AMAZONE Report
Issue 40 - 10/2020
Magazine of AMAZONEN-WERKE H. DREYER SE & Co. KG for employees, customers and friends of the company.
- Report on the current situation
- Even in difficult times: Amazone is growing, blossoming and thriving
- New at Amazone: FDC 6000 liquid fertiliser tank
- Customer Report from Raiffeisen Zentrallager Emlichheim e. G.: first season with the ZG-TS 10001 ProfisPro
- Presenting Amazone: New-look facility in Leeden
- Practical demonstrations and digital in-house trade shows instead of exhibitions: A response to the coronavirus crisis
- Once upon a time: Amazone is also active in the winter
- Executive employees at Amazone: The king of the cloud and computer programs: Wolfgang Thoben, Head of the IT Department
- Research, development, awards: Amazone reaches the top of the popularity scale
- Putting Amazone to practical use: Scotland – home to malt whisky and Amazone drills
- Streamlining is essential for life (and survival): A new way to achieve high quality – the "Quality Gate App"
- Constantly on the road for Amazone: The sly old fox of farming: Hans Zens, factory representative for south-west Germany
- A loyal Amazone dealer: AVR Agrarprofi GmbH in Altenfelden
- 30 years ago: Amazone sowing combination captures the market in new federal states
- Amazone field trials: New trials on the experimental farm in Wambergen
- Putting Amazone to practical use: Schmotzer Hacktechnik with Amazone front tank
- Putting Amazone to practical use: Fans in Austria – the Brandstetter family
- A big name in the Amazone Group: Vogel & Noot
- Half a century: Amazone in Forbach celebrates its 50th anniversary
- Double award for Amazone
- An emotional milestone: The 75th anniversary of Erich Dreyer’s death
Report on the current situation
Issue 40 - 10/2020
The management and employees at AMAZONEN-WERKE have done everything they can over the past few months to ensure that operations continue as normally as possible, even under the restrictions implemented as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, we have been able to avoid delays in the delivery of our products and have not had to implement any radical measures for our employees to observe.
We are particularly grateful to all Amazone customers from all over the world who have remained loyal to us in spite of the challenging circumstances. In addition to ongoing sales, it was essential for us to continue receiving deliveries from our suppliers, especially during the critical phase of the pandemic in March and April. Amazone has certainly also benefited from the fact that we usually keep a buffer stock of key components in our own warehouses.
Up to now, we have been able to continue manufacturing agricultural machinery at all Amazone Group production sites without interruption. Our groundcare plant in Forbach, France, was the only location seriously affected by the crisis. Operations had to be suspended temporarily at the beginning of the pandemic due to the high number of infections in the Grand Est region. In total, only a few people contracted the virus there and they have since all returned to work in good health.
Thanks to the outstanding commitment of the entire Amazone team, we have so far been able to maintain our total turnover at a stable level. We would like to thank everyone involved, but especially our loyal customers and partners for their commitment and efforts. We will continue to do everything in our power to provide you with quality advice and assistance as well as our usual outstanding products.
The AMAZONEN-WERKE Management team
Even in difficult times: Amazone is growing, blossoming and thriving
Although the coronavirus pandemic has slowed down our economic and social lives on an unprecedented scale in recent months, the Amazone Management continues to push forward with plans for further development of the product range and modernisation of production sites and sales locations. In addition to the markets in Western Europe, Amazone is also continuing to focus on Eastern European countries that are particularly interesting from an agricultural perspective.
Our production site in Samara, Russia, is currently under expansion, and we have recently opened the new sales and service branch of AMAZONE-UKRAINA in Kiev. In August, we were able to officially inaugurate our new spare parts warehouse "Amazone Global Parts Center" in Leeden. To ensure the essential supply of spare parts, we have an efficient and modern logistics system that is designed to meet market requirements in the future.
In spite of the huge economic upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the agriculture and agricultural machinery sectors were not hit particularly hard. Since taking care of people is a top priority, especially in times of crisis, Amazone remains optimistic and hopes that the overall situation will gradually improve over the coming weeks and months.
New at Amazone: FDC 6000 liquid fertiliser tank
The liquid fertiliser tank can be used in combination with our Primera DMC direct seed drill, our EDX precision air seeder and our Condor direct seed drill. The tank supplies liquid fertiliser (AHL) directly to the sowing coulters. Liquid fertiliser offers major benefits, especially when sowing in dry regions. Liquid fertiliser is delivered straight to the plant and does not deprive the soil of any moisture because it does not have to dissolve for the plants to absorb it. Adding liquid fertiliser around the seed actively promotes the early development of a plant, which has a positive influence on the yield.
The combination of an FDC 6000 and seed drill is still easily manoeuvrable despite its overall length, which means it can be driven track in track at the headland. The new Amazone liquid fertiliser cart is already being used successfully on many large farms.
Customer Report from Raiffeisen Zentrallager Emlichheim e. G.: first season with the ZG-TS 10001 ProfisPro
RZL Emlichheim e. G. based in the Bentheim region has been offering its customers the possibility of spreading lime and base fertiliser with Amazone for many years. The range of rental machines include ZG-B trailed spreaders and ZA-M and ZA-V mounted spreaders. For the 2020 season, their portfolio was extended to include a service for spreading mineral fertilisers.
"Around 70 – 75 % of our fertiliser turnover is generated from blended fertilisers that are individually prepared in our mixing facility. We are striving to offer our customers a professional solution for spreading this type of fertiliser", Managing Director Hartmut Hölter explains the reasons for investing in a ZG-TS 01. When searching for a spreader to purchase, two features of specification were deemed essential. "The weighing device with its double frame on the ZG-TS 01 allows us to continuously and accurately monitor spread rate.” Reefmann stated that the ArgusTwin was another reason for purchasing this model: "The Argus system monitors our spread pattern." The EasyCheck system (test mats and App) checks the lateral distribution of new fertilisers and stores the results in the terminal. Customers who are spreading the same fertiliser can retrieve the stored results and start the job immediately. Reefmann: "It works really well and we are more than satisfied."
The spreader is operated with an AmaTron 4 and an AmaPilot+ multi-function joystick. According to Reefmann, the terminal was selected to switch as many part-width sections as possible because there are many small, irregular fields in the region. "Our spreaders can switch up to a maximum of 128 part-width sections. At higher application rates, you can see it with your own eyes." As a service provider, Reefmann has high expectations for part-width section control and the border spreading system on the machine. "Every gram that can be saved or applied in a better way counts. If I set the spreader according to the specifications of the FertiliserService App, the results are correct. The technology prevents me from having to get out of the tractor and I can make decisions depending on the border situation. It's all pretty relaxed."
In the first season, the new spreader covered an area of around 800 hectares, of which a large proportion was spread at application rates of between 600 and 1,200 kg/ha. "The large metering openings allow us to drive at 12-13 km/h, even with such large quantities." We hope that Raiffeisen Zentrallager Emlichheim e. G. continues to have success and enjoyment from using our fertiliser spreading technology.
Presenting Amazone: New-look facility in Leeden
Our plant in Leeden, which we acquired in 2007 and has since doubled in size, now has a new look. Our Global Parts Center moved there at the start of the year.
Extensive renovation work and investment was needed prior to the move. "The facility has a significantly extended storage capacity with a warehouse space of approximately 11,000 m² and outdoor space of 9,000 m² for more than 42,000 different spare parts. More than half of the items are kept in an automatic small parts warehouse (ASPW) with approx. 27,000 bins and are stored and retrieved automatically with an extremely high degree of efficiency. The larger items and higher quantities are efficiently managed in the newly designed narrow-aisle warehouse with space for approximately 12,500 mesh crates with state-of-the-art order-picking stackers.
Special care was taken to ensure that the order picking process is not only efficient but also safe and reliable. Although 1,000 packages can be processed per day at the current capacity, it will be possible to increase this number in the future. Many bulky and non-sensitive parts are stored outside in special shelving systems. Incoming and outgoing goods are handled at different stations to ensure that all deliveries are processed smoothly, even at peak times. The system was running reliably and smoothly within a very short time. We would like to thank all the employees involved for their outstanding commitment throughout the move and during the coronavirus pandemic.
Practical demonstrations and digital in-house trade shows instead of exhibitions: A response to the coronavirus crisis
The coronavirus crisis has upset the apple cart at Amazone. Since almost all domestic and overseas exhibitions have been cancelled, we are having to adopt a different approach: We have now started using a series of small, practical demonstrations to showcase the technology used in Amazone equipment. In many regions, we are able to demonstrate the performance of our machinery in close proximity to the customer. We can show our customers, first hand, that our systems offer better performance whilst consuming less fuel. In any case, word has got around that Amazone machinery has a long service life and a high resale value, and that our excellent customer service representatives take very good care of machine owners.
www.amazone.de/hausmesse
In practice, we organise demonstrations for interested parties together with our dealers, which are sometimes attended by a professional colleague. Requests for a demonstration can be submitted at www.amazone.de/vorfuehrung. Needless to say, we always restrict the number of participants in attendance in order to respect the permissible limit.
Amazone is also offering more and more training courses at our facilities, which are essential in view of the continuous increase in the complexity and performance of our technology.
The digital in-house exhibition, Precision World 2020, is a brand new concept that can be attended virtually. Each visitor has the opportunity to find out everything there is to know about our current products and innovations by taking a virtual tour of our ACTIVE Centre.
Even the virtual Fan Shop is open for business. Pay us a visit if you have a spare moment. The exhibition is open around the clock.
Once upon a time: Amazone is also active in the winter
Amazone equipment is not only used in the summer, but also in the winter. More than 50 years ago, Amazone came up with the idea of using its extensive experience in manufacturing roller spreaders to produce winter road gritting spreaders. Spreaders of this kind have a wide variety of possible uses: The equipment can spread salt as well as mixtures of salt and sand onto the road to melt snow and ice or can spread gravel onto the road to neutralise the dangers posed by slippery ice and prevent cars from sliding and causing accidents.
The first Amazone winter service roller spreaders worked very well. One particular strength of the ST 200/250 systems was their ability to spread a fine, even layer of different spreading materials onto the road. However, the technology used for winter road gritting has since been applied to other systems and so a decision was made to stop development of the roller system. In the meantime, Amazone has switched to and further perfected the principle of the centrifugal spreader for winter road gritting as well as for fertiliser spreaders. As a result, the winter service products offered by AMAZONEN-WERKE have enjoyed outstanding success on the market over the years.
Executive employees at Amazone: The king of the cloud and computer programs: Wolfgang Thoben, Head of the IT Department
Wolfgang is currently introducing "Microsoft Teams" into our company together with his team of employees. He is also busy working on Amazone cloud technology, in particular: Everyone is talking about Wolfgang Thoben, Head of the IT Department at AMAZONEN-WERKE. Mr. Thoben has been working for Amazone since 2016 and currently manages our IT department and its 45 employees from the main plant in Gaste. His department is responsible for managing all nine company facilities. Mr. Thoben is also responsible for merging the ERP merchandise management systems of our branches, introducing the ERP production module at our SCHMOTZER Hacktechnik subsidiary in Bad Windsheim, and rolling out the CRM customer relationship management solution for our sales department.
We benefit greatly from Mr. Thoben's profound knowledge. After completing his IT training and studying Business Administration in Oldenburg, he accumulated 16 years of exceptional specialist knowledge at a major ERP software manufacturer. At that time, Mr. Thoben was a service provider who already had frequent contact with Amazone and got to know and appreciate our team. When the position of IT manager became vacant at our company, he was enticed by the wide range of duties associated with the job.
Mr. Thoben is the proud father of four daughters, lives in Vechta, plays volleyball in his spare time and has a special interest in civil aviation.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to him for his commitment and wish him continued success in his work.
From around the world: Hektor leads the way: Ploughing competition winner
In the race for the best plough, our Hektor was the pick of the bunch once again. Our plough was crowned champion at this year's Russian ploughing competition "Ryazan Region Field Day - 2020" on 24 July, 2020.
However, 8-furrow Hektor did not achieve the feat alone: The plough was expertly set up and controlled by Yuri Blokhin from the Aleksandro-Nevsky district; Yuri had already won the championship title "Best Ploughman in the Region" with Hektor.
No other machine was able to keep to the plot boundary as well, draw the plough line as straight and maintain such an accurate ploughing depth - all of which was evaluated by the judges. Yuri and Hektor battled to victory against a field of eleven participants from ten different districts.
We would like to send our warm congratulations to the “Regional Champion 2020"!
Research, development, awards: Amazone reaches the top of the popularity scale
What is your favourite agricultural technology brand? Around 700 farmers answered this question from the agri-EXPERTS agricultural index at the end of 2019. The result: Amazone is one of the most popular brands. In the survey, our company came second in the ranking, just behind Fendt. Amazone scored 8.62 points - an outstanding result! The most important criteria in the survey were the price/performance ratio, the maturity of the technology and the durability of the products from the respective manufacturers.
The results were published in the trade journal "agrarheute" published by the Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag (German Agricultural Publishing House) in Munich. We were of course very happy with this impressive achievement. It confirms that through our efforts, we are a good and fair partner for farmers.
Evidently, we succeeded in satisfying both customers and dealers as well as farmers and contractors in 2019. We are continuously working on improving our reputation because when it comes to quality and reliability, we always have to give our best. This proactive approach also contributes to securing the jobs of our committed and qualified employees, to whom we owe this success.
Putting Amazone to practical use: Scotland – home to malt whisky and Amazone drills
It is a mixture of years and years of technical know-how and experience, the ample supply of local spring water coupled with the finest malting barley that makes Scotland so famous for its malt whisky. Aberdeen-shire, in North-East Scotland, is home to some 50 Scottish whisky distilleries, including worldwide renowned names like Glenfiddich. Although primarily producing potatoes for seed, G & J Mackie, farming at Little Hilton near Turriff, has over the years enjoyed a close working relationship with the malting industry producing the ideal low nitrogen grains that are necessary for producing that quality amber product that the world loves.
You can’t rush a good whisky, and that is the approach taken with the degree of care and attention put into the farm at Little Hilton. “As part of the rotation with potatoes, we grow both winter wheat and winter oats alongside spring barley. The soil type and weather lends itself to growing spring barley for malting and we supply both Crisp Malting Group, Boortmalt and Diageo with varieties such as Diablo, Sassy and Laureate which generate a malt ideal for distilling whisky”, explains Graeme Mackie. The Diageo Group includes brands like J&B, Johnnie Walter, Talisker and Singleton to name but a few.
The aim is to plough everything early winter to get some frost mould on the ground thus making life easier for the drill combination in the spring and for the last 3 years that combination has been an Amazone Avant 4001-2 front tank grain and fertiliser combination. “We moved up from an Amazone 3 m rear mounted drill combination and front fertiliser hopper up to the folding 4 m to increase work rates and we love the finish of the wedge ring roller which, on our land type, creates the ideal reconsolidation of the seedbed ahead of the RoTeC+ disc coulters”, Graeme goes on to say. “We map the farm on a 5 year rotation and apply P & K where necessary and depending on the offtake. PH levels are closely monitored and we work to having low-er PH levels on the potato ground and then increase again for the cereals during the rotation.” With most of the arable land on muck for straw agreements, the straw is baled and removed and the farm is increasingly conscious of the need to maintain soil organic matter levels and has started using cover crops, such as oil radish and oats, as a means of having green material to plough in for the spring as well as locking in some nitrogen.
The Avant 4001-2, pulled behind a Fendt 828, goes in straight after the plough and, for the spring malting barley, a blend of CAN and TSP is drilled down the spout. “Although we have adequate indices of P, the colder soil temperatures and shorter days mean that we are looking to have P directly in seed zone so that the root develops more vigorously enabling the emerging plant to feed itself better. The nitrogen placed directly in the seedbed also gives the crop that additional head start that we need. The further two thirds of nitrogen is applied either as a dose of SingleTop for the sulphur or liquid 32% N and sulphur applied by the sprayer. Cold mornings and dewy crops can lead to scorch, so we are very careful when and where we use the liquid N”, comments Graeme.
“The calibration of the front tank for both the seed and fertiliser is carried out via an AmaTron 3 control box and, although the Fendt is ISOBUS and is used for the steering functions, we like to have the AmaTron looking after the drill otherwise you spend too much time switching screen”, Graeme explains.
So next time when you raise that glass and enjoy that tot of a fine single malt, just think, that the malt might have been drilled by an Amazone Avant – your good health!
Streamlining is essential for life (and survival): A new way to achieve high quality – the "Quality Gate App"
At Amazone, quality always comes first. In order to identify and eliminate errors as early as the production stage, we have developed the new "Quality Gate App" as a form of digital support. The App enables users to perform an intermediate quality check in real time during the production process.
As soon as a machine has reached a certain production status, the relevant employee from the assembly team receives a detailed list of the points that need to be checked via the App. In order to do this, the employee must log on to the machine earmarked for testing, scan the individual machine barcode and load the machine-specific content stored for the test onto a smartphone. Images and text show the control points in individual "Quality Gates".
If all the points are OK, the employee documents this in the App. If any faults are identified, the employee must classify them and note them down. Photos and information can also be stored in the App. Employees usually fix any errors themselves together with their team. If more complicated problems occur, these must be communicated to the assembly manager via the App.
The new quality App for Production is another big step forward: We can use the App to identify and eliminate defects in all products and across all plants during the production process. The "Quality Gate App" takes into account the increasing complexity of our products and increasing demands for an outstanding manufacturing quality.
In order to ensure a high production quality at all our plants, we have certified our quality management system in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001. In other words, we have committed ourselves to complying with the quality standards specified for our products and services as well as further improve them whenever possible. It is therefore no coincidence that we are one of the leading companies in agricultural machinery, with an export share of 80 percent. Ultimately, we hope that our technology and equipment continues to secure food and energy supplies for people in the future.
Constantly on the road for Amazone: The sly old fox of farming: Hans Zens, factory representative for south-west Germany
Hans Zens is a sly old fox who worked in the soil tillage and drilling technology divisions at the Rabewerk in Bad Essen for many years. Hans Zens has since become an Amazone soil tillage specialist for the south-west Germany region.
Initially he worked in the Rhineland, Rhineland-Palatinate and Luxembourg, but later also worked in the Netherlands and Belgium thanks to his proficiency in the Dutch language. He also operated in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Switzerland on occasions. Mr. Zens grew up on a farm in Kerpen-Blatzheim (North Rhine-Westphalia) and is therefore very familiar with the requirements of the agricultural sector.
Hans Zens had been working at Rabewerk since 1983 and has personally experienced the turbulent times of the various owners, but has acquired extensive specialist knowledge along the way. He now provides assistance for Amazone factory representatives and sales partners in all matters relating to soil tillage. His goal is to make each and every customer aware of the many advantages of Amazone ploughs, cultivators and compact disc harrows.
We wish him continued success and enjoyment in his future working life with his extended Amazone family.
A loyal Amazone dealer: AVR Agrarprofi GmbH in Altenfelden
The Rohrbach district of the Austrian Mühlviertel has the highest proportion of grassland in Upper Austria, but equipment is still required for crop production. The company AVR specialises in Amazone machines that satisfy this need.
Owners Stefan Reiter, who is responsible for sales, and his partner Rainer Wolkerstorfer, who takes care of essential customer service duties, work extremely successfully together with their four employees. They are supported by our factory representative Leopold Eder, who has been working at Amazone for 16 years. Only smaller items of machinery are usually required in the Mühlviertel.
The fiellds are small, located in difficult, rocky terrain and place extremely high demands on machines such as those offered by Amazone. Due to the unwavering commitment of Mr. Reiter and Mr. Wolkerstorfer, the fledgling company has enjoyed outstanding sales success up to now.
The management would like to congratulate the entire team and wish them good luck for the future.
30 years ago: Amazone sowing combination captures the market in new federal states
The rotary cultivator sowing combination had a huge impact 30 years ago. Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, almost a thousand spectators from the former GDR marvelled at the deployment of the modern till and drill combination at an agricultural cooperative in the Wittenberg district of Zahna. A newspaper article reported on our machine demonstration: "AMAZONE conquers Zahna".
Since the fields in the former GDR were so much larger than those in the western federal states, the 6-metre combination not only provided an ideal quality of work, but also a suitable work rate.
This demonstration was organised by Artur Möbius, who later became Amazone factory representative for the Saxony region. When he visited his brother in the district of Osnabrück immediately after reunification, he also happened to come into contact with AMAZONEN-WERKEN and a series of joint ventures were planned shortly afterwards. Sometime later, he was officially employed in our company. Until his retirement, Mr. Möbius played a major role in the distribution of Amazone machinery throughout the new federal states.
Amazone field trials: New trials on the experimental farm in Wambergen
Together with AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG and our subsidiary SCHMOTZER Hacktechnik, AMAZONEN-WERKE is starting long-term field trials based in Hasbergen-Gaste and located in the immediate vicinity of the main plant for a new method of cultivation, where each crop establishment measure takes place in relation to a fixed row.
The process is called "Controlled Row Farming" (CRF) and is completely new on the market. It is designed to optimise the establishment of different plants with minimal fertiliser, plant protection and mechanical passes in order to maximise the yield and promote biodiversity.
The hoeing equipment is a particularly important aspect of these trials. It is used for mechanical weed control in combination with row-specific plant protection, targeted fertiliser application and sowing of companion plants between the rows.
The trials area covers a total of 10 hectares, all crops are grown at a row spacing of 50 cm, whereby cereals are sown in double rows.
Two CRF trial variants were created to reflect standard methods of modern land management. One of the trials is focused on profitability, which means it was designed to achieve the highest possible yield with minimum inputs. Biodiversity was the main priority in the second trial, whereby fertilisation and spraying were significantly reduced, which could ultimately lead to a possible reduction in yield but would increase overall biodiversity.
We are excited to be collaborating closely with our subsidiary SCHMOTZER Hacktechnik and AGRAVIS and are looking forward to seeing the results.
Putting Amazone to practical use: Schmotzer Hacktechnik with Amazone front tank
Modern plant protection is currently undergoing a process of radical change. In addition to a return to "integrated crop production", which has been known for decades but has faded into the background somewhat, mechanical weed control is now growing in importance once again. Two years ago, the increasing importance of the hoe in the intelligent plant protection sector motivated Amazone to acquire Schmotzer hoe machinery and benefit from their many years of experience in mechanical plant protection.
Amazone has been working in the plant protection sector for more than 50 years, so it makes more sense for us to try to combine the technology from both companies to the greatest possible extent. The combination of a hoe and band spraying is a hot topic in the hoeing technology sector. Here, the machine hoes between rows and sprays plant protection agent on to the row, which reduces the consumption of the agent by 40 – 60 %. Consequently, Amazone developed the self-sufficient FT-P 1502 front tank, which can be operated in combination with the SCHMOTZER hoeing equipment. In future, the tank will also be used on other machines such as the Precea precision air seeder to store liquid fertiliser. Combining this equipment saves on resources, reduces working time and increases yields. The first machinery combinations have already been delivered and are already proving their worth.
Putting Amazone to practical use: Fans in Austria – the Brandstetter family
The view of the equipment fleet on the Brandstetter family's farm shows something special: Several of the Amazone machines there are already in their third generation, including our ZA-TS spreader and an Amazone sowing combination of KX rotary cultivator and AD-P Special. Messrs Johann senior and junior work consistently with Amazone equipment, including a Catros disc harrow, a Cenius Special cultivator and an Amazone UF mounted sprayer in an up to date specification.
Johann Brandstetter senior and junior have been genuine Amazone fans for decades and are extremely satisfied with the performance and durability of our systems. The father and son run a successful business on their farm in Andrichsfurt in the Innviertel of Upper Austria across 80 hectares of farmland, where they grow maize, rape, barley, wheat and green manures. They also do some contracting as well as keeping and fattening pigs. The performance of the near-full range of Amazone machinery provides valuable assistance on the heavy soil and hilly land, while helping produce excellent results.
The company Landtechnik Karl Deschberger and our factory representative Leopold Eder take care of the Brandstetter family. We would like to thank the family for showing outstanding loyalty towards our machinery and hope they continue to reap good yields and enjoy their work.
A big name in the Amazone Group: Vogel & Noot
The company Vogel & Noot based in Wartberg (Austria) used to be one of the big names in agricultural engineering. Founded in 1872 by Wilhelm Vogel and his partner Hugo von Noot, the company initially manufactured spades, shovels and plough shares, and later a steel plough body.
The company flourished and was already employing 800 people by the time the First World War started. Vogel & Noot manufactured the first complete ploughs from 1922 onwards and also heating radiators from 1929. The company still manufactures heating technology today, but with a different owner. For many years, ploughs were the main product manufactured by Vogel & Noot. Diversification of the product range did not begin until 1950, first with a motor mower and then with single-axle tractors, joined by green fodder harvesting technology in 1960. The plough always remained the most important product, however. The successful "Euromat" trailed reversible plough was launched onto the market in 1979 and was later joined by the "Eurokombi" seedbed combination.
At the peak of the business, Vogel & Noot built a completely new plant in Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary and was the second largest manufacturer in the world in 1994 with an annual production volume of 4,300 ploughs. After Vogel & Noot also took over the company Niemeyer at the end of the 1990s, the business ran into economic difficulties. The Vogel & Noot Group was then divided into the three divisions, namely heating technology, automotive and agricultural machinery, and each division was sold off separately.
In 2001, Dieter Mengele purchased the agricultural machinery business and developed the product range into a complete portfolio before selling it to a Russian mechanical engineering group in 2009. The group operated successfully for a time and purchased other companies, such as Reform-Werke in Wels, which manufactured drilling technology. In addition to ploughs, the product range also included cultivators, seed drills and crop protection sprayers (manufactured by Holder). At the start of August 2016, the parent company in Wartberg, Austria, filed for bankruptcy.
The AMAZONE Group then seized the opportunity to purchase the non-insolvent subsidiary together with the plough factory in Mosonmagyaróvár. Now things are looking up again and everyone involved is happy that the once famous Vogel & Noot business could be saved along with many jobs. Amazone ploughs manufactured in Mosonmagyaróvár are testament to the fact that the comprehensive know-how required in plough production still lives on today.
Half a century: Amazone in Forbach celebrates its 50th anniversary
Anyone who needs professional equipment for maintaining parks, sports facilities or golf courses will find exactly what they are looking for in the Amazone machine range. AMAZONE SA in Forbach, France, has been manufacturing equipment for mowing, collecting and scarifying as well as spreaders for winter road gritting for half a century. The latest new development from Forbach is our Profihopper PH 1500.
The plant had very humble beginnings. In 1970, Amazone decided to set up a new location in France, the largest market for agricultural machinery in Western Europe. An old factory in Forbach directly on the border across from Saarbrücken was the ideal solution and so Amazone purchased it from an Italian-born building contractor named Cellentano. Favourable conditions were the decisive factor here: The premises had their own rail connection and were conveniently located close to the motorway heading towards Metz and Paris. In addition, there was a great deal of industrial know-how in the Lorraine region due to the mining industry there. The location was right on the border and so made it easy to hire German and French-speaking staff and the plant soon began producing its own range of products. Amazone gradually transformed the old factory halls into a modern production plant with its own administration and sales department.
Starting with only two hectares of land and around 8,000 m² of production halls, the location steadily grew. In 1983, Amazone also purchased the adjacent premises to the east from a forwarding company, thereby acquiring additional warehouses and another 10,000 m² of hall space. Today, enough space still remains for further expansion, if required. In 1999, an additional prefabrication hall was constructed and in 2005, a modern paint shop with dip tank and kiln hardening facility was set up.
Meanwhile, the workforce has grown to more than 70 employees, all of whom have become committed, wholehearted members of the extended Amazone family. On-site Managing Director Patrice Franke is supervised by Management Board member Ludger Braunsmann from the headquarters in Gaste.
Double award for Amazone
On the 8th of July this year, the Minister of Culture of Lower Saxony, Grant Hendrik Tonne, made a personal appearance at AMAZONEN-WERKEN to present two awards. The first was the "Lower Saxony Award for Outstanding Training Reliability 2020" and the second for "Training Commitment During the Pandemic". The Minister was accompanied by the President of the Chamber of Commerce for Osnabrück-Emsland, Mr. Goebel, Managing Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Graf, and the mayor of Hasbergen, Mr. Elixmann.
Our apprentices received a special prize for their involvement in developing and manufacturing more than 170 head and forehead holders for face shields on the company's own 3D printer during the coronavirus pandemic and delivering them to the crisis management team in Steinfurt to care for coronavirus patients. This year alone, 15 new trainees and dual students also started working at AMAZONE in Gaste.
When handing over the award, the Minister of Education lauded AMAZONEN-WERKE as a model company for dual training. He also praised that fact that the young people working with us had the opportunity to participate in a range of domestic and overseas projects as part of their training.
The President of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Goebel, commended Amazone on our commitment to training. We made five honorary examiners available for the final exams and took on some trainees from insolvent companies so that they could complete their training. We always strive to encourage young trainees and are delighted when our efforts are recognised by the powers that be.
An emotional milestone: The 75th anniversary of Erich Dreyer’s death
After the death of company founder Heinrich Dreyer, his two sons Erich Dreyer and Dipl. Eng. Heinrich Dreyer took over the management of the company in 1936. The two formed a successful team and they complemented each other well. While Heinrich Dreyer assumed responsibility for technical development at Amazone, Erich Dreyer developed an excellent instinct for future market trends and new sales opportunities.
The two were helped by the fact that the economic situation improved significantly from the mid-1930s following the global economic crisis and agriculture was given special support with the aim of further developing the agricultural sector, especially in the eastern regions of Germany. Erich Dreyer recognised this at an early stage and decided to open up the market for Amazone in the east.
There were many large companies operating there, but some of the technology used was very antiquated. For example, chain spreaders were still being used to spread fertiliser. The newly developed Amazone roller spreader was lightweight and the technology it used was more advanced, but most of all, it was much more efficient and much cheaper than the existing machinery. At first, it was not easy for Amazone to persuade the sceptical farmers to embrace the new technology. But Erich Dreyer was a salesman with a genuine talent and in the end, he even managed to convince the lord of the manor of the advantages that Amazone technology had to offer. His commitment paid off and the sales figures for the new roller spreader soon went through the roof.
But the terrible consequences of the Second World War then had a devastating impact on Amazone. Erich Dreyer was drafted and then whisked off to the eastern front shortly after completing his training. Unfortunately on the 18th of April, 1945, only twenty days before the war ended, he was killed while retreating in Silesia, in what is now the Czech Republic. His death was catastrophic, not only for the family, but also for AMAZONEN-WERKE.
It was then left up to Dipl. Eng. Heinrich Dreyer to shoulder full responsibility for running the company. The war and the post-war era certainly took their toll on him and in 1957, he died suddenly at the age of only 57.
Impressum
Herausgeber: AMAZONEN-WERKE H. Dreyer GmbH & Co. KG
Postfach 51
D-49202 Hasbergen-Gaste
Tel.: +49 (0)5405 501-0
Fax: +49 (0)5405 501-147
www.amazone.de
[email protected]
Entwurf: Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Dreyer
Konzeption, Texte und Gestaltung: Amazone Werbeabteilung
Fotos: Amazone Archiv