TRACTION FOR GLOBAL GROWTH The SAME DEUTZ-FAHR group is one of the world’s leading makers of tractors and combine harvesters. New products and global investments are powering the company’s growth, as Julia Snow reports.
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eadquartered in Treviglio, northern Italy, the company is known for the globally renowned brands SAME, DEUTZ-FAHR, LAMBORGHINI, HÜRLIMANN and GRÉGOIRE. In 2010, the company employed some 2450 people worldwide and recorded sales turnover of €855 million. The group holds a 26.7 per cent stake in DEUTZ AG, an independent and world-leading manufacturer of diesel engines, listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The acquisition of the French Grégoire SAS at the end of last year completes an outstanding offering for the specialist range, providing solutions for the most demanding wine and oil producers.
From a workshop in Italy to a global group The company has developed dynamically since Francesco and Eugenio Cassani built the first diesel engine specifically for tractors in 1927. SAME was founded in 1942 and ten years later the world’s first four-wheel-drive tractor left the Treviglio workshop. In 1971
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SAME acquired Lamborghini Trattori, followed by the purchase of Hürlimann in 1979. The group began operations in Poland in 1992, and acquired DEUTZ-FAHR, the agricultural division of Kloeckner-Humbolt-Deutz in 1995, changing its name to SAME DEUTZ-FAHR (SDF). 1996 brought the market entry in India through a joint venture, which was turned into a fully owned subsidiary, SAME DEUTZ-FAHR INDIA, in 2002. Activity in Eastern Europe came with the acquisition of a Croatian company in 2005, which is known as SAME DEUTZ-FAHR COMBINES.
Internationalisation and innovations The company pursues a dedicated internationalisation strategy, combining decentralised production with a sales and service network providing extensive coverage of all key markets. Sales, after-sales service and parts distribution are handled by 14 subsidiaries, 141 importers, and 3000 dealers located in all parts of the world. Currently the company’s production is based in four plants in Europe (Italy, Germany,
