Valmet celebrates 50th
Valmet celebrates 50th
FINLANDS national tractor company is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a name change and record-breaking sales figures.
The new brand name is Valtra, introduced to dispel any confusion caused by the succession of identities since the mid-1980s. Then the tractors were called Volvo BM Valmet, which was simplified to Valmet after a marketing agreement with Volvo ended.
The Valtra Valmet name followed when the Partek group of companies took over the tractor business, and shortening this to Valtra leaves the Valmet brand name for a range of timber equipment.
Despite of the name changes, the 50-year-old company has achieved a record of consistent growth. Tractor production averaged about 1000 a year in the 1960s, rising to 3000 in the 1970s and 5000 during the 1980s. About 9000 tractors were built each year during the 1990s, increasing to 15,000 at the start of the 2000-decade.
While most tractor companies have recently cut their production to match shrinking markets, Valmet is still expanding. The 1999 production figure was 15,074 tractors, and this rose to 15,964 last year. The Sisu engine plant, which supplies power units to Case and Massey Ferguson as well as the Valmet plant, is also reporting increased demand, rising from 19,887 in 1999 to a record-breaking 20,729 in 2000.
This years production figures should be in line for a boost from the addition of the new high powered S series, which will take Valtra into the 200hp plus sector for the first time when production starts later this year. *