Valtra - Hanki-Ker Kft.

Interview with Valtra Managing Director Matti Ruotsala
Valtra should renew itself
Valtra’s new managing director conveys a
sense of enthusiasm in our interview. Hav-
ing transferred from the top position at a
major crane manufacturer to Valtra, Ruot-
sala has quickly acquainted himself with ag-
riculture and tractors – and obviously likes
what he sees. The agriculture sector and
agricultural machinery manufacturers both
face enormous challenges, but Ruotsala
does not doubt for a moment that farmers
and Valtra will triumph over these.
“The number of farms in Western Europe con-
tinues to decrease as their size increases. Large
farms operate like big companies. At the same
time, agricultural entrepreneurs on smaller farms
must handle an increasing number of tasks in ad-
dition to farming, such as contracting and biofuel
production. Meanwhile, the agriculture sector
in Eastern Europe is going through the same
transformation that occurred in Western Europe
and North America in the decades following the
Second World War, only many times faster. As a
tractor manufacturer, we have to re-
spond to all these demands,” Ruot-
sala says.
Over half his time since becom-
ing managing director has been
spent together with dealers and
customers. “Today’s farmers are
highly skilled entrepreneurs. They
can be compared favourably with
SME business professionals in any
other industry,” Ruotsala notes.
New products and services
Valtra’s products and services will take a big step
forward in 2006, and many new tractor models
will be introduced.
“The Advance models in the N Series will go
on sale in the summer, and four valve Common
Rail engines will be introduced in the T Series.
Improvements in user comfort and effi ciency
are being introduced to the range all the time.
Fulfi lling environmental requirements is no burden
for us; we look after the envir onment as a matter
of pride,” Ruotsala emphasises.
Maintenance and spare parts service is also
improving as the number of Valtra tractors contin-
6
“Today’s farmers are highly
skilled entrepreneurs.
They can be compared favourably
with SME business professionals
in any other industry.”
ues to grow in different markets around
the world and the distribution of spare parts
is honed.
“The logistics help of our parent company
AGCO is helping to further speed up the avail-
ability of spare parts. The increase in the
number of Valtra tractors and improved train-
ing for maintenance personnel is also helping
to develop the professional skills of our service
teams. At the same time, the growing network
of dealers is improving service in many re-
gions,” Ruotsala adds.
Valtra is the most popular tractor brand in
Northern Europe and the second most popular
in South America. The goal now is to strengthen
Valtra’s position in other markets.
“The major agricultural countries in Western
Europe, such as Great Britain, Germany, Italy,
Spain and France, are areas in which we have
natural possibilities to increase our market shares.
In the eastern parts of Europe, such as Poland,
Russia and Ukraine, the demand for agricultural
machinery is growing rapidly. Our long-term goal
is to achieve annual growth of over 10 percent,”
Ruotsala says.
Product development and new innovations
play an important role. “When we joined AGCO
two years ago, our R&D resources tripled. Within a
large group, we can benefi t fully from each other’s