Precision, saving resources, alternative energies: these are the answers that Fendt today offers to bring greater sustainability to agriculture
by Maria Luisa Doldi
Christoph Gröblinghoff, Chairman of the Board AGCO/Fendt
According to the Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, we shouldn’t let a good crisis go to waste. That goes for all of them: for the market crisis of 2008 as well as for the pandemic crisis of 2020. And that seems to be exactly what Fendt has tried to do. At the annual press conference in July, also held online this year, Christoph Gröblinghoff, Chairman of the AGCO/Fendt Management Board, says the pandemic has also affected the company and describes the difficult situation faced by international supply chains, but so far Fendt has been able to respond well to these ever-changing challenges.
The missed production days will be recovered, thanks to the excellent relationships with suppliers and the high process capability the company has at its German sites.
Eric Hansotia, Chairman, President and CEO AGCO
«Fendt can rely on a strong team; our sales partners and workshop employees are our spearhead» emphasizes Christoph Gröblinghoff. However, the Chairman of the Management Committee is generally positive about the current situation of Fendt OMT  and agriculture: «The industry is healthy, our order book is full. And we’re very pleased with that. In such adverse times, farmers are more important than ever. They’re the ones who put food on our tables».
Farmer-focused solutions
«Our corporate mission is to offer farmer-focused solutions to feed the world in a sustainable way» states Eric Hansotia, Chairman, President e CEO AGCO. «We want to offer all those solutions and machines with which farmers can meet the industry’s need for sustainability. Feeding the world in a sustainable way is really an idea that is close to our heart and that makes us really proud; we want to put our vision into practice and become a trusted partner in providing smart farming solutions; we want our customers to understand that we can offer them new solutions that help them maximize yields, work efficiently, reduce environmental impact». There are four areas in which, according to Hansotia, the Company can have a significant impact, namely
- promotion and protection of the soil quality;
- carbon footprint reduction;
- worker health protection;
- ensuring animal welfare.
Not to mention the customer experience with the AGCO Fendt product. For the future,” says Hansotia, “we want to continue to strengthen the Fendt brand globally and export Fendt’s excellent results to the international arena. The focus is on the global growth of Fendt as a full liner, one of the pillars of the new Farmer first strategy to offer products and added value to the farmer.
New options are now available for Fendt round balers, such as film wrapping for the wrapper unit and including a water tank for hand washing
[su_box title=”Breganze increases production capacity” box_color=”#43634b”]The Fendt Centre of Excellence for Harvesting Machines in Breganze increases production capacities. The demand for Fendt combines has increased considerably in recent years. For this reason, the combine plant in Breganze, Veneto, underwent the most massive conversion work in the history of the Italian headquarters last year. The entire production, including upstream and downstream areas, has been completely restructured and expanded. This includes component production, the logistics area and the entire assembly line. For the first time, Fendt IDEAL and the straw walker combines of the E, L & C Series can be produced simultaneously on the assembly line. The system is comparable to tractor production in Marktoberdorf.[/su_box]
Positive sector trends
The optimistic statements from Fendt are also supported by the results of the CEMA Barometer. Since its low point in April 2020, the industry has steadily recovered to the current positive phase: «We can say that our industry isn’t feeling much of the effects of the pandemic. Three-quarters of those surveyed rate their current situation as very positive and expect an increase in sales» says Gröblinghoff.
And not only because agriculture has never stopped, but also because the price situation is now quite positive: producer prices of wheat and oilseeds are at an all-time high, allowing farmers to earn a good income.
«This leads to a high propensity to invest, which will result in market growth of around 7% throughout Europe.” He continues, “Demand on Europe’s tractor markets has increased strongly. This year we expect a turnover of 188,000 tractors» concludes Christoph Gröblinghoff.
As a project partner of the Fraunhofer ISE Institute, Fendt is testing the complete system for the use of agrophotovoltaics with Fendt e100 Vario
Global market for Fendt
The situation is therefore returning to 2012 levels, a record year for tractors in Europe. For 2021, Gröblinghoff expects a positive Europe’s tractor market trend (excluding Turkey), where Fendt is maintaining a high share of 10.6 percent. The global sales market for Fendt tractors is again growing compared to the previous year, with over 20,000 tractors expected to be produced this year. Despite the circumstances, therefore, Fendt looks back on 2020 as a very successful year. Gröblinghoff says: «Our success is also highly appreciated within the Group. The global growth of the Fendt brand is one of AGCO’s most important initiatives. We are the growth brand within the Group».
The Fendt brand and Fendt products are becoming increasingly popular in North America, Brazil, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In North America and Brazil, Fendt is gaining new customers in the large tractor segment. In Australia and New Zealand, orders for new large tractors received in 2020 are growing sharply. But it is not just the tractor business that is growing.
The company’s workforce is also showing positive numbers: in mid-2021, Fendt employs around 6,300 people at all six sites in Germany (Marktoberdorf, Asbach-Bäumenheim, Waldstetten, Feucht, Hohenmölsen and Wolfenbüttel), more than 300 up on the same period, last year. Today, over 4,000 people work at the Marktoberdorf headquarters alone.
Precision, resource saving, alternative energies
These are the answers Fendt offers today to bring greater sustainability to agriculture and help the industry meet the challenges of the century. First and foremost, precision! And here the answer of Fendt is FentdONE: «FendtONE is our answer to the new challenges of agriculture» states Christoph Gröblinghoff. FendtONE provides an exact knowledge and overview of operating data on the one hand, and a simple approach to reporting on the other. «Central, digital data collection will be the basic requirement for Farm2Fork, Green Deal compliance and traceability of production chains. FendtONE is one of our answers to sustainable agriculture. Agriculture needs to become more transparent for society that wants to know more about food production. Many consumers want to be informed to make informed purchasing decisions. Sustainable agriculture is both a burden and an opportunity because it also holds large potential for greater profitability and efficiency» explains the Fendt CEO.
New options are available for Fendt IDEAL combines for lane guidance system and straw distribution
So alternative fuels that allow zero emissions, perhaps with self-generation on the farm. As a project partner of the Fraunhofer ISE institute, Fendt is testing the complete system for the use of agrivoltaics with the Fendt e100 Vario. Agrivoltaics – i.e. the cultivation of land under photovoltaic panels elevated from the ground – allows an efficient dual use of agricultural land and offers the possibility to expand the production of renewable energy, without it competing with agricultural production. At the same time, the energy produced can be used for self-consumption on the farm, even to operate the machinery, as for example, in the pilot project in which Fendt is participating. Fendt is also a partner in the “H2Agrar” project – funded by the Land of Lower Saxony, which aims to develop a hydrogen infrastructure with a focus on the agricultural sector.
New products
Fendt IDEAL: new parallel driving options, new tyre range and central telemetry
New options are available for Fendt IDEAL combines for lane guidance system and straw distribution. The lane guidance system increases the efficiency of the machine and the accuracy when working the fields. By using lane guidance system with the RTK correction signal, the entire machine fleet works the fields continuously following the defined tracks, and misalignment is avoided. Controlled Traffic Farming is also made possible by VarioGuide with RTK.
The range of tyres for the models Fendt IDEAL 7 and Fendt IDEAL 8 has also been expanded. The 710/70 R42 tyre allows safe travelling even on narrow roads and in tight spaces and meets European approval standards.
The Fendt IDEAL 7 and Fendt IDEAL 8 achieve an outer width of less than 3.30 metres with the maximum contact patch. All previous tyre options are still available.
Finally, Fendt combines in the Fendt IDEAL, Fendt C-Series and Fend L-Series ranges are now equipped with the Fendt Connect central telemetry system. With Fendt Connect, you can manage your fleet wherever you are and optimize machine adjustments. Users can view and analyze their machine’s data such as machine position and CAN Bus data such as engine speed, fuel and AdBlue consumption or machine speed from their PC or smart device.
Fendt Rotana, new options
New options are now available for Fendt round balers, such as film wrapping for the wrapper unit and including a water tank for hand washing. With the film wrapping option, the bales are formed and wrapped exclusively with film. Feed losses from frost damage at sub-zero temperatures are reduced. The option for net wrapping is still available. The positioning of the rollers allows for a quick switch between film and net wrapping. This allows operators to quickly switch from silage bales to straw bales in short time windows. A clean water tank equipped with a soap dispenser increases work comfort. When replacing film or netting rolls or performing maintenance work, hands, tools and machine parts can be cleaned.
An optional hydraulic support foot makes it easier for users to couple and uncouple the Fendt Rotana 130 F Combi and the Fendt Rotana 160 V Combi.
