Zetor is not just celebrating 70 years of tractor making this year, but also looking ahead to the next seven decades. That was the main message to come out of an international press conference staged by the Czech tractor maker at Agritechnica last week where director Adam Žert of Zetor’s sales and marketing department outlined ambitious plans to invest in the brand and increase net sales. “Zetor is a stable brand and we are planning a clear path towards the future,” he continued. “Our mission is to strengthen our position abroad and to make sure we meet the needs of all of our customers. We want to be one of the top three brands in Central and Eastern Europe and secure the position of the brand in markets such as Germany, France, and the UK.” This plan hinges on signing up more dealers to capture a larger share of the European tractor market – the core of the company’s business, and to do this Zetor is looking to renew and increase its product offering. During the past three years Zetor has invested €14 million on R+D. Much of this is designed to boost the current four ranges of tractors to six too complete the power offering. On the company’s Agritechnica stand was the prototype of a new range of 50hp tractors, and Mr Žert also spoke briefly about 200hp tractor plans for the not too distant future. “We need strong dealers to realise our plans and strong dealers want a larger product range. Completing the tractor range from 50-200hp is the first step, but when finished we intend to look higher up the power scale.” During the past 70 years Zetor has made over 1.2 million tractors. The best result so far this decade was in 2012 when it made nearly 5,000 tractors. Last year, the numbers fell to just under 4,200, and the plan this year is to ensure volumes remain above the 4,000 mark, and the company is on target to increase 2015 net sales to around €140 million. The goal for 2016 is to make around 4,500 new tractors and increase the turnover to around €180 million.