Valtra is an
agricultural machinery
Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the countless kinds of farm implements that the ...
manufacturer based in
Äänekoski
Äänekoski () is a town in Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about north of Jyväskylä. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which
is water. The population density is .
Neighbouring municipalities ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. Valtra's products include
tractor
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
s,
combine harvester
The modern combine harvester, or simply combine, is a versatile machine designed to efficiently harvest a variety of grain crops. The name derives from its combining four separate harvesting operations—reaping, threshing, gathering, and winnow ...
s,
sugar cane harvesters, self-propelled
sprayer
A sprayer is a device used to spray a liquid, where sprayers are commonly used for projection of water, weed killers, crop performance materials, pest maintenance chemicals, as well as manufacturing and production line ingredients. In agricult ...
s and
seed drill
A seed drill is a device used in agriculture that sows seeds for crops by positioning them in the soil and burying them to a specific depth while being dragged by a tractor. This ensures that seeds will be distributed evenly.
The seed drill sow ...
s. Valtra has been part of the American
AGCO
AGCO Corporation is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in 1990 and with its headquarters in Duluth, Georgia, United States. AGCO designs, produces and sells tractors, combines, foragers, hay tools, self-propelled sprayers, ...
Corporation
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
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
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and its EAME head office in
Neuhausen,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. AGCO is the world's third largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment. In addition to Valtra, other AGCO brands include
Massey Ferguson
Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in T ...
,
Fendt
Fendt is a German agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in 1930 by Xaver Fendt in Marktoberdorf, Allgäu region, Germany. Fendt manufactures tractors, combine harvesters, balers, telescopic handlers and row crop planters. It was purchased ...
,
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. AGCO is listed on the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
. Valtra Inc. employed 918 people at the Suolahti tractor plant at the end of 2014. Valtra manufacturers around 20,000 tractors a year at its plants in Suolahti and Mogi das Cruzes.
History
![Valtra Valmet 6400](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Valtra_Valmet_6400.jpg)
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
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
to
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...
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
Valmet Oyj is a Finnish company and a developer and supplier of technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp (paper), pulp, paper and energy industry, energy industries.
Valmet has over 200 years of history as an industrial oper ...
. 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.
![Valmet 20 1957](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Valmet_20_1957.JPG)
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.
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.
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 . 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.
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.
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.
Valmet acquires Volvo BM tractors
Valtra traces its origin not only to
Valmet
Valmet Oyj is a Finnish company and a developer and supplier of technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp (paper), pulp, paper and energy industry, energy industries.
Valmet has over 200 years of history as an industrial oper ...
, but also Bolinder, Munktell and
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
.
Bolinder-Munktell
AB Bolinder-Munktell (BM) was a tractor and machines manufacturer founded in Eskilstuna, Sweden in 1932 through the merger of the mechanical companies Bolinder and Munktell.
Bolinder are also well known as manufacturers of 'Semi-Diesel' or ...
merged with the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
company Volvo in 1950 to form BM Volvo (later Volvo BM, now
Volvo Construction Equipment
Volvo Construction Equipment - Volvo CE - (originally Munktells, Bolinder-Munktell, Volvo BM) is a major international company that develops, manufactures and markets equipment for construction and related industries. It is a subsidiary and busine ...
). In the late 1970s Volvo BM decided to focus on construction equipment and sell off its tractor and forest machinery business. Valmet was already bigger than Volvo BM in the tractor market and was keen to invest more in the business. Volvo BM and Valmet signed a letter of intent in November 1978, and the final agreement was signed on 1 October 1979.
Work on designing a new range of tractors designated Volvo BM Valmet began already in January 1979. Scantrac AB, a joint venture between Volvo BM and Valmet, was responsible for engineering and marketing operations, as Volvo BM wanted to transfer its sales network and customers to Valmet. Tractor production at Volvo BM's factory in
Eskilstuna
Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...
, Sweden, was discontinued, and the factory switched to manufacturing construction equipment.
The first Volvo BM Valmet models were unveiled in Sweden in May 1982. Volvo supplied the cabs and transmission components to all 505–905 series tractors between 1982 and 1991. After taking over Volvo BM's tractor operations, Valmet became the biggest tractor brand in Northern Europe, having already been the market leader in Finland and one of the most popular brands in Brazil.
Factories in Tanzania and Portugal and license manufacturing
In 1980 Valmet and the government of
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
set up an assembly plant for tractors in
Kibaha
Kibaha is a city, with a population of 128,488 (2012 census), located in eastern Tanzania. It is the capital of Pwani Region
Pwani Region (''Mkoa wa Pwani'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The word "''Pwani''" in ...
. 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.
![Valmet 604 assembly line in Kibaha, Tanzania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Valmet_604_assembly_line_in_Kibaha%2C_Tanzania.jpg)
Valmet has also had two factories in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Between 1964 and 1967, the FAP factory produced around 700 Valmet 361 Series tractors under
license
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
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
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n brand
Steyr
Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd l ...
.
Valtra tractors have been manufactured under license in India by
Eicher Eicher may refer to:
* Eicher (surname), a surname
* Eicher Motors (Eicher Group)
* Eicher tractor
* Eicher School, a school in the Faridabad district in the state of Haryana, India
* 3617 Eicher, a main-belt asteroid
See also
* Aicher
* Aich ...
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.
Valtra in turn manufactured the
Massey Ferguson
Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in T ...
4400 Series at the Suolahti factory for a few years beginning in 2005. The MF 4400 Series was based on the Valtra A Series.
The Valtra S Series has been manufactured at the AGCO factory in
Beauvais
Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris.
The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...
, 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
Carraro Agritalia is an Italian agricultural machinery manufacturer that designs and builds standard, vineyard and orchard specialty tractors. Is a division of the Carraro Group, which is separate from Antonio Carraro. Carraro Group was founded in ...
in turn manufactured Valtra 3000 Series vineyard tractors in the early 2000s.
In February 2015 a Valtra tractor, driven by former
World Rally Champion
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
,
Juha Kankkunen
Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen (; born 2 April 1959) is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which we ...
, equipped with
Nokian Tyres
Nokian Tyres plc ( fi, Nokian Renkaat Oyj), headquartered in Nokia, Finland, produces tyres for cars, trucks, buses, and heavy-duty equipment. Known for its winter tyres, Nokian is the only tyre manufacturer in the world with its own permane ...
set a new world speed record for tractors at 130.165 km/h.
Ownership
![Valtra N 143](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Valtra_N_143.jpg)
When it was founded in 1945, Valmet was a fully state-owned company. In 1994 Finnish state-owned companies were reorganised, and Valmet's tractor operations were transferred to a joint company with Sisu trucks creating the Sisu-Valmet brand.
In 1997 Sisu, including its tractor operations, was acquired by Partek. At the end of 1999 the Finnish State owned 30 percent of Partek.
In 1998 the brand name was changed from Valmet to the transition name ValtraValmet before being shortened to Valtra in 2001.
In 2002 Partek was acquired by the
Kone Corporation.
In 2004
Kone Corporation sold Valtra and SisuDiesel to the American AGCO Corporation for EUR 600 million.
Innovation
Valmet/Valtra has introduced numerous innovations that later became industry standards.
![Valtra N113 HT5 Forest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Valtra_N113_HT5_Forest.jpg)
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.
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.
The Valmet 565 model introduced in 1965 featured the first synchronised gearbox in the tractor industry.
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 1502 six wheels bogey tractor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Valmet_1502_six_wheels.jpg)
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. Valmet also introduced the first turbocharged three-cylinder tractor engine in 1979 with the Valmet 602 Turbo model.
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.
Valmet/Valtra is the only tractor manufacturer ever to have manufactured articulated tractors in the 100-200 horsepower class. The company's history of articulated tractors began with the Terra model introduced in 1965 and continued with the H800 in 1986 and the X, XM and NX models beginning in 1996.
Valtra was awarded two prestigious DLG Silver Medals at Agritechnica 2007 for its innovations. One was awarded for the Valtra LH Lift pivoting front linkage and the other for its semi-active AutoComfort cab suspension.
In 2008 Valtra was the first tractor manufacturer in the world to introduce SCR exhaust cleaning technology with its S Series. The technology had been previously used in the truck industry and has since become almost standard in the tractor industry.
Stepless transmission
In 2008 Valtra introduced the stepless Direct transmission, which it had developed and manufactured itself. Unlike other continuously variable transmissions, Direct transmissions have ground-speed PTO option, are equally efficient when driven forwards and in reverse, and have separate oils for the hydraulics and transmission. Direct transmissions are very similar in design to Valtra's five-step Versu powershift transmissions.
The fourth generation T Series that was introduced in 2014 featured for the first time Valtra's patented hydraulics assistant that increases the engine speed automatically under heavy hydraulic loads. The T Series also features an automatic powershift that switches to a lower gear range when needed at a preset speed. The Valtra T Series was named Machine of the Year at SIMA, the Paris International Agri Business Show, in 2014.
In autumn 2015 Valtra introduced its ASR traction control system on the fourth generation N Series. This innovation optimises power in relation to the traction, reducing fuel consumption and avoiding damage to the ground. Valtra N Series was named Machine of the Year and awarded Tractor of the Year for the Best Design at Agritechnica exhibition 2015.
Custom-built tractors
Since the early 1990s Valtra has had a tradition of allowing the customer to tailor the tractor to specific needs and desires, in recent years called 'a la carte'. Valtra has been the only tractor manufacturer in the world to manufacture tractors on the basis of individual customer orders only. Several options have been available pertaining to for example the tractors color, transmission type and speed, hydraulics, PTO and suspension. The Suolahti factory does not make a single tractor without an order from an importer, dealer or customer. Valtra offers a wide range of options and features, allowing customers to specify their tractors according to their own specific needs.
In 2013 the Unlimited Studio was introduced to serve the customer further in this regard, allowing the addition to the tractor of "anything within reason" as a final step in the assembly process. The Unlimited Studio allows tractors to be fitted with options that would otherwise not be possible or feasible on the regular assembly line. The 1000th Unlimited tractor was handed over in autumn 2015. The Unlimited Studio has customised 106 N163 Direct tractors for the Finnish Defence Forces, as well as the Pink Cat campaign tractor for the Young Farmers of Finland.
Fourth generation N and T Series tractors won several international tractor and design awards in 2015 and 2016 including Machine of the Year, Golden Tractor for Design, A Design Award and Red Dot design award.
Market position
![Valtra Valmet 6400](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Valtra_Valmet_6400.jpg)
Valmet/Valtra has been the most popular tractor brand in Finland since the early 1970s and the most popular tractor brand in Scandinavia since it took over Volvo BM's tractor operations in the early 1980s. In Brazil and South America, Valmet/Valtra has been the second or third most popular tractor brand depending on the year.
In western markets, Valtra has been the fourth or fifth most popular tractor brand depending on the year. Valtra tractors are currently sold in around 75 countries around the world.
Models
![Valtra A Series in forest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Valtra_A_Series_in_forest.jpg)
Valtra tractor models being manufactured in 2015:
A Series
* A53 (50 hp /196 Nm)
* A63 (68 hp / 285 Nm)
* A73 (78 hp / 310 Nm)
* A83 HiTech (88 hp / 325 Nm)
* A93 Hitech (101 hp / 370 Nm)
![Valtra N Series tractor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Valtra_4th_generation_N_Series_tractor.jpg)
N Series
* N104 HiTech (105 hp / 470 Nm)
* N114e HiTech (115 hp / 500 Nm)
* N124 HiTech (125 hp / 550 Nm)
* N134 HiTech, Active, Versu, Direct (145 hp / 600 Nm)
* N154 HiTech, Active, Versu, Direct (165 hp / 720 Nm)
* N174 HiTech, Active, Versu, Direct (185 hp / 730 Nm)
![Valtra T Series tractor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Valtra_T_Series_tractor.jpg)
T Series
* T144 HiTech, Active, Versu, Direct (170 hp / 680 Nm)
* T154 HiTech, Active, Versu, Direct (180 hp / 740 Nm)
* T174e HiTech, Active, Versu, Direct (190 hp / 900 Nm)
* T194 HiTech, Active, Versu, Direct (210 hp / 870 Nm)
* T214 HiTech, Active, Versu, Direct (230 hp / 910 Nm)
* T234 HiTech, Active, Versu (250 hp / 1000 Nm)
![Valtra S series](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Valtra_S_Series_tractor.jpg)
S Series
* S274 (300 hp / 1300 Nm)
* S294 (325 hp / 1390 Nm)
* S324 (350 hp / 1500 Nm)
* S354 (380 hp / 1590 Nm)
* S374 (400 hp / 1600 Nm)
A different set of models are produced in Brazil:
*Valtra BL (65-95 hp)
*Valtra BM (100-125 hp)
*Valtra BH (145-205 hp)
*Valtra BT (150-210 hp) with higher end technology compared to BH line
*Valtra BC (Harvesters)
*Valtra BS (Sprayers)
A special series made in Argentina since 2014
*Valtra AR (140-210 cv)
References
External links
*
Valtra BrazilEmail group concerning Valtra agricultural equipment and tractors
{{AGCO
AGCO
Valmet
Agricultural machinery manufacturers of Finland
Tractor manufacturers of Finland
Finnish brands