Star performance Seco Group

star pErforMancE

The Czech engineering company Seco Group, a producer of mowing tractors, significantly increased its sales last year and has reinforced its position in the European market. One of the key factors behind this success was the introduction of Starjet, an innovative product designed for the most demanding customers. Romana Moares reports.

The Czech Seco Group, a successor of the renowned traditional agricultural equipment manufacturer Agrostroj Jičín, had a good year – the company managed to increase the sales of its smallsize tractors by almost 20 per cent to 8900 pieces, and is planning to increase its export volumes to 80 per cent this year. In Poland, for example, its sales increased five-fold compared to the previous year. The company, which employs almost 700 people, expects another increase this year, to over 1.3 billion Czech crowns.

The Seco Group is the biggest manufacturer of mowing tractors in the Czech Republic, and has been in the business, without interruption, since 1895. It was founded to make agricultural machines and tools, including ploughs, seed drills, hoes, tedders and rakes, and later also threshers. In 1895, the production of grass and cereal mowers was introduced. Production was gradually expanded and in 1913 a foundry was built – these two production lines still represent the core businesses of today’s company. Seco Group also has a transport division, which distributes spare parts for Škoda Auto. The company now controls about one third of the local mowing machines market.

Robust and reliable

The engineering division, with its production of small tractors, generates about 40 per cent of total output. At present, Seco Group supplies 11 small tractor models including the sturdy grass tractors Starjet and Crossjet riders. The Starjet series is the main line, accounting for about two-thirds of total mower sales. Starjet tractors are designed for the cutting or mulching of regularly maintained grass areas, and are the most widely used tractors in the Czech Republic for the maintenance of football pitches and other grass-covered sports grounds.

The group invests 25 million SEK per year in the modernisation of its production technologies, of which up to 7 million is spent on development and innovation. The latest innovation to come from its research and development department is a mowing tractor with a high-rise tipping basket (grass collector), which significantly improves operator comfort. This product was about a year in development and the company will produce about 300 units by the end of the first year, although it plans to increase its annual output to 500. The tractors are sold under the name Starjet Exclusive PRO in two versions, both equipped with a twin-rotor cutting unit placed between axles. Both version of the tractor can be used year-round.

Seco boasts modern technology for metal processing which, in addition to the manufacture of its own products, can also be sub-contracted to external customers for their own unit production. A comprehensive CAD/CAM solution, the production of accessories and fixtures can also be offered, if required.

“Our continued strategy is to offer robust, reliable and safe machines with a high added value,” says sales manager Zdeněk Pecl. “That is also

the reason why most of the key components, over 70 per cent to be exact, are made in-house in our workshops, which are equipped with state-of-the-art technology.”

Sound footing

The company’s foundry mainly supplies the automotive industry. It produces embedded cylinders for diesel engines and various castings of ductile cast iron. “We are one of the leading foundries in the Czech Republic in the area of smaller, precision cast pieces from ductile iron for the European manufacturers of cars and trucks, tractors and construction machinery. We are the dominant manufacturer of inserted liners for diesel engines in the Czech Republic and an important supplier to many renowned engine manufacturers, particularly in the EU,” says Mr Pecl. He further confirms that suppliers play a highly important role in the company’s success, citing its excellent relationship with Kawasaki as an example.

In addition to Poland, the company has also significantly increased sales in the domestic market, where approximately 45 per cent of the mowers are purchased by private users, the same percentage by municipalities, and the rest going to sports clubs.

Key export markets include Germany, France and other countries of the European Union. Tractors from Jičín are also used in Russia, Belarus and Turkey as well as further afield in Australia, New Zealand, China and South Korea. The Seco Group seeks to tailor its product portfolio to customers across different countries, climate conditions and market legislation. Flexibility, variety of customised solutions, perfect craftsmanship and superb quality are the key attributes that will form the basis of the company’s success in the future. n

Kawasaki

Seco Group have been partnering with Kawasaki engines since 2013, having selected the engine manufacturer for their most powerful mowing tractor, the Goliath 4WD.

Supplied through Kawasaki engines Czech distributor, Asko KC, s.r.o., Seco chose the Kawasaki FS730V and FS600V; both powerful V-twin petrol engines, designed to cope with the demands of commercial mowing and grounds maintenance.

“We chose Kawasaki for the exceptional build quality and durability of their engines”, comments Petr Fischer, Area Sales manager at Seco Group. “They offer sustained performance in the toughest ground conditions.”

He continues, “Goliath is designed for the mulching of unmaintained and neglected areas such as side ditches and ski slopes, even river and pond beds. It can cut through extremely tough vegetation including wild roses and high reeds, and so we needed an engine that could match the demands of these challenging environments.”

Kawasaki’s range of petrol engines are designed for applications used by professional operators and are built to withstand heavy usage. Their V-twin engines in particular are renowned for their performance and durability, powering professional grade ride-on mowers for many of the world’s best-known turfcare manufacturers. Similarly Kawasaki’s single cylinder range, the FJ Series, is engineered specifically to meet the requirements of heavy professional use. Although often used to power commercial standard walkbehind mowers, it’s applications are not restricted to turfcare, with Kawasaki FJ engines also powering industrial equipment such as generators and pumps.

Across europe, however, Kawasaki engines are perhaps most well known for their 2-stroke engine range, the TJ Series, frequently seen powering a diverse range of handheld products from brushcutters and hedgetrimmers used by groundscare professionals, to vertical tampers employed in the rail industry.

“We are proud to power a wide range of applications across the turfcare, groundscare, industrial and related industries”, comments Jack Ford, Senior Product manager at Kawasaki engines european Division. “Not only are we committed to supplying high quality 2 and 4-stroke petrol engines, but also to support them in the market through our european Service Network, enabled by national distributors such as Asko KC.”

He continues, “As a General Purpose engine Division, we have just celebrated 60 years of production and we look forward to delivering reliable power solutions to our customers for the next 60 years and beyond.”