Equipment companies throttle back production and inventory levels to maintain margins amidst large drop in sales
In the 1980s, Massey Ferguson’s Brantford, Ont., combine assembly plant started bleeding red ink due to management’s failure to adjust to changing market conditions. Another key problem was a bloated inventory of unsold machines sitting outside the factory doors. All of the that led to the eventual closure of the plant and the bankruptcy of […] Read moreTag Archives Eric Hansotia
Agco strikes deal to sell grain bin firm GSI
Agco has completed a deal to sell the majority of its Grain and Protein business division, including its grain bin and handling equipment arm GSI, to American Industrial Partners for a reported US$700 million. The company says it plans to focus on precision agriculture products and machinery. ”The divestiture of Grain and Protein supports Agco’s […] Read more
Agco focuses on retrofit automation technology
Recent disruptive technologies including auto guidance have seen growth start with aftermarket systems
When auto guidance appeared on the scene, it was grassroots demand from producers and aftermarket system suppliers that pushed the technology forward. As autonomy becomes the latest disruptive technology in ag equipment, Seth Crawford, Agco’s senior vice-president and general manager, precision ag and digital, said he sees it becoming mainstream in the same way auto […] Read more
Striving for tech dominance in age of automation
Agco looks to dominate the precision farming landscape and to deliver products to producers in a new way
Speaking to a group of ag and investment journalists in late June, Agco chief executive officer Eric Hansotia said his aim is to take Agco to a dominant market position when it comes to precision farming offerings. The decision to pursue that goal was made in a meeting of senior management several months ago, he […] Read more
Equipment sales to slow in 2024
Sales of ag equipment could decline by up to 15 per cent in Canada because of slumping grain and oilseed prices
Farm Credit Canada recently released a farm machinery market outlook for 2024, and the news isn’t all that great for Canadian equipment dealers, especially when it comes to harvesting equipment. Despite new combine sales growing 5.5 per cent in 2023 in Canada compared to 2022, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the FCC […] Read more
Fendt sales growth exceeds expectations
It seems the good times are likely to continue for a while yet in the farm machinery industry. Agco reported its third quarter earnings in October, and the news was all blue skies. Delivering his state-of-the-company report during a corporate earnings webcast, Agco president and chief executive officer Eric Hansotia revealed how the company’s bank […] Read more
Profits up at agriculture equipment makers
Higher sales and profit margins boost the balance sheets of the makers of the major agricultural implement brands
As the height of the pandemic fades, COVID-induced problems for the big farm equipment brands are starting to ease. Their sales numbers have seen a post-pandemic jump. One small negative for manufacturers is the sales of utility and compact utility tractors. They have declined sharply from an artificial high, which was attributed to acreage owners […] Read more
Supply chain problems ease
Ag equipment brands see fewer supply disruptions than what was seen during the pandemic but they aren’t completely gone
Any producer who purchased, or tried to purchase, new equipment over the past couple of years, as COVID raged, likely had to wait an unusually long time to take delivery, due to supply chain disruptions. Along with inflating wait times for delivery, the disruption pushed retail prices through the roof due to record high ocean […] Read more
