Valtra — BrandWiki

Valtra

Overview

Valtra Oy Ab

former name	Valmet‡R1R‡
type	Osakeyhtiö
industry	Agricultural machinery‡R2R‡
founded	1951 in Jyväskylä, Finland (start of tractor production);‡R1R‡ December 12, 2003 in Suolahti, Finland (as a separate company)
hq location city	Äänekoski
hq location country	Finland
area served	Worldwide
key people	Jari Rautjärvi (General Director)
products	Tractors Combines Sugarcane harvester Seed drills Self-propelled sprayers
revenue	€84,809,000 (2015) €89,701,000 (2014)
net income	€11,708,000 (2015) €10,836,000 (2014)
num employees	918 (2014)‡R2R‡
parent	AGCO
website	valtra.com

Valtra is an agricultural machinery manufacturer based in Äänekoski, Finland. Valtra's products include tractors, combine harvesters, sugar cane harvesters, self-propelled sprayers and seed drills.[3][4] Valtra has been part of the American AGCO Corporation since 2004.

Company

Valtra Inc. is a fully owned subsidiaries of the American agricultural equipment manufacturer AGCO Corporation. AGCO's headquarters are situated in Duluth, Georgia, and its EAME head office in Neuhausen, Switzerland. AGCO is the world's third largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment. In addition to Valtra, other AGCO brands include Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Challenger and GSI. In Finland AGCO also owns the AGCO Power engine plant in Linnavuori, Nokia, which produces off-road diesel engines for AGCO and other manufacturers.

History

Valtra's roots go back to the Finnish State Rifle Factory founded in Jyväskylä in 1928 and the Finnish State Artillery Factory, which moved from Helsinki to Jyväskylä in 1939. Following the Second World War in 1945, the former defensive weaponry plants owned by the Finnish State were combined under a new organisation, the State Metal Works (Valtion Metallitehtaat), the name of which was then shortened to Valmet. Following the war, the artillery and rifle plants were converted to produce goods for war reparations and civil use, although the rifle plant also continued to produce military and civilian weapons until 1992.[6][7]

The first Valmet tractors were manufactured in 1951. The prototypes and first 10 tractors were the result of cooperation between the artillery and rifle plants, after which tractor production was consolidated within the rifle plant in Tourula, Jyväskylä. The first tractors actually used parts of cannon barrel for their subframes.[7][8]

The first tractor model was the Valmet 15, the model number indicating its horsepower. The tractor was designed to replace horses on small Finnish farms and in the forests. The upgraded Valmet 20 model followed in 1955.[9]

The Valmet 33 D model was launched in 1957 with a modern diesel engine and the fuel tank located between the clutch and the gearbox, which became a trademark of Valmet and Valtra tractors. The protected position of the fuel tank also made it particularly well suited to forest work. The displacement of the three-cylinder Valmet 309 D engine was 2.7 litres, and it produced 37 hp. The engine was very modern for its time. It had excellent cold start properties and featured liquid engine cooling, wet cylinder liners and direct injection.[10]

Factory in Brazil

By the late 1950s Valmet exported several hundred tractors a year to Brazil. The Brazilian government planned to nationalise tractor production, however, and announced a bidding competition for establishing factories there. Valmet's factory project was approved, and production began rapidly in 1960 starting with the Valmet 360 D model.[11]

Tractor cabs became more widespread in the 1960s, especially in the Nordic markets, due to more stringent safety regulations and comfort requirements. The original Valmet factory in Tourula, Finland, could not assemble tractors with cabs due to the low ceiling, and the factory area near the expanding centre of Jyväskylä began to be too small. Accordingly, tractor production moved in 1969 to Suolahti, where the state owned an industrial site. Transmission production followed in 1975 following the construction of a new plant on the site. Marketing and engineering operations moved to Suolahti in 2005 and 2006.[12]

Valmet acquires Volvo BM tractors

Valtra traces its origin not only to Valmet, but also Bolinder, Munktell and Volvo

Innovation

Valmet/Valtra has introduced numerous innovations that later became industry standards.

One of the typical features of Valmet/Valtra tractors from the 1940s to the present has been their suitability for forest work. In the Nordic region tractors have traditionally been used for farming in the summer and forest work in the winter. From the 1960s to the 2000s, Valmet/Valtra tractors featured metallic fuel tanks within the subframe, where they are protected from rocks, tree stumps and branches. In the newest Valtra models the fuel tank is no longer situated inside the subframe, but forest protection is available.[25]

Other forest specifications include a high ground clearance, a forest cab, the TwinTrac reverse-drive system, narrow mudguards, protected tyre valves and factory-fitted forest tyres. With TwinTrac, the seat, along with the armrest located controls can be turned through 180 degrees to meet a second set of foot pedals and a smaller steering wheel placed at the rear of the cab. This allows the operator to drive the tractor backwards and use rear mounted implements more efficiently. Only Fendt has provided a similar fully integrated reverse-drive system, while in other brands such devices have been post-manufacture, third party additions. Valtra is the only tractor manufacturer in the world that offers a factory-fitted reverse-drive system, which is ideal not only for forest work, but also for mowing and municipal maintenance tasks.[26][27]

The Valmet 565 model introduced in 1965 featured the first synchronised gearbox in the tractor industry.[28]

The Valmet 900 introduced in 1967 featured a factory-fitted cab and gear levers on the right-hand side of the driver.

Pioneer in turbocharging

Valmet and Valtra have also been pioneers in turbocharging, especially with their three- and four-cylinder engines. In 1969 Valmet introduced the world's first turbocharged four-cylinder tractor, the Valmet 1100, which produced 115 horsepower SAE. Valtra has continued the tradition of offering the most powerful four-cylinder tractors in the world with its M and N Series models, for example.[29] Valmet also introduced the first turbocharged three-cylinder tractor engine in 1979 with the Valmet 602 Turbo model.[30]

Among the most unusual tractors manufactured by Valmet was the six-wheeled Valmet 1502 bogie model, which was introduced in 1975.

The experimental H800 model from 1986 featured an articulated chassis and fully hydraulic transmission.

The 8750 Sigma Power model introduced by Valmet in 1996 was the first tractor in the world to feature PTO (Power Take-off for external implements) boost, which was activated automatically when at least 30 horsepower was transmitted to the PTO.[31]

Valmet/Valtra is the only tractor manufacturer ever to have manufactured articulated tractors in the 100-200 horsepower class.

Factories in Tanzania and Portugal and license manufacturing

In 1980 Valmet and the government of Tanzania set up an assembly plant for tractors in Kibaha. The Trama company was established in the spirit of development cooperation and was 80 percent owned by the Tanzanian State Motor Corporation, 10 percent by Valmet, and 10 percent by Finnfund. Between 1983 and 1989 the Tanzanian plant manufactured around 2000 Valmet 604 Series tractors, with 10 to 12 percent of components sourced locally.[15]

Valmet has also had two factories in Portugal. Between 1964 and 1967, the FAP factory produced around 700 Valmet 361 Series tractors under license in Aveiro. In 1989, Valmet Tractor S.A. was established in Portugal when it seemed likely the EU would limit sales of imported tractors through tariffs. The factory in Montijo operated from 1990 to 1997, producing around 1300 tractors in total. After Finland joined the EU the factory was no longer needed. Between 1995 and 1997 the factory in Montijo also produced tractors for the Austrian brand Steyr.[16]

Valtra tractors have been manufactured under license in India by Eicher Tractor, which produced the Valmet 365 model and 320D engine for a few years beginning in 1997. In addition, Hema Endüstri/Hattat in Turkey has manufactured the Valtra A Series under license for the local market since 2004. Hema/Hattat has also manufactured small A Series models, sold under the Valtra brand around the world.[17][18]

Valtra in turn manufactured the Massey Ferguson 4400 Series at the Suolahti factory for a few years beginning in 2005. The MF 4400 Series was based on the Valtra A Series.[19]

The Valtra S Series has been manufactured at the AGCO factory in Beauvais, France, since 2009. From 2003 to 2007 the S Series was manufactured at the Suolahti factory. Beginning in 1989 the Valmet 8300 and 8600 models were also manufactured in Beauvais at what was then the Massey Ferguson factory. At the same time, Massey Ferguson began using Valmet diesel engines for its own models. Agritalia in turn manufactured Valtra 3000 Series vineyard tractors in the early 2000s.[20]

In February 2015 a Valtra tractor, driven by former World Rally Champion, Juha Kankkunen, equipped with Nokian Tyres set a new world speed record for tractors at 130.165 km/h.[21]

Valtra

Company

History

Factory in Brazil

Valmet acquires Volvo BM tractors

Ownership

Innovation

Pioneer in turbocharging

Market position

Models

External links

References

Factories in Tanzania and Portugal and license manufacturing

Stepless transmission

Custom-built tractors