NEWS - Zetorftp.zetor.cz/download/ZETOR News/ENG/2017_04_ENG.pdf · current news about zetor from around the world mannet, a company located in the town of madunice in the trnava

NEWSN E W S A B O U T Z E T O R T R A C T O R S

4 ZETOR SCORES POINTS WITH

CUSTOMERS. “Zetor has made great progress over the past years. It has a clear lead in price-performance comparisons, reasonable operational costs and low fuel consumption.”

No. 01APRIL2017

7 WHAT IS IN STORE FOR ZETOR THIS

YEAR? 2017 is all about updating our product portfolio.

12 THE WHOLE ZETOR WORLD WILL GATHER IN BRNO. Coming soon!

WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER

SLOVAKIA, A MARKET WITH GREAT POTENTIAL

04

08ZETOR STRENGTHENS ITS POSITION ABROAD

10ZETOR TRACTORS AS A FRENCH FAMILY TRADITION

THE WHOLE ZETOR WORLD WILL GATHER IN BRNO

12

09ZETOR GAINED A STRONG PARTNER IN NORTH GERMANY

07ZETOR STRATEGY TAKES SHAPE

CONTENTS

Tractor is Zetor. Since 1946. www.zetor.com

02APRIL 2017 NEWS ABOUT ZETOR TRACTORS

Life is all about change and if our goal is to improve, then changes are worth the effort. This slogan would be a fitting de-scription for the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017. We have suc-ceeded in entering

new markets and further expanded our distribution network – despite the fact that the past three years have been very difficult ones for ZETOR TRACTORS a.s.

But we faced them as challenges and we are now reaping the rewards of our work. Our company has maintained its position and concluded 2016 with a profit. And as I mentioned, that also had posi-tive impacts on support of development of our distribution network in Europe and elsewhere and building of contacts on new markets. New markets and our dealers’ and customers’ stories are the central topics of this newsletter, the first issue of 2017. We are well aware that de-velopment and continual growth, in tan-dem with innovation, are the key drivers for every company. Development of our network is a key long-term focus at ZE-TOR. We have expanded our presence in Croatia by adding a very interesting family-owned company to our network as our new distributor and we also en-tered the Israeli market, where we hope to strengthen our position. And that’s just a few key points from the stories in this issue. Read on to learn what farmers from France, Germany, Slovakia and Croatia think about ZETOR. You’ll find their stories in this first 2017 issue of ZETOR NEWS.

We invite you to sit back and enjoy the is-sue!

MARGARÉTA VÍGHOVÁ, Corporate Communications Director at ZT a.s.

The great innovations we saw in ZE-TOR products in 2016 will be followed by further developments in 2017 and 2018. After its launch at the end of 2016, the new MAJOR HS model, which is designed primarily for small and mid-sized farms, will reach cus-tomers this year. This versatile tractor will go into production in March of this year. Another important milestone will take place in the second half of 2017. The long awaited new model, the fifth ZETOR tractor model series, will be officially launched. We’ll reveal the name of the new tractor to you before it is presented officially to the broad public. It will feature a three-cylinder engine with a volume of up to 50 hp. The gearbox will feature eight forward

gears and eight reverse gears. The new model series will offer the easy maintenance, operation and service that is inherently part of ZETOR trac-tors. But that’s not all that’s in store for this year. We will gradually implement the biggest change in which the com-pany has invested. We’re talking about the new Zetor by Pininfarina tractor design. This unique design, which sig-nals a transformation in both the de-sign and use of our tractors, was pre-sented in 2015 and will be seen in new tractor models this year. The company is also planning further developments, with this year’s focus on updating and improving brake systems and control mechanisms.

At the end of 2016, a supervisory audit took place with the aim of verifying fulfilment of key tasks in quality management, environ-mental management and energy use sys-tems. Other processes such as research and development, service, supplier and customer complaints and entry and pro-duction quality were also examined.

Zetor successfully passed the audit. The company proved that it maintains its management systems in compliance with standard requirements and that these systems are capable of meeting product requirements in the applicable certification scope in compliance with corporate policy.

The external auditor particularly appre-ciated two highly successful areas: logistics, i.e. identification, storage

and delivery of materials after pro-duction

energy management and increasing energy use efficiency

However, we still have room for im-provement, particularly in six non-com-pliance areas identified by the auditor and six areas noted in recommenda-tions. We trust that the process owners will do their utmost to implement reme-dial measures as efficiently as possible to ensure that during our next certifica-tion audit, planned for the autumn, we achieve even better results.

DEAR COLLEAGUES AND READERS,

FIRST MAJOR HS DELIVERED TO CUSTOMERS. OTHER PRODUCT INNOVATIONS ARE UNDERWAY

ZETOR’S CERTIFICATIONS CONFIRMED BY AN AUDIT

New MAJOR HS



Don’t be fooled by the short duration of Mannet’s collaboration with ZETOR: the company is well-established and has been in operation since 1991. Mannet also sells fourteen other agricultural brands. We spoke to Pavol Domorák, Man-net’s managing director, about where the company is headed and the significance of ZETOR tractors to the company.

Mannet SK, which spun off from the com-pany Moreau Agri SK, currently employs 80 people. They provide comprehensive services from sales to service. Fourteen sales representatives work with custom-ers and 33 technicians deal with service issues at the company headquarters and in the field. “With the exception of ZETOR, we act as distributors in Slovakia for all of the brands in our portfolio. Our main focus is on sales of telescopic manipula-tors, but we also sell competing tractor brands, broadcast spreaders, mowers, storage tanks and many other products. ZETOR product sales comprise approxi-mately 10% of our total revenues,” says Mannet’s managing director Pavol Do-morák.

“In 2016 the total volume of tractor sales in Slovakia was almost 800 units, which was a 7% decrease compared to 2015. Nonetheless the ZETOR brand increased its share to 27% of the total sales volume. Mannet sold 47 tractors in its first year as a ZETOR dealer. Man-net deserves acknowledgement for this success and rightly earned the title of Sales Dealer of the Year for 2016,” says Miloš Šubr, Sales Manager for the Czech and Slovak Republics at ZETOR TRAC-TORS a.s. More than 50% of the 800 tractors sold in Slovakia were tractors in the 80–120 hp performance range.

“In Slovakia, we’re seeing uniformly distributed use of tractors despite our mountainous terrain. We’re selling tractors for animal and plant produc-tion and municipalities are also show-ing an interest in tractors,” says Pavol Domorák, adding: “We sell PROXIMA and FORTERRA model series trac-tors most often. We try to convince customers to buy higher performance tractors with more equipment, such as the PROXIMA HS and FORTERRA HD.” Customers use lower perfor-mance range tractors mainly for ani-mal production in feed stuff and supply management, fertilizer application and transport. Higher performance trac-tors are used for ploughing, sowing, and forage crop processing.

And what is the secret of your com-pany’s success? “We always strive for a pro-active customer approach and we maintain friendly relations with our cus-tomers. We equip every tractor we sell with a GPS unit which helps us record

tractor use and then we are able to con-tact customers with service checks or to assess the cause of a problem based on data and respond immediately,” says Pavol. His statement is seconded by op-erator Dušan Jančovič from the Nové Sady cooperative, where he works with ZETOR tractors: “Mannet’s service and approach are flawless. We don’t have to take care of almost anything our-selves because the company responds immediately and has the necessary ex-pertise.” The company doesn’t leave its customers out in the cold, responds to calls within 24 hours and lends custom-ers replacement tractors for more ex-tensive breakdowns so there is no delay in their work.

Everyone we had the opportunity to meet had a highly professional ap-proach and the facilities were clean and modern – that’s Mannet. We wish all of Mannet’s employees success in their hard work and we thank them for their time.

CURRENT NEWS ABOUT ZETOR FROM AROUND THE WORLD

MANNET, A COMPANY LOCATED IN THE TOWN OF MADUNICE IN THE TRNAVA REGION OF SLOVAKIA, BECAME A ZETOR BRAND DEALER IN AUTUMN 2015.

NEW SUCCESSFUL SLOVAK DEALER

ZETOR tractors in MOREAU AGRI company




The DEVIO Nové Sady Cooperative op-erates on 4,600 hectares north of Ni-tra, Slovakia. The properties lie in nine different land registry areas, which is unusual. DEVIO cultivates crops and raises cattle. “Our crop production in-cludes 2,000 hectares of grains, 700 hectares of corn, almost 660 hectares of malting barley, 670 hectares of oil producing plants and we are also one of the largest sugar beet producers in Slovakia. In terms of animal production, we have 890 dairy cattle, 480 beef cat-tle, 1,300 calves and heifers, 4,000 pigs, of which 265 are sows,” says Chairman Igor Jakubička about the cooperative. The company’s history dates back to 1972, when nine independent coopera-tives were combined. Today, in addition to extensive animal and plant produc-tion, the cooperative has its own con-crete mixing plant.

The fleet includes more than 70 tractors and dozens of other vehicles of various types. “In addition to ZETOR, we use two other brands. One is a competing tractor producer and the other is a tel-escopic handler producer,” says the cooperative’s operator Dušan Jančovič. “Our goal was to not experiment with too many other different manufactur-ers – if a brand proves itself, we stick with it. This isn’t nostalgia. It’s about the advantages in maintenance and service and the fact that our tractor operators don’t have to learn how to work with new technologies,” adds Jančovič.

Out of the 70 tractors, almost 50 are ZETOR. Many of them are historical UR I and UR II tractors with 70–160 hp.

Last year the cooperative decided to renew their fleet and bought a PROXIMA PLUS 100 and two CRYSTAL 150 tractors. Based on their positive experience with ZETOR, the cooperative bought a PROXIMA POW-ER 120 towards the end of the year.

“We decided to buy ZETOR because of the good price, low operational costs and low fuel consumption. In addition, they are easy to handle and operators find them comfortable,” says the cooperative’s op-erator. “The PROXIMA PLUS 100 ran over 1,000 hours of engine time over the course of the year without a single prob-lem. The tractors are operated 5 days a week, 8 hours a day with a 10-ton feed tank that they distribute to various sta-tions,” adds Jančovič. Now the PROXIMA POWER 120 has taken over this job and the PROXIMA PLUS is hooked up to a feed trailer at the dairy farm.

In addition to the PROXIMA tractors, the farm has a six-cylinder CRYSTAL 150.

“We have two of them and we’re very happy with them. They have worked ap-proximately 500 hours of engine time, and we use them mostly for crop production in combination with a large-volume silo trailer for sugar beet and storage tank jobs. The new CRYSTAL has great towing power, a great view and comfortable cab and in comparison with its green pre-decessor it has better operational costs and lower fuel consumption,” says the cooperative’s operator.

“ZETOR has made great strides for-ward over the past few years. It is the clear leader in price-performance comparison and has low operational costs and fuel consumption. The oper-ators like the comfortable cab, air con-ditioning and good view. It is too bad, though, that ZETOR doesn’t have trac-tors with a performance range over 160 hp, we are interested in tractors in that range,” adds Chairman Igor Jakubička in conclusion.

TRACTORS ARE USED IN VARIOUS WAYS. DEVIO COOPERATIVE IN NOVÉ SADY IN SLOVAKIA OPERATES FOUR PROXIMA AND CRYSTAL TRACTORS. WE SPOKE WITH THE COOPERATIVE CHAIRMAN IGOR JAKUBIČKA AND OPERATOR DUŠAN JANČOVIČ ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH TRACTORS AND ABOUT ZETOR DURING OUR VISIT.

ZETOR IS HELPING A SLOVAK COOPERATIVE WITH ITS HARD WORK

Cooperative chairman of DEVIO Igor Jakubička (left) and managing director of MANNAT Pavol Domorák.




RaVOD PATAJOZEF PRÁZNOVSKÝ – RV Director (right), and René Durdiak – Workshop managerWe decided to buy two ZETOR tractors in 2016 due to our cooperative’s well-established experience with ZETOR and because of the good price. We use the ZETOR FORTERRA 150 HD mostly for transport but sometimes we use it for side-dress hoeing with fertiliza-tion. The ZETOR CRYSTAL 160 is used for preparing fields, ploughing, mow-ing fodder crops, fertilizing and many transport jobs. Both tractors meet our requirements in terms of towing power, fuel consumption and reliabil-ity. Our tractor operators are also sat-isfied and happy with how the tractors work. The tractors’ level of comfort is exceptional. Based on our experience, there is definitely a chance that we may decide to buy more ZETOR tractors in the future.

PD ZavarSTANISLAV TOMÁNEK, Head of the TS UnitSecuring enough feed in animal pro-duction is a highly demanding job.

That’s why we decided to replace our old lower performance tractors. And we chose ZETOR. ZETOR tractors are easy to operate and repair because there aren’t too many electronic parts. In 2016 we bought four PROXIMA PLUS 110 tractors, two PROXIMA POWER 120 tractors and one FORTERRA 150 HD. We expect these tractors to have the standard ease of operation and low maintenance features and as always, comfort for the employees that will operate them. We allocated the trac-tors to animal production for hay trans-port, preparation of bedding and for the Storti feeder wagon. In crop production we use the tractors for producing hay-lage, hauling hay, silage and other aux-iliary field work. It’s a bit premature to assess operation after less than a year of use, but I can already say that in comparison to our old tractors the fuel consumption is much lower.

PD Pohronie ŽeliezovceIng. JURAJ MARTOSY, Chief agriculturistIn regard to the fact that the coopera-tive has owned two ZETOR FORTERRA tractors for ten years, we decided to test the ZETOR CRYSTAL 160. It’s ex-actly the type of tractor we needed. Our experience with the FORTERRA tractors was very good, the repairs were inexpensive and we were able to do them ourselves. We are just as en-thusiastic about the CRYSTAL, so we decided to keep it. We use the tractor mainly for spraying, fertilizing, plough-

ing and transport. This tractor is a big step forward for ZETOR in comparison to the older tractors in every way. We especially appreciate the excellent towing capacity. The 163 hp tractor ploughs just as well as a higher per-formance tractor with 180 hp. The fuel consumption is also lower. Not to men-tion that the operators like the comfort of the ZETOR and are always smiling.

AGROZEL Dolná Streda s.r.o.Ing. RICHARD LOŠONSKÝ, OwnerWe bought our first ZETOR FORTERRA 11745 tractor over ten years ago. We were very happy with it and that’s why we decided to buy another ZETOR 8441. Working with these tractors has dem-onstrated many of their advantages, such as easy operation and competi-tive pricing of spare parts and service. Based on these factors we decided to buy a ZETOR FORTERRA HD 150, which we did in the autumn of 2016. The ZETOR is a good helper on the field and has worked out well for us in full deployment during field discing and trenching. We use the FORTERRA in combination with the tank for disposal of bio-gas. In retrospect, we believe the ZETOR was a good choice. The fact that ZETOR is a proven ‘domestic’ brand also influenced our decision.

“ZETOR HAS NEVER LET US DOWN,” SLOVAK CUSTOMERS AGREE



ZETOR ON CURRENT ISSUES

ZETOR TRACTORS a.s.’ financial results in recent years have mirrored develop-ments in the tractor segment, which has been in recession since 2013, evident in the declining volume of tractor sales. In 2015 alone the total volume of tractor sales was lower than the volume in 2009, when the financial crisis occurred. Sales continued to decrease in 2016, when sales on western Europe markets fell another 6% compared to 2015.

What is the cause of this situation? The cy-clical nature of European subsidies. State support for farmers peaked in 2012 and 2013 and many countries have not pre-pared any new subsidy programmes for farmers since then. Another factor that had an enormous impact on the agricul-tural segment was the imposition of sanc-tions on Russia and Russia’s retaliation via sanctions on food imported from the EU. The evolution of milk prices, which fell to

an all-time low, did not help the situation.Low purchase prices for agricultural raw materials were the final straw. Stricter emission standards accompanied by ris-ing prices and increased costs for devel-opment and production of agricultural machinery also negatively impacted the situation. Despite the unfavourable eco-nomic situation, ZETOR TRACTORS a.s. ended the year with a positive financial result (CZK 97m) and maintained its re-search and development expenditures at the 2015 level (CZK 120m), which is an im-portant factor in sustaining competitive-ness. Although the total sales volume fell, ZETOR maintained its position on specific markets and even grew in some regions (e.g. in Germany, Lithuania and Slovakia). Exploring the potential of new markets, the brand entered the Iranian, Turkish and Myanmar markets.

And what are ZETOR’s goals for this year?

Aside from continuing to strengthen our position on key markets with an emphasis on European and North American mar-kets, we plan to develop the potential of new markets.

The product portfolio will be updated and we plan on adding new products. We will introduce a three-cylinder tractor that will become the pillar of our new fifth model series. Implementation of the new design in serial production will continue.

We wrote about the new Strategy Depart-ment in the last issue of ZETOR NEWS. The new department’s plans and key goals were presented. Now I’d like to share where we are in terms of develop-ing the strategy of ZETOR TRACTORS a.s. Where are we with fulfilment of specific goals, processes and procedures?

There are three levels in the Strategy pro-ject. Right now, we are working on data collection from important markets where ZETOR operates. At the beginning of the year we also conducted initial interviews with responsible employees from dif-ferent parts of the company. From these interviews, we are compiling a summary of the most pressing issues from each de-partment. We have also set up a working group with representatives from all de-partments, which is tasked with prepar-ing materials for company management meetings. These meetings are intended for discussions about the strategy, lead-ing to its final approval.

“We want to design a product portfolio that will increase Zetor sales on our key markets. We are in the process of obtain-ing and assessing information about cus-tomer needs as a way of uncovering mar-ket opportunities. We are also evaluating information about current trends and ex-pected developments in the agricultural sector over the next ten years so that we can respond pro-actively,” clarifies David Kollhammer, Head of the Strategy De-partment. The working group is defining the vision, mission and values of ZETOR TRACTORS a.s. The values should reso-nate with all employees and the vision and mission should be meaningful and under-standable to everyone. The strategy can-

not be presented as merely a document. It has to be accepted by the entire company in a spirit that will help all employees be enthusiastic and willing to work towards fulfilling it.

“The strategy is not just a document. It is a journey that outlines the direction that we are going to take over the coming dec-ade,” adds David Kollhammer.

The vision, mission and values will be presented soon. As soon as the data are evaluated, an ideal product portfolio will be compiled for the next five years. “We need to look to the future and get ready for future customer requirements, so the strategy will include an outlook about issues such as features of farms in the future and the future needs of farmers,” says David Kollhammer, adding: “I would like to thank everyone who is working on the strategy and invite anyone else who would like to share an idea to contact me as soon as possible.”

2017 WILL BE ALL ABOUT STRENGTHENING POSITIONS ON MARKETS AND UPDATING THE PRODUCT PORTFOLIO

THE COMPANY STRATEGY TAKES SHAPE



POD proizvodnja opruga d.o.o. is a family-owned Croatian company that operates in metal manufacturing, distribution, sales and service of agricultural machinery. A large part of the company’s production, approximately 80%, is sold on European markets where the company is already known as an established business partner, which is one of the reasons why ZETOR TRACTORS a.s. signed a five-year contract with the Croatian partner. The company is located in the city of Dežanovec and also has an branch office in the town of Bošnjac in the eastern part of Croatia. With the help of two other partners, the company

covers the entire country’s mainland market. It also plans to expand to the island regions in the near future. “We view our new partnership with ZETOR TRACTORS a.s. very positively. Croatia, and specifically the Slavonia region, has a strong agricultural sector; thanks to the favourable climate, it has a rich and diverse tradition of agricultural production. In addi-tion, the ZETOR brand is well-known on the Croatian market. This is clear from the statis-tics, which show that nearly one-third of all the tractors in the country are ZETORs. I think this speaks to the quality, reliability and affordabil-ity of these machines,” said Ivan Ignatovski.

ZETOR has a new customer in Romania. Since the start of this year, the Romanian company RNP ROMSILVA has bought 22 tractors with aggregations. The order included PROXIMA HS 120 tractors with forestry equipment, loaders and winches, as well as 19 trailers.

The tractors will be used for forest man-agement. RNP ROMSILVA began working with ZETOR in 2015, when it purchased 21 PROXIMA POWER 120 tractors.

Our new Israeli distributor imports ZETOR tractors to Israel as well as to neighbouring Jordan. Tractors with power ratings between 80 and 150 hp, i.e. the MAJOR, PROXIMA and FORTERRA model series, will be imported to the region. Since Israeli regulatory require-ments are similar to those in the Western world, machines meeting STAGE IV emis-sion standards will be delivered to the Israeli market. Through its affiliations, our partner in Israel will be responsible for tractor sales as well as provision of high-quality, seam-less after-sales customer service. As a re-sult, farmers will get access to a full range of services including sales of new tractors, repair and maintenance services and sales of OEM spare parts. “We aim to strengthen our positions in the Western European and North American markets, but we also pur-

sue other business opportunities. Entering this territory provides an attractive opportu-nity to extend our presence to new markets. Customers are key for us and we are open to all opportunities for cooperation where we see potential interest in the ZETOR brand,” says Martin Blaškovič, Managing Director of ZETOR TRACTORS a.s.

The majority of tractors sold in Israel are in the power category of 80–120 hp, a segment in which ZETOR offers a wide range of ma-chines with different power ratings, gearbox options and technical solutions. The agricul-tural sector in Israel is evenly split between animal and crop production. It is expected that Israeli customers will be interested in the forthcoming three-cylinder, 50 hp trac-tor prototype.

ZETOR TRACTORS A.S.’ SALES NETWORK GAINED A NEW PARTNER IN CROATIA FOR TRACTOR DISTRIBUTION. THE NEW CROATIAN PARTNER IS POD PROIZVODNJA OPRUGA D.O.D., WHOSE OWNER IVAN IGNATOVSKI HAS A STRONG BOND TO ZETOR. “IT IS AN IMPORTANT STEP FOR ME AND FOR OUR COMPANY. ZETOR IS ALMOST LIKE A DOMESTIC BRAND HERE AND BECOMING THE GENERAL DISTRIBUTOR FOR THE BRAND IS TRULY AN HONOUR,” HE SAYS.

EARLIER THIS YEAR, ZETOR TRACTORS A.S. SIGNED A COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH A NEW DISTRIBUTOR IN ISRAEL, A. L. TRACTORS & AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY LTD. THROUGH OUR NEW DISTRIBUTOR, ZETOR TRACTORS ARE NOW IMPORTED NOT ONLY TO ISRAEL, BUT ALSO TO JORDAN. THIS STRENGTHENS OUR POSITION ON GLOBAL MARKETS.

STRENGTHENING OUR POSITION IN CROATIA

NEW ZETOR CUSTOMER IN ROMANIA

ZETOR ENTERS THE ISRAELI MARKET


Twenty-two ZETOR tractors with forestry equipment were delivered to Romania.

Ivan Ignatovski with a ZETOR MAJOR 80

Traktor je Zetor. Od roku 1946. www.zetor.com

08DUBEN 2017 NOVINKY A ZPRÁVY Z OBLASTI TRAKTORŮ ZETOR


“By establishing cooperation with our new German partner, we have signifi-cantly expanded our dealer network in the main agricultural regions in Germa-ny. IBH is a strong partner with a clear focus on customer service. This part-nership provides great potential for both parties,” says Pavel Jahoda, director of ZETOR DEUTSCHLAND GmbH.

IBH has been present on the market since 1969, when it became a partner to Deutz for engine sales and servicing. It has been working with service partner MWH since 1986. “Our company has specialised in the biogas industry since 1998 and since 2015, we have been using MWM gas engines. This means we have very strong links to the agricultural sec-tor and to farmers. IBH is well-known to many farmers and dealers as a reliable service provider and supplier of spare parts,” says Thomas Schikorra, CEO of IBH. “Our service team consists of skilled and experienced agricultural engineers who specialise in Deutz and MWM en-

gines,” adds Schikorra. Two experienced IBH professionals – Christoph Benett and Ralf Klintworth – will be in charge of sales at ZETOR’s new business partner in Germany. Christoph Benett will be in charge of the regions of Schleswig-Hol-stein and Elbe-Weser and Ralf Klintworth will serve customers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg. In addition to supporting agricultural busi-nesses, developing the sales and service network will be the main task of these two professionals.

The ZETOR brand strengthened signifi-cantly in Germany last year. The tractor product offering was almost completely revamped in 2016 and further innovations for the German market will be announced by ZETOR at this year’s Agritechnica show. Last year, ZETOR also opened a new affiliate in Witzenhausen, where our tractors are presented to customers from central and northern Germany, and acquired new dealers. We plan to con-tinue with this strategy in the future.

WERNER HARTINGER, new ZETOR dealer in the Upper Palatinate:Werner Hartinger owns the Motor-en Hartinger company and counts ZETORs among his favourite trac-tors for work and free-time. He uses a ZETOR PROXIMA 100 on his own farm. “For me, ZETOR means machines I can rely on. I particu-larly appreciate the favourable price-performance ratio, as well as the engine and the high-quality workmanship,” says Hartinger.

MARCEL MAASKE, CEO of Kfz und Landtechnik Maaske in Kehrsen:Kfz und Landtechnik Maaske spe-cialises in servicing the automotive industry and agricultural machin-ery. Marcel Maaske established cooperation with ZETOR in 2015 at Agritechnica and is now the most successful dealer in the region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

“Our customers value our reliable service and original spare parts, as well as the option of renting ZETOR tractors at reasonable prices,” says Maaske. “This gives custom-ers who are interested in ZETOR tractors an opportunity to try them out and judge them for them-selves. We present the machines at events such as Trecker Treck. At this event, up to 3,000 visitors had the opportunity to get to know ZETOR. We also had the opportu-nity to showcase the ZETOR brand to companies that have not been in our client pool to date,” says Maaske.

ZETOR STRENGTHENS ITS POSITION IN THE GERMAN MARKET BY ESTABLISHING COOPERATION WITH A NEW BUSINESS PARTNER, THE IBH COMPANY. THE NEW GERMAN DEALER WILL BE IN CHARGE OF ZETOR TRACTOR SALES AND SERVICING IN THE REGIONS OF SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN AND MECKLENBURG-WESTERN POMERANIA AND IN NORTHERN BRANDENBURG AND THE NORTHERN PART OF THE ELBE-WESER REGION IN LOWER SAXONY.

THE BUSINESS NETWORK IN GERMANY EXPANDS WITH A STRONG NEW PARTNER

David Kollhammer – ředitel Úseku strategie

And what do business partners in Germany say about working with ZETOR?

ZETOR gained a strong partner in North Germany




The ensuing years showed that it was not just the dream of one farmer and his wife. Today, the tradition is carried on by two brothers and by the wife and son of one brother.

The Lainaults come from the region of Pays de la Loire and their farm, Burai-serie, is located in the village of Cour-demanche. Today, brothers Lionnel and Gérôme keep 70 cows and 50 bulls. They also farm 160 hectares of land on which they grow mainly corn, wheat, barley and oilseed rape. At first glance,

this family farm seems no different then other farms in France. But a closer look shows that it stands out in one respect. The machinery on the farm has one thing in common. The majority of the tractors on the farm were made in the Czech Re-public. The farmers became fond of the ZETOR brand many years ago, in 1974, when their parents bought a CRYSTAL 8011, which was still produced in blue at that time. Today, their collection includes 30 machines. Most of them are still used almost every day.

“We are extremely satisfied with the ZE-TOR brand. It is our parents who started this tradition, and we are carrying it on. The tractors are very economical, yet absolutely reliable and durable. They are also priced competitively and we are completely happy with the service we receive from ZETOR’s representation in France. They always try to meet our needs,” say Gérôme, his brother Lionnel and Lionnel’s wife Veronique in praise

IT ALL BEGAN MANY YEARS AGO. BACK IN 1966, THE FIRST ZETOR TRACTOR APPEARED ON THE LAINAULT FAMILY FARM. IT WAS CLEAR FROM THAT MOMENT THAT IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A LIFELONG LOVE AFFAIR THAT WOULD BE PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.

THEY GREW UP WITH ZETOR AND NOW THEY SWEAR BY IT

of the company. Veronique mainly takes care of the cattle, but she can operate tractors very well, too.

ZETOR has become an outright icon in the village. “I think everyone in the vil-lage has a ZETOR tractor,” the family says, laughing. And it’s no wonder. The price-performance ratio is one of the unique advantages of the brand, as the Lainaults confirm. “They are reliable machines. We have 30 in all and we use 20 of them for work,” adds Lionnel. The oldest machine, the blue CRYSTAL 8011, is still used for cow feeding. The red ZE-TOR 7045, which the farm purchased in 1986, is now being gradually replaced with the new ZETOR FORTERRA HSX 100. However, the good old machine is still one of their favourites. “This tractor has a 4x4 drive, which makes it perfectly suited for sloping terrain. In its time, it was the only machine that we could use in those conditions. Also, it was often handy during the winter time. When there was lots of snow, I would take my son to school in it,” remembers Lionnel.

For cattle breeding, they also use a ZE-TOR 440 to distribute feed, along with the FORTERRA HSX 100 mentioned earlier. The FORTERRA HSX 100’s “sister”, the FORTERRA HSX 140, helps the family cultivate land. Just like the ZETOR 11245 and ZETOR 12441. These machines are used mainly for sowing, harvesting or silage. But ZETOR is more than just an everyday helper on this farm. It has become a family love affair. “My broth-er’s son Adrien got his own ZETOR 25A in 2013. Each of us has his favourite,” says Gérôme. And, as they say, they will certainly remain loyal to the brand. “It is clear that the company cares about its customers. When we have an issue, the company works with us to find a solution immediately. Delivery of spare parts is also very prompt. Simply put, we are satisfied in all respects,” they conclude.

The Lainault family has been working with ZETOR tractors for several decades.




ZETOR started this year’s tour at LAMMA 2017 in Peterborough, Brit-ain’s largest international trade show. It was in Great Britain that the MAJOR HS had its world premiere. At the end of January, ZETOR was introduced to the Hungarian market at AGROmash-EXPO. In the second half of February, the tractors returned to Eastern Eu-rope. Our red tractors were present-ed to Ukrainian farmers at the Agro Animal Show in Kiev. Apart from the new additions, visitors at all of the trade fairs also had the opportunity

to see many other products from ZE-TOR’s product portfolio.

ZETOR even travelled across the At-lantic Ocean to participate in the Na-tional Farm Machinery Show (NFMS), a trade show that takes place annually in Louisville, Kentucky. Through ZE-TOR NORTH AMERICA, the company presented machines from the up-graded FORTERRA series including the most sophisticated model yet: the FORTERRA HD.

Between the submittal deadline for this issue of ZETOR NEWS and its re-lease, ZETOR machines including the MAJOR HS were presented at a trade show in Kielce, Poland.

“In all markets, trade shows give us the best opportunity to get closer to custom-ers and better understand their needs. Through our affiliates and through the local distributor networks, we are very successful in that. ZETOR’s presence at trade shows helps us increase the brand awareness among a broad range of customers, who now actively seek out information about innovations and new products in our product pipeline,” says Robert Todt, Sales and Marketing Direc-tor at ZETOR TRACTORS, a.s., summa-rising the benefits of trade fairs.

PRESENTING NEW PRODUCTS TO THE WORLDEARLY 2017 WAS ALL ABOUT EXHIBITIONS. THE NEW MAJOR HS AND THE UPDATED FORTERRA HD WERE PRESENTED IN GREAT BRITAIN, UKRAINE, HUNGARY AND KENTUCKY, USA, DURING THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF THE YEAR. BY THE END OF JUNE, THE TRACTORS WILL HAVE BEEN DISPLAYED IN POLAND, LITHUANIA, SERBIA, SLOVAKIA AND SCOTLAND.

30 MARCH – 4 APRIL, 2017,Lithuania: Ką pasėsi... 2017

13–19 May, 2017, Serbia: SIAM Novi Sad, Belgrade

6–7 June, 2017, Slovakia: Dni poľa, Dvory nad Žitavou

22–25 June, 2017, Scotland: Royal Highland Show, Edinburgh

UPCOMING TRADE SHOWS

National Farm Machinery Show (USA)

LAMMA (Great Britain)Agro Animal Show (Ukraine)




The start of the year is always an opportu-nity to look back at the past year and de-fine new objectives and action plans. This was one of the reasons why several dealer conferences were held in early 2017. The objectives were to review the 2016 results and share some of ZETOR TRACTORS a.s.’ plans with our dealers. Last but not least, conferences provide an ideal opportunity to obtain feedback from dealers about the products and services we offer.

“Practical experience from the field and feedback about our products and about the demand for our products and services allow us to adapt our business activities and product development to customer needs. ZETOR TRACTORS, a.s. is a manufacturing company, but it is our dealers who come into everyday contact with our customers. Conferenc-es are an invaluable source of informa-tion for us,” says Robert Todt, Sales and

Marketing Director, commenting on the purpose of these events.

Three dealer conferences were held: in the Czech Republic, Poland and Great Britain. Although these countries differ in terms of customer needs as well as ZE-TOR’s market position, all of the confer-ences followed almost the same agenda. Robert Todt explains what the dealers learned at the conferences: “Working with participants, we summarised 2016 and recapped the positions of our brand and of our competitors, which also need to be closely monitored. We unveiled our plans for 2017 to our dealers, which include new product launches and projects planned in other areas such as servicing, sales of spare parts, marketing, etc. We discussed potential opportunities for growth and how they can be explored. The discussion also helped us identify weak spots where we have room for improvement and to which

attention should be paid. We are now ad-dressing the issues we discussed at head-quarters.”

British dealers met in mid-January be-fore the LAMMA show to discuss the most pressing issues as the year got underway. The Czech and Slovak dealerships met in February and their Polish colleagues met in March. Further dealer conferences are being organised by the respective af-filiations or distributors. We wish all of our ZETOR dealers and partners great suc-cess in 2017!

As mentioned above, ZETOR distributors and affiliations organise dealer confer-ences in their respective countries. But how is information passed to affiliations and independent distributors? Several communication channels are used for this purpose including standard every-day contact, regularly compiled reports, newsletters and business meetings. And conferences are an invaluable source of information. In early April, we will bring together representatives from all ZETOR market countries to discuss current de-velopments and consider further oppor-tunities for cooperation.

The next conference for all independent distributors and affiliates will take place at the traditional venue – Brno, Czech Republic. However, this time it will take place on an untraditional, earlier date – on 6 April, 2017. “The key benefit of dis-tributor and dealer conferences is the exchange of information – whether the information flows from the headquarters to the partners, or the other way around. Our dealers know their markets, how they are developing and what they need. The knowledge we gather is the most valuable asset for defining a meaningful company strategy to develop the brand

and the company,” says Robert Todt, summarising the benefits of the event.

During this one-day event, business partners will receive information about ZETOR’s results and market position in 2016, discuss opportunities for further development of the dealer network, and be informed about the future outlook, i.e. market developments that can be expected and how the headquarters of ZETOR TRACTORS a.s. is responding and plans to respond. Other areas to be covered include customer service, spare parts and marketing.

“We warmly invite all our partners to join us in Brno. We trust that participa-tion in the conference will be as high as in past years. During the conference, we intend to use our time as efficiently as possible and we firmly believe that the conference will provide many inspir-ing insights for all participants. We are looking forward to seeing you in Brno,” says Robert Todt.

EARLY 2017 WAS A TIME OF CONFERENCES

THE WHOLE ZETOR WORLD WILL GATHER IN BRNO

Czech and Slovak 2017 dealer conference

2016 distributor conference



AT ZETOR GALLERY, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PEEK UNDER THE HOOD OF THE HISTORY OF THE RED LEGEND FROM BRNO

NEW PROMOTIONAL ITEMS

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE GOING BACK TO OUR ORIGINAL LOGO!

The ZETOR GALLERY prepared an-other topical exhibition. This time, it presented vintage tractor models and accompanying promotional flyers and materials. Up to 30 March, 2017 we had the opportunity to visit an ex-hibition titled “Historical promotional materials and leaflets” to see how tractors were promoted in the past, learn what the press at the time wrote about these agricultural legends and browse through historical materials.

The majority of the exhibited histori-cal promotional materials and press clippings were obtained from the private collection of Slovak collector Marek Mikuláš. They covered vari-ous periods in which the most famous machines, such as the Z 25, the Z 15, models from all three unified series and Proxima and Forterra models, were celebrated.

If you are a fan of miniature models, you definitely won’t want to miss our two most recent additions! You can buy miniature models of the ZETOR CRYS-TAL 160 and 12045 at 1:32 scale in the ZETOR GALLERY and in our e-shop. Both models were manufactured by Universal Hobbies, a leader in miniature modelling. There’s no need to worry that a tractor wheel might fall off or the model might fall apart. The models are made of metal and will last forever. For prices of spe-cific models, contact your dealer.

Following last year’s use of the anni-versary logo created for our 70th anni-versary, we are returning to our origi-nal visual style. As of this February, we are once again using the official ZETOR logo without the anniversary “70” in the

background. The changes will mainly affect our updated document templates including letterhead, purchase orders and presentations. The current versions of these documents and company logos are available on the Brand portal.

ZETOR NEWS FROM HOME

Model 12045 at a scale of 1:32

CRYSTAL 160 at a scale of 1:32

Promotional flyer for the Model 5545 with the ZETORMATIC system


ZETOR TRACTORS a.s., Trnkova 111, 628 00 Brno, Czech Republic, CRN: 26921782, TAX ID: CZ26921782, e-mail: [email protected]

If you would like to present an interesting story or person in a future issue of ZETOR NEWS, or if you have further ideas about the newsletter content, please don’t hesitate to contact the editorial staff at [email protected]. We will take your ideas into consideration and will continue to address them.

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NEWS - Zetorftp.zetor.cz/download/ZETOR News/ENG/2017_04_ENG.pdf · current news about zetor from around the world mannet, a company located in the town of madunice in the trnava