John Deere’s self-propelled sprayer offering is set to narrow, after it announced the closure and liquidation of Mazzotti.

The company, based at Ravenna in north-eastern Italy, was purchased by Deere in 2017 – primarily for its mid-range, European-spec machines.

See also: First impressions: John Deere’s front-cab 550R sprayer

These were retailed as yellow-liveried “Mazzotti by John Deere” units until the unveiling of the 300M in Deere’s trademark colours at Agritechnica 2023.

It came with a new cab, revised chassis and uprated wheel motors, bringing it into line with larger 500-series sprayers produced at Deere’s Horst plant in the Netherlands.

The redesign was apparently a success and a number of dealers in the UK ordered demonstration machines. However, many are still parked up behind depot chainlink.

Remaining typically tight-lipped about the liquidation, Deere’s official line is that “…the decision follows a period of low order volumes for this product”.

Unofficial sources say that the M-series was simply too expensive to compete with the likes of Bateman, Househam and Sands, especially given the fierce brand loyalty in the sector.

And it’s not just the Deere network that will be affected by the liquidation; the Italian brand also provided Kverneland with chassis-cab skid units for its iXdrive.

It will now be hunting for an alternative self-propelled on which to mount its Vicon-based spray rigs.

Business decision

Given the Ravenna factory built tens rather than hundreds of machines a year, it was never a huge part of Deere’s global presence.

But the closure will see 29 employees lose their jobs, subject to ongoing consultation with the Italian unions and authorities.

The company has been similarly ruthless before, having swallowed a number of small firms only to mothball them within a matter of years.

There are plenty of telehandler drivers who still mourn the loss of the Matbro brand and the Deere handlers that followed.

On an even smaller scale, the acquisition of the design rights for the bolt-on H-Track from Leicestershire farmer Steve Heard didn’t last long either. 

The discontinuation of the 300Ms leaves 4,000-litre and 5,000-litre Dutch-built 500R models as the firm’s only European self-propelled offering.

There are no plans to shift manufacturing of smaller machines to Horst, but it promises to continue parts and service support for existing Mazzotti-built sprayers.