AMAZONE Report - Issue 47

New markets show interest

Success at Agritechnica confirms we have taken the right course

Extreme weather conditions and price pressure on the global markets for agricultural produce has kept the agricultural industry on tenterhooks in the first few months of 2024. This has been exacerbated by the decision of politicians to burden farmers and contractors with an increased tax on agricultural diesel. We stand in solidarity with farmers, who are rightly resisting the additional taxation and distortion of competition.

Overall, AMAZONE recorded exceptionally high global demand for modern agricultural machinery enabling it to increase productivity and profitability in 2023. We were able to benefit greatly from this trend with our innovative technology. A significant international interest was also clearly noticeable at Agritechnica, making the world's leading trade fair a huge success for us and everyone involved. Our intensive commitment to innovation has been rewarded with prestigious awards. We are also particularly pleased with the recent survey results published in the renowned DLG Image Barometer, in which we once again came in 4th place, making us the best medium-sized equipment manufacturer in the agricultural machinery sector. Our thanks go to our many customers and partners for their appreciation and trust in our company. 

Despite these positive developments, we are aware that we have to prepare for the ongoing challenges and uncertainties in the new financial year. Global economic conditions remain volatile and agricultural businesses are facing further difficulties. There is currently a reluctance to buy in certain product sectors. We will keep a close eye on current events and, as always, continue to navigate these highly competitive times with great commitment and a sense of proportion. We remain committed to all necessary investments. New markets such as North America are becoming increasingly important and we recognise the opportunities and potential in these new geographical regions and are determined to further expand our presence. 

However, we are primarily focusing on the ongoing development of our products, such as the Precea precision air seeder and our plough range, which are leading agriculture towards a more sustainable and efficient future. In view of the increasingly extreme weather conditions, we are researching and testing new arable farming systems at our Wambergen experimental farm in the direct vicinity of our main Hasbergen-Gaste factory in order to ensure the maintenance of high yields in arable farming.

We will be presenting our latest technology, establishment systems and digital solutions at AMATECHNICA on 23 May 2024. This large technical day including working demonstrations and a varied supporting programme has now become a firmly established event at our company, bringing together farmers, contractors and sales partners to experience modern AMAZONE agricultural machinery live and to exchange innovative ideas. 

We cordially invite you to join us! It would be a pleasure to welcome you to Hasbergen.

Christian Dreyer and Dr. Justus Dreyer

A success story in Latvia

30 years of SIA AMAZONE:

The Mikals family has been shaping the agricultural sector in Latvia for three decades. What once began as a modest agricultural business has developed over several years into the impressive SIA AMAZONE group of companies. The company consists of an agricultural machinery sales organisation, the agricultural company SIA UPESKALNI AB and a training division. At an early stage of the company's development, Managing Director Arvis Mikals crossed paths with our export manager for the Baltic States, Mr Jens Meißner. We were proud to celebrate our 30th anniversary together with SIA AMAZONE in October 2023. The anniversary celebrations began with an open day, which included an impressive machine demonstration at the Brankas branch. This was later followed by an evening event in Riga with around 200 invited guests. Among them were farmers, representatives of the press and even Jānis Dūklavs, Latvia's former Minister of Agriculture, who is very popular in the country. We ourselves were represented by our factory representative for the Baltic States, Mr Hardijs Grabovskis and Mr Jens Meißner. 

In a moving speech, Mr Meißner paid tribute to the 30-year success story of SIA AMAZONE. The close partnership has led to the sale of around 4,000 AMAZONE machines in recent years.

Today's anniversary not only marks a milestone for SIA AMAZONE, but also the joint success of commitment, innovation and partnership in Latvian agriculture. 
 

AMAZONE at AGRITECHNICA 2023

Outstanding!

Agritechnica was a great success for AMAZONE and everyone involved. The German Agricultural Society (DLG) reported record figures for the world's leading trade fair, which took place in Hanover last November. Around 470,000 people from 149 countries visited the 2,812 exhibitors from 52 countries to find out about innovative products and pioneering concepts. The mood among both visitors and exhibitors was positive and you could feel everyone's enthusiasm at being finally able to see the latest trends from across the entire agricultural industry in person again after a four-year break. 

With a new location in the exhibition building and that special feel-good atmosphere, the AMAZONE stand concept attracted numerous customers and individuals interested in agricultural machinery to our new stand with its window frontage in Hall 9. On each day of the show, our team of experts, made up of roughly 150 people, was on hand to answer questions. Under our motto "Ideas for Future", over 50 innovative machines and functional models from all product areas were on display on our 3,000 square metre show stand for visitors to take a look at more closely. A total of 24 new products emphasised our great innovative strength and some of them received prestigious awards. 

AMAZONE was awarded the silver AGRITECHNICA Innovation Award 2023 for its precise application of fertiliser around bends. The new CurveControl software option for centrifugal fertiliser broadcasters adjusts the lateral distribution to the various cornering speeds and corrects the offset of the spread pattern when driving around bends. 

We received another silver medal for the autonomy network 3A – ADVANCED AUTOMATION & AUTONOMY, which will strengthen our cooperation in the field of highly automated to autonomous agricultural machinery and work patterns. This first cross-manufacturer network was founded together with the companies, CLAAS and AgXeed. 

AMAZONE was also crowned one of the winners of the "DLG-Agrifuture Concept Winner" award with the joint IFR – ISO FARM RESEARCH project. The DLG presents this award to companies for their pioneering work in agricultural engineering and their visions for the future. This concept creates a decisive impetus for the future viability of plant production worldwide. We were delighted to have received the "Farm Machine 2024" award twice. The coveted award from an international jury of journalists went to our new flagship Precea-TCC in the "Sowing" category and to 3A Advanced Automation & Autonomy in the "Smart Farming and Robotics" category. We are already looking forward to the next Agritechnica in 2025!

Successful product communication surrounding Agritechnica

A series of events in the run-up to Agritechnica helped to publicise our 24 innovations both internally and externally. We started by presenting the new products from across our product lines to our own AMAZONE product specialists from Germany and overseas on three consecutive days as part of our "Train the Trainer" programme. 

Stand
If you didn't have the opportunity to visit us in Hanover, you can view a digital representation of our stand online: https://amazone.de/de-de/agritechnica/agritechnica-2024-innovationen/agritechnica-360-grad-standrundgang

Shortly afterwards, we invited 127 national and international agricultural journalists to a press conference. After an event for mutual exchange the evening before, the trade press was able to see our new products exclusively in person the following day, which were of course introduced in various languages. The evening events took place at our Wambergen experimental farm near our main factory at Hasbergen-Gaste. Our museum and trials site are also located there. The machine presentations then took place at our factory in Bramsche, which was followed by our "sales partner days" over another 3 days. Approximately 540 guests were divided into 3 groups and were also presented with our new products after a pre-evening event.

All in all, the events were a complete success. The intermittent rain resulted in the cancellation of one or two machine demonstrations in the field, but it did not disrupt the professional way in which the event was run. The consistently positive feedback from our sales partners and the large number of interesting articles that followed in the trade press confirm the success of the individual events.
 

AMACreatorDays

Content Creators visit AMAZONE

The AMACreatorDays took place in Bramsche from 18-19 September 2023.  The event focused on spreading the word about our new 2024 products via social media. A total of 18 influencers from Germany and Austria were offered a varied supporting programme over the two days.

On the large test field in Bramsche, the participants had the opportunity to try all the innovations out for themselves. Of course, our team members responsible for the relevant product lines were also available to answer any questions from these content experts and provide assistance in operating the machines. The supporting programme also included factory tours in Bramsche, a joint cooking evening and also a go-karting experience.   

In the wake of AMACreatorDays, the response on social media highlighted the success of the event, which was consistently described by guests as the "best event of its kind" compared to the competition. Explanatory videos totalling almost 10 hours were published on YouTube and viewed well over 500,000 times. The reels also received over 1,900,000 clicks on Instagram and we were even able to register a considerable number of views on TikTok - around 700,000. In summary, it can be concluded that the event generated a considerable image boost on social media. 

The new Cirrus Grand

High work rates, maximum precision

The Cirrus Grand cultivator drill for larger farms and contractors is precise, flexible and highly efficient to use. The large seed hopper, the versatile distributor head and the tyres with a Matrix profile offer many advantages for current and future sowing systems. A high percentage, even field emergence is guaranteed thanks to the Matrix profile tyres for strip-wise reconsolidation. 

Precise!

Distributor head with individual row shut-off for extremely small overlap zones to promote vigour in the crops and to cut the cost of seed and fertiliser.

High output!

Twin-chamber hopper supplied as standard and high application rates of up to 400 kg/ha at 16 km/h. Safe road transport at up to 40 km/h provided by lifting the centre running gear and running on the outer 2 pairs of wheels.

Flexible!

Manoeuvrable in the field thanks to individual wheel mounting. Hopper capacity optimised for big bags with substantial excess capacity for a reduction in turn-round times. Half-side folding possible.

A review of the AGROmashEXPO in Budapest

High interest and high attendance

The AGROmashEXPO in Budapest opened its doors this year from 24-27 January 2024 over 36,000m² and was a complete success for the 300 exhibitors from 12 countries. The official opening ceremony on Wednesday immediately created a positive mood, as the Minister of Agriculture gave a speech confirming that around 7 billion euros in subsidies will be made available to farmers by 2027. He encouraged them to invest in new machinery and technology.

The ceremony was a great success for AMAZONE Kft. We also received several awards and certificates:

1. Special prize for domestic product development in the mechanisation category:

• Tyrok 400 Onland semi-mounted reversible plough

2. Premium certificate in the area of "International Product Development" in the digitalisation category:

• Precea seed drill with CurveControl
• CurveControl system for the ZA-TS fertiliser spreader
• AMATRON 4 multi-function operating terminal with ScenarioControl

3. Premium certificate in the area of "International Product Development" in the mechanisation category:

• Venterra VR2 hoe from Schmotzer

Our colleagues from AMAZONE Kft. and Schmotzer represented us over an impressive area of 500 m². In previous years, our crop protection sprayers and fertiliser spreaders were often the most popular products at the trade show. This time, machinery from across all product sectors were met with a lot of interest overall. Products of particular note included our Precea precision seeder, the Cobra trailed shallow cultivator, Catros mounted compact disc harrow, Cirrus trailed cultivator drill, Tyrok semi-mounted reversible plough and Schmotzer hoes. 

The significant interest and the special price of the Tyrok 400 Onland meant that even the Minister of Agriculture himself came to the AMAZONE stand in person to find out more about our products . 

North American farmers appreciate AMAZONE

Big love!

AMAZONE has been operating in North America since the 1960s. At that time, they were selling fertiliser spreaders through trading partners and as OEMs. In 2018, the business gained renewed momentum in Canada and the USA with the establishment of AMAZONE Inc. Under the leadership of Managing Director Marc Lepage, our subsidiary imports, assembles and distributes agricultural machinery across the continent and provides comprehensive support for local dealers.

American farmers appreciate the high quality and the efficiency of products "made in Germany". Demand is particularly strong for soil tillage machines, especially the large Catros models and the Ceus from AMAZONE. In the crop protection sector, our UF and UX sprayers score particularly well in Canada. 

It is not just the products that ensure success, but also the creativity and perseverance of the sales and service teams. At many live events, they inspire farmers who attach great importance to clear product presentations. 

In good co-operation with motivated dealers, AMAZONE Inc. will continue to expand its market position on the North American continent over the coming years.

Traditional New Year's reception in France

A royal start to 2024

On Monday, 15 January, the staff of our AMAZONE subsidiary gathered in Forbach, France for the management's New Year greetings. This annual event also presents an opportunity to enjoy the traditional "Galette des Rois". This puff pastry tart with marzipan filling is traditionally eaten on 6 January 2024 on the feast day of the Three Wise Men. A small bean is hidden in the cake and whoever finds this bean in their piece by the end of the event is crowned king or queen of the day. During this year's event, nine employees were honoured for their many years of service to AMAZONE. 

The following were also present: Myriam Kessler, Karine Koehler and Yves Kolp (20 years of service), Jean-Claude Duchscher and Hervé Rose (30 years of service), Patrice Hein (not pictured) and Serge Mansutti (35 years of service), Serge Kessler and Michel Petri (40 years of service). Frédéric Descamps (Managing Director AMAZONE Forbach) and Ludger Braunsmann (Managing Director for Finance, Controlling, Purchasing, Human Resources) congratulated those celebrating the jubilee.

Landscaping relies on Profihoppers

920 operating hours demonstrate the reliability

The company Schumacher & Wellbrock Garten und Landschaftsbau GmbH & Co. KG from Oyten near Bremen continues to focus on quality and performance in the machinery sector. After positive experiences with our Profihopper models and the successful introduction of the Profihopper 1500, the company decided to purchase another self-propelled mower/collector due to its versatility and high performance, especially for leaf removal in autumn. The previous PH 1500 had already put on over 920 operating hours by the end of 2023. To protect the driver from the elements, the new machine has been equipped with a spacious cab, air conditioning, reversing camera and good all-round visibility to ensure comfort and safety. The company Schröder Landmaschinen in Wildeshausen supports Schumacher & Wellbrock with technical help, where Mr Fred Thole in the back office and Mr Rolf Desens and Daniel Wichmann in field service, ensure smooth overall organisation.

Farewell to Wilhelm Jürgens

"We keep our promises!"

The end of an era. Our valued and long-standing business partner Wilhelm Jürgens has taken his well-deserved retirement. His guiding principle: "We keep the promises we make with our customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders", which reflects the values and principles that have guided Mr Jürgens throughout his long career. One area of focus has always been on training young people. It was important to him that they could try things out and be encouraged. As an advocate of clear structures and responsibilities, Mr Jürgens became Managing Director of Saltenbrock Landtechnik GmbH in March 2002, which now comes under the name AGRAVIS Technik Saltenbrock GmbH. In the years that followed, the company expanded through acquisitions and the recruitment of skilled labour and also achieved exclusivity for CLAAS in Westphalia in 2016.

Showing great determination, Mr Jürgens expanded his sales territories and adapted the supplier portfolio to cover all segments of the farming world. His loyalty to AMAZONE and CLAAS and his commitment helped the businesses he managed to gain strength in their regions and become part of the "Saltenbrock" family. We wish him all the best for the next stage of his life 

Deserving employees

Erhard Peters – our man for trade show logistics

After 41 years of loyal service, Erhard Peters took his well-deserved retirement this spring. His commitment and expertise in the field of trade show logistics were particularly appreciated by colleagues and superiors. His motto: "There’s no such thing as impossible". 

Mr Peters started his career at AMAZONE in 1983 as a lorry driver. Around three years later, he moved to the dispatch department and later to the newly established logistics department. In this position, he also coordinated the logistics for trade shows and exhibitions in Germany and overseas. His commitment to the 19 Agritechnica exhibitions every two years was probably his greatest challenge and deserves special mention. Ultimately, all the machines and models always arrived at their designated spot in the exhibition hall on time, which was not least down to him. It is also worth mentioning our own installation team, who lay countless square metres of carpet tiles on our 3,000m² stand at this trade show. In recent years, Mr Peters has been responsible for developing and coordinating the team. He was responsible for setting up the most complicated trade show models with outstanding composure and expertise. We would like to thank him for his tireless work and commitment and wish him all the best for his retirement. 

New Managing Director at AMAZONE Poland

Agriculture close to the heart 

Marek Zieliński has been the joint Managing Director of AMAZONE Polska Sp. z. o. o. alongside Roland Kratz since 1 March 2023. He replaces our long-standing and well-known local Sales Manager Michał Wojchiechowski, who has actually taken his well-deserved retirement after more than 30 years working for AMAZONE in Poland. However, Michał is still actively supporting our marketing department on a part-time basis, which we are very pleased about. 

Mr Zieliński's professional career has been shaped by agriculture from the very beginning, not least because his parents also run a small farm. During his studies, he worked at Kverneland in plant protection and seeding. He later worked for Lemken in Poland for 15 years in sales and marketing. He is now looking forward to his new challenges at AMAZONE. His primary goal is to develop both the sales structure and the product portfolio throughout Poland. A significant increase in the number of machine demonstrations by AMAZONE Polska from this spring onwards will help to give our farmer end customers an even better understanding of the wide range and impressive functionality of our product programme, including SCHMOTZER hoes. 

Mr Zieliński lives with his wife and three-year-old son in Tczew (Dirschau), near Gdańsk (Danzig) in northern Poland and is looking forward to further expanding his contacts throughout the AMAZONE organisation.

Dr. Justus Dreyer: 25 years working in-house

From mechanical engineering degree to driver of innovation

Dr Justus Dreyer, Chairman of the Management Board and owner of the AMAZONE Group, is celebrating 25 years of service this year. Born in 1970 to Magdalene and Dr Heinz Dreyer, he studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Brunswick in the 1990s. During his subsequent scientific work at the University of Hohenheim, specialising in seeding, he gained experience in design at AMAZONE, among other things. He was awarded a doctorate in agriculture in 2004. in 2005, his father entrusted him with the management of the company, which he has been running together with his great-cousin Christian Dreyer ever since.

Dr Justus Dreyer is passionate about developing innovative solutions at AMAZONE and is committed to the future of agriculture. His involvement in international projects that serve to further develop sustainability in local agriculture is a matter close to his heart. The entrepreneur lives in Osnabrück and enjoys spending his free time doing a variety of activities with friends and family. As a committed team player, he continues to pursue the goal of leading the AMAZONE Group into a successful future. 
 

Astonishing facts and figures

Did you know that ….

... the UX crop protection sprayer contains up to 

parts?

… this year, 

people have already visited our plants in Gaste, Leeden and Bramsche?

marked the delivery of the first Precea 12m to Denmark, Bulgaria and the Ukraine?

Premium paintwork now also in Hasbergen-Gaste

New powder coating plant at the main plant in Hasbergen-Gaste

Our plants in Altmoorhausen and Leipzig already have a powder coating facility, which will be followed by the commissioning of a new facility at our main plant in Hasbergen-Gaste in 2023.
We can now also combine the best of both worlds directly from this plant: the cathodic dip painting process (CDP) as a primer is combined with powder coating for extra paint thickness to provide increased protection against mechanical wear and tear, resulting in a high level of operational safety and durability.

Our ZA-V, ZA-TS mounted fertiliser spreaders and the ZG-TS bulk fertiliser spreader are treated with this premium coating process. AMAZONE offers a special guarantee for these three product types in the form of a seven-year manufacturer guarantee against rusting through. This guarantee can be easily applied for free of charge in the myAMAZONE digital customer portal at www.amazone.net/myAMAZONE under the terms and conditions stated there.

Once upon a time

AMAZONE manure spreader 

Many people are surprised to learn that AMAZONE used to manufacture manure spreaders once upon a time. Production started in 1949 and continued until the 1970s. They started with conventional single-axle models with hydraulic or rack and pinion unloading, to which a spreading unit could be attached at the rear for spreading manure.

Over time, however, experience showed that very few farmers had tractors powerful enough to spread manure. Heinrich Dreyer therefore soon developed smaller spreaders for tractors from 15 to 18 hp, which were later joined by models with a hydraulic unloading mechanism, larger vehicles with a sliding floor and even a twin-axle spreader.

AMAZONE successfully offered an auger spreading roller as a spreading unit, which performed very well. The negative aspect of this system was the narrow working widths of 2.5 metres.

To counter this disadvantage, Dr Heinz Dreyer developed a special wide spreading unit in 1962 with a straight base spreading roller and an angled spreading roller above it. Due to this innovation, the unit was able to spread the manure over 3.5 to 4 metres. The spreading result was very good, but the technical expenditure was considerable and the price correspondingly high. 

For these reasons, the wide spreader unit unfortunately had little success on the market and was soon discontinued.
 

AMAZONE location presentation, part 1: Hude

At home in Hude for 67 years

In 1957, qualified engineer Heinrich Dreyer, the remaining representative of the second generation of Dreyers, decided to set up a branch factory in Hude. The project started with the rental of a few halls from the company "Weserflug" in Delmenhorst/Hoykenkamp in order to expand the capacity of the main plant in Gaste. When these premises became unavailable due to a contract termination, Heinrich Dreyer decided to set up his own sister plant nearby. He wanted to retain his employees by relocating production. Ultimately Hude was chosen because town director Mr Behrens was able to offer a site there with a railway siding on very good terms.

Construction work on the plant began in 1957. Once the first section was complete in 1958, it was put into operation immediately. Unfortunately, the initiator Heinrich Dreyer died shortly beforehand, so did not live to see the plant commissioned. The management and launch of the new branch plant was taken over by representatives of the third generation of Dreyers, Dipl. Eng. Heinz Dreyer and his cousin Klaus Dreyer. The early days were challenging, as the company was heavily in debt and the banks had little confidence in the new young management team. 

Production began under the commercial management of Mr Oskar Gieb with around 50 employees. Seed drills and manure spreaders were manufactured. Over time, the plant in Hude consolidated and Dr Scharmann was appointed as the new plant manager. After a few years, the plant was expanded for the first time. 

Under the leadership of other talented managers such as Mr Schomäker, Mr Gatterman and Mr van Seggern, the plant continued to flourish and still does today under Mr Aljets. The hall capacity was increased every two years and the factory continued to flourish.

Just as utilisation of the property was reaching capacity, a company in the vicinity went bankrupt and the property was sold to AMAZONE. However, the "Huder Mühlenbau" plant was on the other side of the railway. With the support of the town of Hude, AMAZONE built a tunnel under the railway so that the two properties could be connected. The design office was housed in the newly acquired company, the fertiliser storage hall department was incorporated and the R & D department and training centre were set up.

As business continued to develop positively and eventually these facilities were also threatening to burst at the seams, AMAZONE was also able to acquire the neighbouring supermarket, which was ideal for the construction of a spacious presentation hall with training rooms and a restaurant for visitors.

Since 2008, the Hude site has also owned large industrial premises in Hude-Altmoorhausen, where important parts of production are now based. 

Over the years, the plant has developed into a very prestigious subsidiary. More than 700 people are now employed in Hude and Altmoorhausen, where active soil tillage machines are produced and the entire seeding division is based.

75 years of seed drills | 1949 -2024

For 75 years, AMAZONE has stood for innovation and quality in when it comes to seed drills. No matter if working after the plough, mulch or direct seeding, or whether using linkage mounted, harrow-mounted or trailed drills, AMAZONE offers the right solution for every soil type and any crop type. With state-of-the-art technology, high precision and simple operation, AMAZONE has become the market leader in seed drills. In this anniversary year, we are not only celebrating our own success, but also that of our customers. 

The story of the seed drill goes back to 1949. At that time, Dipl. Eng. Heinrich Dreyer, the son of the company founder, together with Mr Kademann, developed the first D1 seed drill with a working width of 2 m, which was equipped with the innovative Elite seed wheel for fine and normal sowing. This seed drill revolutionised the drilling of catch crops because, unlike seed drills of that time, the D1 didn’t require the seed wheels to be constantly changed. When AMAZONE first launched its combination of reciprocating harrow and D4 seed drill in 1966, it was a completely new technique and it also represented the beginning of a long story of success. This innovation was a huge step forward for farmers. This was because the combination of active soil tillage and sowing made it possible to reduce the number of passes whilst, at the same time, significantly improving the sowing quality. 

With the current seed drills and seed drill combinations, we are trying to find the perfect system for the interaction of soil tillage, reconsolidation, seed placement and embedding for every farm in the world. In addition to the conventional and pneumatic mounted and harrow-mounted seed drills, today's AMAZONE range also includes other different designs. These include Cirrus trailed cultivator drill, the Primera DMC large area seed drill and solo seed drills, such as the Citan, in working widths of up to 15 m. No other agricultural machinery manufacturer can offer its customers such a comprehensive range of seed drills and seed drill combinations as AMAZONE.

Find out more: 75 years of AMAZONE seed drills