AMAZONE report

• Report on the current situation
• AMAZONE is growing, blossoming and thriving
• Precea 6000-2CC with DLG-approved PreTeC sowing unit
• A new organisation with an even stronger customer focus
• AgroSalon 2020 with four medals
• China: UX 11200 wins Applicate Contribution Award
• “Dreyer’s Batate" potato sorter
• Mr Jörg Dölling, Head of the D-A-CH Customer Service department
• True love never dies: EV from 1980
• agri EXPERTS and DLG 2020 surveys.
• László Kiszelka – Heat treatment at Moson
• Falcon – a strong partner for South Africa
• Double-armed robot welding system in operation in Hude
• 17. Leipzig themed evening – digital
• Coenders Lottum BV, Venlo in the Netherlands
• The "Kompleks Agro" dealership in Siberia
• New series with more operating comfort – AMAZONE “Pantera 4504” self-propelled sprayer
• The Groundkeeper at SG Dynamo Dresden
• AMAZONE seed drill combination in the home of malt whisky
• Mr Christian Dorn, factory sales representative
• Successful energy management
• Successful cooperation with our subsidiary in Samara in Russia
• Farewell to Dr. Große Scharmann
• Christian Dreyer: Chairmanship of the VDMA Agricultural Machinery Division passed on after four years

Report on the current situation

Last year and the beginning of the new year were marked by the corona pandemic, which confronted all of us. The impact at AMAZONEN-WERKE was kept to a minimum thanks to strict measures and the great discipline of all employees. Operations were fully maintained without any noticeable downtime and sales were still significantly increased, especially in the 4th quarter of 2020 as well as in the 1st quarter of 2021.

AMAZONE achieved sales of 537 million for the first time in the company’s history, clearly exceeding the half billion mark. We are extremely pleased with the jump in sales in a year with such difficult general conditions and are encouraged for the future.

But there were also some important organisational changes at the AMAZONE Group. The management appointed a new team of supervisors as Product Line Managers (PLM) in December.

Mr Kühn is now responsible for fertilisation technology, Mr Klemann for crop protection technology and Mr Laumann for passive soil tillage. Another PLM for sowing technology will start work soon.

There were also some personnel changes at the AMAZONE subsidiary BBG: Mr Wilken took over the management of the Leipzig location and is now responsible for the Leipzig plant together with Dr Resch and Mr Braunsmann.

The demand for agricultural machinery is currently rising sharply, and the situation with our suppliers is also much tighter than last year, but we will do our utmost to supply our customers on a reliable basis.

The AMAZONEN-WERKE Management team

AMAZONE is growing, blossoming and thriving

Business at AMAZONE has developed successfully despite the restrictions caused by the pandemic. We are immensely grateful to our customers and our partners for remaining loyal to us during this challenging time for all of us, and for continuing to do so.

Sales have grown in Germany, France and the UK, as well as in other key markets such as Poland, Denmark and Austria. Although we only moved to our new spare parts centre, the Global Parts Center in Leeden, in 2019, there is already a need for further space there. We are considering the relocation of the last remaining assembly lines in Leeden to the new plant in Bramsche to gain this space. This will require an extension of the halls in Bramsche, which we are currently planning.

Our production plant in Samara, Russia, has reached the limits of its capacity due to the high level of utilisation last year and this spring. We are therefore planning a new building as an extension of the existing plant on a site not far from the current location.

Precea 6000-2CC with DLG-approved PreTeC sowing unit

AMAZONE is extending the Precea precision air seeder family with a new 6 m working width machine. In future, the rigid Precea 6000 and the folding Precea 6000-2 will be available. Both models can be supplied either without a fertiliser hopper or with a rear fertiliser tank. The Precea 6000-2FCC offers increased fertilisation efficiency by utilising the FTender front tank. The 8 to 9 singling units are arranged on a special carrying frame where the units can be freely moved on a profile rail. This allows the user to change the spacing for up to 12 rows depending on the level of equipment and the type of seed being sown. In this respect, an optical sensor closely monitors the singling process and reports any misses or doubles to the tractor terminal. The stripper system can then be easily adjusted.

In combination with the electric drive, the Precea is capable of singling at speeds of up to 15 km/h. The newly developed PreTeC mulch seeding coulter can be mechanically loaded with a coulter pressure of up to 220 kg. The complete coulter unit is easily accessible and the maintenance-free bearings and bushings are optimally protected from dust. The DLG published two test reports for the 6-row Precea 4500-2CC Super and the PreTeC sowing unit In February 2021. The Precea and the PreTeC sowing unit impressed across the board in both the field test and the laboratory test and were awarded the "DLG-APPROVED" certificate.

A new organisation with an even stronger customer focus

We can look back on a long tradition at AMAZONE. The satisfaction of our customers has always been the focus of our activities. We reaffirmed this in our mission statement in 2014 and also developed seven core values which make our company special. Both our customers and our employees can trust in these values. We have set a course for the future in recent months: Our soil tillage, sowing, fertilisation and plant protection product lines have moved further towards the centre of our company.

An experienced Product Line Manager is in charge of each line. In particular, our new product line structure brings us even closer to our customers and ensures that all areas of the company involved are fully integrated. As a partner to agriculture, we aim to offer products and services which are optimally geared to the needs of our customers.

We want to remain an independent family business in the future! That is why we have set ourselves challenging goals for the coming years which complement our mission statement and core values. In doing so, we were driven by the idea that farmers worldwide will rely on our innovative and sustainable solutions for intelligent crop production in the future. We aim to be the market leader in Europe with our product lines and also to be represented in all important arable farming regions of the world. We have compiled the most important information on our updated mission statement in a brochure. Together with our partners and employees, we work every day to meet the challenges of these times and further increase the high level of satisfaction of our customers.

1. Customer orientation
2. Teamwork
3. Commitment
4. Quality
5. Innovation
6. Sustainability
7. Continuity

AgroSalon 2020 with four medals

The most important agricultural technology trade fairs were cancelled in 2020 owing to the corona pandemic, with the exception of the Agrosalon exhibition in Moscow. It goes without saying that there were some restrictions, but we took advantage of the opportunity and presented our product range on a large central stand.

AMAZONE was awarded a total of four medals for special innovations this time - one gold and three silver. We received the gold medal for the Precea precision air seeder, where the heart of the new development is the singling system. This not only enables highly precise singling of different seeds but also a high forward speed of up to 15 km/h. AMAZONE received the three silver medals for the new FDC Fertiliser Delivery Cart, the enhanced Primera DMC and for the "Black Pantera" self-propelled crop protection sprayer with fully automatic boom guidance.

Despite corona, we were able to welcome many interested visitors to the exhibition and conduct intensive discussions. Since the supply of the population with high-quality food also enjoys high priority in Russia, there was again a strong investment in innovative agricultural machinery in 2020. AMAZONE has been known here for many years and also produces modern agricultural machinery for the Russian market at its own plant in Samara.

China: UX 11200 wins Applicate Contribution Award

Once a year, the best farm machinery in China receives the "Applicate Contribution Award". We delivered our UX 11200 large trailed crop protection sprayer to a Chinese customer in 2019, where it received special attention from the test committee of the China Agricultural Machinery Association.

Our UX currently has pole position in China with its working width of 40 metres and large capacity of over 11,000 litres. Furthermore, the machine meets the strict requirements of the institute with its precise application of chemical plant protection agents.

The team of our sales and service subsidiary AMAZONE Tianjing were particularly pleased with the award and are expecting greater interest from the Chinese market. The award was accepted by our employee Chunjing Wang. Receiving this award shows us that we can also score points internationally with our innovative crop protection technology, especially in the Asian market.

“Dreyer’s Batate" potato sorter

Potato sorting machines have also played an important role in history of AMAZONEN-WERKE. It all started in 1910, when the founder Heinrich Dreyer developed the first sorter. It was a flat sieve sorter mounted on springs, so it was very easy to operate. He therefore called it “Federkraft” [Spring Power] and was extraordinarily successful with it, with the result that the sorters even made up the largest share of the total sales at AMAZONE at times.

In the heyday of the sorters, Heinrich Dreyer brought out a drum sorter in the 1930s to round off the product range. This was a principle which the market leader in Germany had developed before the "Federkraft" and was very popular with many potato growers. He called this sorter "Batate" (Latin for potato) and built several versions of it. However, the flat sieve sorters became increasingly popular over time and AMAZONE stopped production of the "Batate".

Instead, the flat sieve sorters, including giant sorting and picking machines with auxiliary engines and a roof, were produced at AMAZONE in various sizes and in enormous quantities.

Mr Jörg Dölling, Head of the D-A-CH Customer Service department

There is an old country saying which goes as follows: "A machine is only as good as the customer service."

For this reason, our customer service for the D-A-CH region (Germany-Austria-Switzerland) is one of the strongest cornerstones of AMAZONEN-WERKE. Mr. Jörg Dölling has been in charge of it for more than 10 years.

He started his apprenticeship as an industrial mechanic at the main AMAZONE plant in Gaste in 1978. Afterwards he joined the maintenance department and went on to prove himself in the maintenance and repair of plant and machine tools. He was appointed as a field service technician in 1984 in the next step of his career. Here he was on the road for AMAZONE across Europe for six years, and he fixed the machines if they had any problems. After that, Mr. Dölling continued in the internal customer service department, where he was responsible for advising dealers, importers and end customers, for scheduling the service technicians and for handling warranty and goodwill claims, amongst other things.

Owing to his excellent and conscientious work, he was then employed for just under a year at our subsidiary plant at BBG in Leipzig in 2001, where he successfully helped to build up the customer service department. Mr. Dölling has a gift for being able to maintain an overview at all times, even in challenging technical situations. He is also very good at responding to customers' problems and requirements. He regularly takes part in AMAZONE’s advanced training courses to ensure that he always keeps up to date with the latest technology.

Finally, in 2010, we appointed him as Head of Customer Service for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and, more recently, Luxembourg, which he has now successfully managed for 11 years. We would like to thank Mr. Dölling for his invaluable work over the past 43 years, which he has always performed with pleasure and a great deal of commitment, and we hope that he will remain with AMAZONE for many more years to come.

True love never dies: EV from 1980

This saying also fully applies to an historic seed drill from AMAZONE, namely an EV 900, an "Exact distributor" from 1980. It was used by the Klarmann family in Bissingen until 2020.

The machine is a large-area seed drill with a working width of 6 m and was designed by Prof. h.c. Univ. Samara R A S Dr. Dr. h.c. Heinz Dreyer (1932 - 2023) himself. It is still in excellent condition and was used on the Thurn und Taxis estate for about 10 years, before it was acquired by the Klarmann family in 1990. The EV then sowed 70 ha of grain every year for another 30 years to the complete satisfaction of the owners. It was last used by the grandson Christian Klarmann, before he changed to a newer AMAZONE seed drill combination.

agri EXPERTS and DLG 2020 surveys.

The market research institute agri EXPERTS – Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag GmbH – conducts an annual survey of around 600 German farmers, with ratings based on easy usability, service/dealer, quality/workmanship/technology and reliability of the product range, amongst other things.

The assessment is added up to obtain an overall score according to a points system. In the November 2020 evaluation, AMAZONE achieved the highest score in the ranking by brand assessment of 69 agricultural machinery manufacturers.

In addition, AMAZONE did very well in the DLG Image Barometer 2020 and was once again considered to be the best of the medium-sized equipment manufacturers on the basis of the current assessments. It goes without saying that we are very pleased with these excellent results, as they show us that our efforts to provide top quality and good service are recognised by our customers.

By combining our efforts, we will continue to develop innovative technology with high quality standards for the farmers of tomorrow.

László Kiszelka – Heat treatment at Moson

Mr Kiszelka graduated from the Technical University of Heavy Industry/Department of Metallurgy and Metal Processing in Dunaújváros, Hungary, in 1978.

He started working for Vogel & Noot when the plant was established in 1991. As a “pioneer", he built up the heat treatment department at the new site and managed the team of employees in this department at the same time. His team quickly reached the high quality and performance standards of the main plant in Wartberg and Mr Kiszelka gained the respect and recognition of the entire company.

Over time, Mr Kiszelka developed not only his expertise but also his leadership skills. He always encouraged and challenged his employees to achieve top performance and also trained the next generation himself. The entire department grew into a reliable team, with half of the employees now having been with the company for more than 20 years.

Even today, Mr. Kiszelka is pleased that AMAZONE took over the plough plant in 2016 in an economically difficult environment and now offers both the location and the employees good prospects for the future.

Falcon – a strong partner for South Africa

Last August and September, our importer Falcon conducted a demo tour of the latest AMAZONE equipment with its dealers in South Africa, i.e. before the start of the spring season. Owing to the pandemic, the demonstrations were conducted with a limited number of participants and social distancing but were nevertheless a great success.

It was finally a good year for local agriculture again – there was sufficient rainfall and corresponding yields. The focus of the demonstrations in the maize region around the city of Johannesburg was on passive soil tillage with modern cultivator and disc harrow technology.

The Catros compact disc harrow and the Cenius mulch cultivator with their “only as deep as necessary” concept will also have to prove their worth there, whereby maize yields can also be around 18 to 20 tonnes per hectare under irrigation. The organic matter which has to be incorporated is correspondingly high. One of the key criteria for local farmers is to ensure good incorporation and mixing without blockage.

The Ceus disc & tine combination cultivator, which was recently launched on the African market, was able to demonstrate how well it can cope with large quantities of crop residues for the first time. This is because not only a large number of local manufacturers are active in South Africa but also all the well-known international competitors.

Needless to say, our ZA-TS fertiliser spreaders with ArgusTwin system (detection of lateral distribution by means of sensor technology) and our UX plant protection equipment with active boom guidance were also part of the presentations.

AMAZONE offers the right machinery solutions from harvest to harvest - also for agricultural success in Africa. Together with our partner Falcon, we have been serving this important market very successfully for many years, but it is vital that we continue to do this in these extraordinary times!

Double-armed robot welding system in operation in Hude

A 16-metre robot welding system was installed and commissioned at our plant in Hude in the summer of 2020. The system, which is designed for three-shift operation, can weld the frames of our large area seed drills in a single pass with its two welding arms. It is used to produce assemblies for the Cirrus series and frames for the new Precea precision air seeder.

There is an extra fixture into which the individual parts are inserted for each welded assembly and the finished welded components are lifted out by crane. The operator, Mr Wenzel Rabek (see photo), loads the appropriate program, fills the fixture, monitors the process and then checks the work result.

The great advantage of the robot is its high precision and the consistent quality that it can maintain for hours on end.

AMAZONE machines are subjected to extreme loads during their service life, especially those with large working widths. In view of this, robot welding with the highest precision and quality requirements is one of AMAZONE’s core competences.

17. Leipzig themed evening – digital

The 17th Leipzig themed evening took place in January of this year. It was held as a public online event for the first time due to the current situation.

The topic of the evening was "Climate and society in a changing world – prospects for future-oriented agricultural machinery". The lectures on this topic were given by our employees Sascha Bansberg (Sales Promotion Leipzig) and Stefan Kiefer (Head of Product Management) in dialogue. The lecture’s mix of plant cultivation aspects and technical solutions was very well received. More than 500 "live" viewers took part in the digital event.

There was an opportunity for participants to leave questions and comments in a chat both during and after the lecture. These were answered and discussed by the speakers after the lecture. The nature of the questions showed that predominantly expert audiences were represented.

The online event also demonstrated the enormous reach which can be achieved online these days. 5,000 viewers had watched the specialist lecture after 24 hours. In this respect, we are pleased that the exchange of experience with our customers is also working well via digital channels.

We hope that the 18th Leipzig theme evening can once again take place as an attended event under “normal” conditions, and we look forward to enjoying the evening together with our customers after the lecture.

The video of the event can be viewed here: www.amazone.de/themenabend

Coenders Lottum BV, Venlo in the Netherlands

Coenders Lottum BV is located north of the city of Venlo in the Netherlands and is an extremely active and interesting sales partner for AMAZONE. Conventional arable farming is practised in the Venlo area, but tree nurseries, orchards and market gardening can also be found there. The particular strength of the dealer lies not only in the distribution of AMAZONE and Claas products but also in the in-house engineering: Special requirements of its customers can therefore be easily met. For example, Coenders Lottum has built a special attachment frame including camera control for a hoeing machine from our subsidiary SCHMOTZER. As a result, the machine can be used specifically for mechanical weed control on fields with iceberg lettuce. 

Coenders employs a total of 30 people, making it one of the largest dealers in the region. It sources AMAZONE machinery through our Dutch importer Kamps de Wild in Zevenaar. We are very grateful to Coenders Lottum BV for the excellent working relationship and wish the whole team good luck and every success for the future.

The "Kompleks Agro" dealership in Siberia

Dimitrij Beljaew is an important AMAZONE dealer. His company “Kompleks Agro” is located in the Altaj region of Russian Siberia, about 3,000 km south-east of Moscow. The Altaj region covers 6.6 million hectares and is also called the "Granary of Siberia".

Mr Belyaev has been selling AMAZONE machinery there for 14 years and also supports us in the further development of our technology. For example, he has been involved in increasing the working width of the EDX 9000 to create the EDX 12000. This project was so successful that the EDX 12000 has sold in large numbers throughout Russia already.

Furthermore, he has modified our precision air seeders in such a way that the large seeds of sunflowers, which grow in great abundance in this region, can also be sown with our equipment.

At the suggestion of Mr Belyaev and with the help of our factory representative Mr Tur, we also developed the FDC 6000 Fertiliser Delivery Cart in combination with our seed drills. This has been manufactured at our plant in Samara for two years. Kompleks Agro has supported the introduction of our direct seeders in the Altaj region over the past few years with great success.

We are indebted to Mr Dimitrij Beljaew and wish him every success in the future and a good partnership with AMAZONEN-WERKE.

New series with more operating comfort – AMAZONE “Pantera 4504” self-propelled sprayer

AMAZONE is launching a new generation of the Pantera self-propelled crop protection sprayer. The new Pantera 4504 sets the highest standards in precise plant protection and ease of operation. A modified spray liquid circuit, changes in the operator station and increased ease of maintenance offer significant added value.

The SmartCenter, with its high-performance 60 litre induction bowl and the complete operator station are securely protected under the cover on the left side of the vehicle. The positioning of the double piston diaphragm pump with a capacity of 520 l/min over to the right-hand side results in a considerable reduction in noise during induction and also easy accessibility for the user. The SmartCenter offers the ideal solution for every customer requirement: from the simple and clever Comfort-Pack with the TwinTerminal 3.0 to the Comfort-Pack plus for maximum convenience, where the user only has to select the desired function and the sprayer adjusts itself fully automatically. Instead of operating taps, the TwinTerminal 7.0 makes machine operation much easier with its pressure-sensitive touchscreen.

The new easily accessible fuel tank holds up to 290 litres and is located next to the 20 litre DEF tank to provide high area coverage. The new AmaDrive 7.0 terminal has now been integrated in the ergonomic armrest. All machine-specific functions can be clearly displayed and intuitively operated on the 7-inch colour display.

The ContourControl and SwingStop active boom guidance systems ensure the best boom position, even at the large working widths of 40 m. In conjunction with the AmaSelect electric individual nozzle control, this takes the Pantera to a previously unattained level of performance with maximum precision.

The Groundkeeper at SG Dynamo Dresden

Last year, a Groundkeeper GHL-T was delivered to SG Dynamo Dresden, so that the club's training and competition pitches can be kept in top condition at all times. The key selling point for the purchase was the Groundkeeper’s versatility. It mows, scarifies, mulches and collects the cuttings and scarified material in the same operation.

In this way, it ensures that the pitch is always in an optimum condition and playable, even in wet conditions. The main use of the machine is for scarifying. The pitches can always be kept in a first-class condition in any case.

The Groundkeeper was recommended to Mr. Hartmann, the head groundsman of SG Dynamo Dresden, by his colleague from 1. FC Nuremberg, who had used the machine with good results for two years.

We hope that a smooth pitch will help the club to win a lot of games.

At the handover of the Groundkeeper (from left):

Tom Bormann – supervising agricultural machinery engineer at Agrartechnik Sachsen

Robert Vélu – responsible for Groundcare Sales Central Germany at AMAZONEN-WERKE

Sven Hartmann – head groundsman of SG Dynamo Dresden e.V.

AMAZONE seed drill combination in the home of malt whisky

A blend of years of experience, know-how and the abundant supply of local spring water coupled with the finest malt barley are what make Scotland so famous for its malt whisky. Aberdeenshire in the north-east of Scotland is home to some 50 Scotch whisky distilleries, including world-famous names such as Glenfiddich.

G & J Mackie mainly grows seed potatoes as a rotation crop on a farm in Little Hilton, but it also produces spring barley for the best whisky. G & J Mackie works closely together with the malt industry to supply the ideal low-nitrogen grains, which are particularly well suited to producing the high-quality, amber whisky. 

For example, the soil is ploughed in early winter, so that the effects of frost give it the right crumb structure. These are perfect conditions for use of the Avant 4001-2 from AMAZONE in the spring. In particular, the working results of the wedge ring roller, which provides ideal reconsolidation of the local soil for optimum preparation of the seedbed for the RoTeC coulter system, is highlighted by owner Greame Mackie r. He is also pleased with the AmaTron 3 terminal, as it allows him to see all the parameters of the front tank, which is used for both seed and fertiliser, at the same time.

So the next time you raise your glass and enjoy a fine single malt, just think that the barley may have been sown by an AMAZONE Avant seed drill combination.

Cheers, to your health!

Mr Christian Dorn, factory sales representative

Mr Christian Dorn has been supporting our sales team in Germany since last September. He grew up on a small dairy farm and completed an apprenticeship in agricultural economics after leaving school. After basic military service and training as an agricultural machinery engineer, he began his professional career at a large contracting company, where he had regularly helped out during his training.

Christian Dorn had discovered his love of agriculture, and agricultural machinery in particular, during his apprenticeship. In 2008, Mr Dorn joined the sales department of a large agricultural machinery dealer, where he sold his first AMAZONE machines. As a married man with two children, he then switched to industry and passed his examination as an industrial technician at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

His career created the ideal conditions for him to start work as a factory sales representative at AMAZONEN-WERKE in the autumn of 2020. He succeeded Mr Thomas Haug, who was an excellent representative for us Baden-Württemberg for more than 40 years. We are confident that Mr Christian Dorn will represent our interests on a professional basis with his experience and motivation and wish him every success and enjoyment in his work.

from left to right:

Christian Dorn (new factory sales representative Baden-Württemberg)

Thomas Haug (former factory sales representative Baden-Württemberg)

Successful energy management

The shiny solar modules on the roofs of the production buildings in Gaste, Bramsche, Leeden, Altmoorhausen and Leipzig are even more conspicuous in the spring sunshine. A total 8,000 photovoltaic modules covering an area the size of five football pitches are installed on roofs at the five sites. The total installed capacity of the solar installations is 2,500 kW. The last solar installation was set up on the test facility in Gaste last year. The previous system was installed at our plant in Bramsche, where even more solar power is generated than is consumed.

Furthermore, AMAZONE operates two in-house combined heat and power plants (CHP) in Gaste and Altmoorhausen, which supply all the heat for the pretreatment in our paint shops in addition to electrical power. Around 25 percent of the electricity requirement is covered by the in-house generation of energy from the photovoltaic systems and the CHPs over the five sites. This is not only cost-effective, it also results in significant reductions in CO₂ emissions.

The AMAZONE Group has invested a total of around €3.6 million in various energy-saving measures over the last six years. Costs amounting to more than €4 million have already been saved over this period. The AMAZONE energy management team, together with our energy scouts, will continue to be active in this important area.

The energy management team at the Hasbergen-Gaste site (from left):

Helmut Ostkamp, Frank Kleine, Daniel Bolte and
Heinrich Buddenberg

Successful cooperation with our subsidiary in Samara in Russia

Our EDX precision air seeder has had a proven track record in Russia for many years, but for much of the time it was only available with a maximum working width of 9 metres. Our dealer Dimitrij Beljaew (“Kompleks Agro”) in the Altaj region had the idea of extending the EDX to 12 metres, and this idea was then put into practice together with our design engineers in Samara within a short space of time.

In the meantime, large quantities of components for the EDX are shipped from Hude to Samara, where they are assembled into complete 12 metre machines and delivered to customers. We are also now able to supply a larger number of precision air seeders, thanks to a short development and testing period and optimum cooperation between our teams in Samara and Hude. The EDX is perfect for use on large farms. It permits high driving speeds with good seed placement accuracy on uneven fields. In addition, it has a central hopper for the fertiliser and two central hoppers for the seed. This not only makes filling very easy but also allows the seed to be changed quickly without any major cleaning effort.

Farewell to Dr. Große Scharmann

Dr. Große Scharmann was the manager of our plant in Hude and a member of the management team from 1961 to 1994. During these three decades, he developed the AMAZONE site in Hude from a small workshop with 50 employees into our largest subsidiary plant with more than 500 employees. He originally came from a farm in Senden near Münster and joined our company after his studies in mechanical engineering and his doctorate in engineering. One of his greatest inventions was the first seed drill combination, which was created by coupling an AMAZONE D4 seed drill with a PTO-driven reciprocating harrow. Such seed drill combinations are now standard worldwide. The reciprocating harrow subsequently became a rotary cultivator. Dr. Große Scharmann played a significant part in its development – in addition to numerous other innovations – and it still represents one of our most important products from the Hude factory today.

But he was not only an ingenious inventor, he was also an outstanding personality with integrity. He always managed to motivate his employees, to lead them to new goals and to create a constructive working atmosphere. He was very fond of the AMAZONE Hude company - it was "his works".

His guiding spirit is still preserved in Hude today. He died in January of this year shortly before reaching the age of 92. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Dr.Eng. Franz Große Scharmann and will cherish his memory.

Christian Dreyer: Chairmanship of the VDMA Agricultural Machinery Division passed on after four years

Last October, Christian Dreyer handed over the chairmanship of the VDMA Agricultural Machinery Division to the newly elected chairman Anthony van der Ley. Christian Dreyer strongly pushed forward the issues of digitalisation, climate protection and internationalisation during his term of office.

The constructive cooperation of the approximately 180 member companies in Europe's largest network of the agricultural machinery industry, including major international corporations as well as medium-sized and smaller companies, was a particular focus of his work. The association's contacts with political circles in Berlin and Brussels have been significantly intensified on the basis of numerous projects over the past few years.

Cooperation with the German Ministry of Agriculture was particularly successful, which, for example, provided substantial funding of €50 million for expanding the experimental area of digital agriculture.

In addition, the VDMA took up the great challenge of playing a constructive role in improving climate efficiency under the leadership of its chairman, Christian Dreyer. This was achieved to a considerable extent through the presentation of the EKoTech project, in which agricultural technology outlined its contribution to reducing CO₂ and other climate gases.

In addition, the association was able to make a very successful contribution to the in-depth debate on 5G network coverage in rural areas.

At the handover of office in October 2020, the new Chairman Anthony van der Ley honoured his predecessor with the Association's Medal of Merit, the highest award of Europe's largest agricultural machinery and tractor industry network, and presented it to him with the words "Christian Dreyer keeps me in good spirits." Mr. Dreyer will continue to serve on the Association’s Executive Committee, using his experience to drive important projects forward.