not need to lose any more people. AGCO has invested heavily in all three of its European tractor factories during recent years, so the downturn in tractor numbers has not come at the best of times. However, Mr Richenhagen remains positive and says the investment costs in Fendt have already been recouped and the company is now able to produce current annual volumes of around 15,000 units from a single shift. Given the smaller predicted numbers, we asked Mr Richenhagen whether there are any plans to merge its brands and build them from a single large factory? “As long as I am still in charge there will be no change in the brand strategy,” he says. “We are committed to MF, Fendt, Valtra and Challenger. We will always be a multi-brand business and we will always have a factory in Germany, France and Finland.” Mr Richenhagen adds there are plenty of single-branded companies on the market. “We have no plans to be one of them and we have lots of opportunity to grow our business and expand into new markets.”
Sales of new tractors slumped to around 143,000 units in Europe during 2014, and many in the industry predict it could fall again by another 5-10% during 2015. Tractor makers continue to tighten their belts and prepare for leaner times ahead. Take Agco, for example, which has reduced its global workforce by 10%, some of these cuts made at its factories in Marktoberdorf (Fendt) and Finland (Valtra). “The reduction in the head count was very sad but we had no other option than to react quickly to the changing market,” says AGCO president and CEO Martin Richenhagen. Speaking at an MF press conference at SIMA this week, the AGCO boss says hopefully the company will not need to lose any more people. AGCO has invested heavily in all three of its European tractor factories during recent years, so the downturn in tractor numbers has not come at the best of times. However, Mr Richenhagen remains positive and says the investment costs in Fendt have already been recouped and the company is now able to produce current annual volumes of around 15,000 units from a single shift. Given the smaller predicted numbers, we asked Mr Richenhagen whether there are any plans to merge its brands and build them from a single large factory? “As long as I am still in charge there will be no change in the brand strategy,” he says. “We are committed to MF, Fendt, Valtra and Challenger. We will always be a multi-brand business and we will always have a factory in Germany, France and Finland.” Mr Richenhagen adds there are plenty of single-branded companies on the market. “We have no plans to be one of them and we have lots of opportunity to grow our business and expand into new markets.”
