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n°
1
YEAR VII
MAY 2007
The harvesting specialist’s journal
PARIS, EUROPEAN
SPRINGBOARD
FOR THE RED COMBINES
Great interest in the innovations of the range
from buyers at the Sima trade-fair. Meanwhile,
the sales network grows in France, as in Italy
AS HARVESTING TIME
DRAWS NEAR,
WE’LL BE RIGHT BESIDE
OUR CUSTOMERS,
DAY BY DAY
page 2
THE NEW REV 200:
THE BRITS
AN ANSWER
APPRECIATE
TO MARKET
QUALITY BY
DEMANDS
BREGANZE
page 3
pages 5-6
THAT’S HOW
THE
SPANISH MARKET
GROWS
page 6
CLOTHING
WATCHES
MODELS, FROM
THE GADGET WORLD
pages 12-13
Gruppo Industriale ARGO
The situation by Mario Scapin
Ready for a good harvest
Mario Scapin
managing director
As the crucial moment draws near,
we’ll be right beside our customers, day by day
A farmer’s fate has always been
bound to the weather factor, but
also to good farming practices
and respect for the environment.
Unfortunately, this last aspect
has not always been held in
great consideration by man,
especially in periods of strong
industrial growth, when the race
to achieve well-being at all costs
made people forget certain of
the fundamental rules of the
nature that surrounds us and
that is a source of indispensable
resources.
Fortunately,
we
are
now
becoming aware of all this and
it is beginning with agriculture
that man is commencing the
renewable
energy
recovery
process that will give respite to
both the environment and the
economy.
The European Union recently
approved a series of guidelines
concerning renewable energies
and biofuels. The aim is to bring
the use of biofuels to 10% of the
total consumption of petrol and
diesel fuel in each member state
within 2020.
Italy already began to establish
indicative domestic targets in the
2007 budget, with the following
percentages of biofuels obtained
from renewable sources, to take
over from the fuels currently
in use: 2.5 percent within the
end of 2008, 5.75 percent
within 2010. Along with other
important initiatives, such as use
of new installations for producing
biodiesel and bioethanol in almost
all the member States, these
measures will lead to an increase
in the demand for oil plants such
as wheat, barley and especially
corn in the case of bioethanol
(Italy and Hungary being amongst
the countries more greatly
involved).
Such policies will certainly lead to
benefits for agriculture, at least
when it comes to using the land
to a greater degree, something
that will give a boost to income.
These are forecasts that will
involve everyone, as we must
ensure that the results of a
year’s farming work are always
satisfactory, without losses or
waste due to carelessness or lack
of prevention.
At Laverda, we’re all convinced
that today’s success is the result of
having worked well yesterday and
that it is the condition for enjoying
peace-of-mind
tomorrow.
This is why we have launched
training activities and arranged
for a logistic service with equal
attention and expertise, so as to
guarantee a “non-stop” harvest
for our customers.
We had already spoken of great
changes in our after-sales service,
as management of the Assistance
and Parts division has been
entrusted to a single, considerably
experienced and capable person:
Pietro Dal Santo.
He is assisted in the technical
assistance service by three area
managers for Italy and abroad
while for the parts service, Dal
Santo can count on the staff
members within the actual
service, which already stands out
for its excellent work, appreciated
by both Italian and foreign
customers.
Getting back to prevention,
we would like to point out
that Laverda works non-stop,
especially during the so-called
“low season” periods, on a
series of activities that allow the
user customers to prepare their
machines in the best possible way
and obtain a harvest that can truly
be the happiest conclusion to a
whole year’s work. One of our
little known yet essential activities
is the attention that our “service”
pays to problems in the field.
Every complaint or suggestion
is examined, analysed and
processed so as to offer solutions
and propose improvements or
innovations to the products.
When it comes to statistics, we
analyse consumptions of spare
parts, how the machines are set
at work and the degree to which
the quality of the products and
the way the machines work in the
fields are perceived. Everything
is conducted on an international
scale. It’s clear that this analysis
phase is followed by synthesis and
decisions that enable us to offer
excellent machines in all fields
when the markets and volumes
make it worthwhile.
These services are obviously
backed by an enterprise that,
with its various different divisions,
namely quality, manufacturing,
administration,
purchasing,
communication, product and
sales marketing, takes an active
part in achieving that excellence
expressed by the product.
We are also convinced that
Laverda’s industriousness can only
achieve good results, just like your
harvests, if we are able to base
our mutual relations on healthy
collaboration and reciprocal trust.
Good harvesting to everyone.
The harvesting specialist’s journal
Year VII, n. 1, May 2007
Quarterly periodical
Registered with the Court of Vicenza
n. 1017 dtd. March 5th, 2002
publishing management
Mario Scapin
Angelo Benedetti
Simonetta Lambrocco
director in charge
Claudio Strati
art work
Andrea Rosset
Piergiorgio Laverda
the following persons
collaborated:
Patrick Fantinelli
parts purchasing office
Fabrice Rondeau
sales director for France
Mike Garwood
Laverda importer for Hampshire
Andres Moradas Lopez
Laverda sales manager for Spain
Piergiorgio Laverda
curator of the “Pietro Laverda”
historic archive
photographs
Archivio Laverda spa
© by Laverda spa
36042 Breganze (VI) Italy
via F. Laverda, 15/17
tel. +39.0445.385311
fax +39.0445.873355
www.laverdaworld.com
[email protected]
Printed by
Tipografia Campisi
V.le dell’Industria 13 - 36057
Arcugnano (VI)
Proprietà letteraria riservata. È permessa la riproduzione
di articoli e immagini solo citando la fonte.
To all journal subscribers
NOTIFICATION AS PER ART. 13
OF DECREE LAW D. LGS. 30.6.2003,
N° 196
Your identification data have been acquired by Laverda S.p.A. from either
you yourselves or from public lists and
registers, thus from documents accessible to anyone, for our marketing
activities in the future.
Laverda S.p.A. will deal with these
data on paper and/or by computerized or telematic media. The information will solely be used in our company for postal purposes, in relation
to our need to acquire new customers by sending commercial proposals,
also in the future.
Laverda S.p.A. guarantees that the
data will be treated in the most confidential way and that, upon your
request, your data may be cancelled
(or corrected) from our archives free
of charge. You are therefore entitled
to exercise all the rights established
by art. 7 of Decree Law D.lgs.vo N°
196/2003 and in particular, to wholly
or partly allow the data to be used.
Italy by Simonetta Lambrocco
The sales network gets bigger in Emilia
Agri-Moto, the Modenese company with almost 50 years of history, joins the Laverda team
Agri-Moto srl of Villafranca di Medolla,
the company run by the Bozzali and
Calzolari families, joined Laverda’s
Italian sales network at the beginning
of the 2006-2007 campaign.
And at the end of February, during the
traditional open-day that Agri-Moto
has been organizing every two years
since 1996, the customers were able
to examine the entire Laverda range,
on show in the Emilian company’s
display area.
«We concentrated on presenting
Laverda’s products to our customers»,
explained co-proprietor Sandro Bozzali,
«and we were more than satisfied
with the number of visitors that came
to our open-day, around 800 persons
according to our reckoning. We’re
now reaping the results of our efforts
in terms of sales».
As always, the open day gave the
proprietors the chance to entertain the
customers and visitors in a pleasant
way:
«We sampled a few delicacies and
drank a toast to mutual future
successes in good Sangiovese wine
along with many of the visitors» the
entrepreneur continued.
Agri-Moto is one of the “oldest”
trading enterprises of Modena and
its province. The founders actually
began their business by bartering
the implements they marketed with
livestock, even before they went into
partnership together.
The company was actually established
in 1960 by the two families, Bozzali
and Calzolari, who are still co-proprietors. Inspired by a specific vocation for
implements, over the past few years
the company has also become highly
specialized in the tractor and harvesting machine sectors, which have added to the initial business activity.
In 2006, the company achieved a
turnover amounting to over 4 and a
half million Euros. As always, Agri-Moto’s strong point is its vast and ultraassorted spare parts store, where customers can find everything they need
for farming work. Four people are employed full-time in this department.
The sales department has six staff
members who carry out their work
in the area by supplying information
about the machines and dealing with
the sale of tractors, harvesting implements and combines. Moreover, anyone who needs second-hand equipment will be sure of obtaining all the
help required from an expert exclusively dedicated to this branch of the
business.
The after-sales service is entrusted to
four staff-members, two of whom deal
specifically with the Laverda product.
Last but not least, four office workers
dedicated to the administrative management of the business complete
Agri-Moto’s staff, as well as a driver
who ensures that the machines are
delivered as fast as possible.
Top: visitors at the open day.
Below, from left to right: proprietors Alfredo Bozzali and Cesare Calzolari,
Giuseppe Bozzali, Giuseppe Zanasi and Paolo Diegoli, producers, and Sandro
Bozzali, proprietor.
REV, a shower of requests from numerous markets
And the series becomes more comprehensive with the
new 200 model
Following the increasing demands for combines in the “economy” category from markets like
Turkey, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan and Romania, where Laverda’s medium segment models, i.e. the
REV, 256 REV, 255 REV and 225 REV Series, have given proof of their superior characteristics, appreciated to a greater extent than those of their direct competitors, Laverda is now proposing a new
entry to the range, namnely the REV 200 model.
This machine is at the top of its segment as to reliability and performance because it boasts a chassis, transmission and threshing apparatus that are identical to those installed in its bigger brothers.
But it will be more able to comply with the growing need for a convenient price thanks to certain
features like the mechanically engaged threshing components, the 5,200 litre capacity grain tank
and the power rating of the 133 kW Tier III NEF engine.
Characteristics like these are also perfectly able to satisfy the needs recently voiced by the more mature markets, such as France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Finland,
where small family-run enterprises are now developing a part-time farming business that’s conducted as well as the other activities but needs the same productivity and
fast harvesting performance as the more modern and organized agricultural practices.
Besides featuring the new belt transmission to control the cutting table, the 256 REV, 255 REV and 225 REV combines sport new colours: grey for both the tyre rims
and grain tank cover. The interior and platform of the Elegance cab have also been re-vamped, thus the operators will be able to work in increasingly more comfortable
conditions in 2007, thanks to a better space arrangement, improved ergonomics and superior functionality.
Andrea and his fleet of combines
D’Ippoliti, model-maker from Ferrara, makes perfect scale reproductions.
And he’s founded a club
Although Italian agriculture has
seen better times, agricultural
machinery in general is a subject
that arouses considerable interest
and enthusiasm in all farmers and
farm-contractors.
And the passion for model farm
machines testifies to the great
attention paid to this sector. This
hobby is attracting an increasing
number of enthusiasts, as we were
told by Andrea D’Ippoliti of Argenta, in the province of Ferrara.
Andrea is a farmer. He was born
and still lives on the family farm, to
which he dedicates body and soul.
Right from the time he was a child,
he has dealt with the various jobs
required on his farm, switching
from manual work to the use of
machines, using implements and
driving tractors and Laverda combines.
When he was still very young, the
fascination exercised by the world
of farm machines led him to collect
their miniature replicas.
As the years went by, so did his
desire to discover the ever more
perfect model.
«At the present time,» Andrea enthusiastically told us, «my collection
includes more than 240 models
carefully arranged in showcases.
They almost always amaze everyone, even people who are not interested or involved in the world of
farm machinery».
These models are exhibited alongside the ones that Andrea makes
himself, entirely of wood. Real masterpieces that only time, familiarity and a true passion for Laverda
machines can create.
Although there may be some imperceptible imperfections, these
are unique models that still possess a certain value as they are not
moulded industrially, but are created out of nothing, or rather from
bits of wood or recycled pieces of
varying kinds. With just a file, filler
and sandpaper, our second “master Geppetto” transforms these
materials into models like Laverda’s
M120, M132, 3890, M 306 and L
521 combines. These latter actually have headlights, blinkers and a
cutting bar that functions.
Everything must coincide once the
job has finished: the dimensions,
scale (1/20 in this case), the individual details and their positions, the
decals and the colour.
«The workmanship is very complicated» explained Andrea D’Ippoliti. «It begins by choosing the
model to make. This must be followed by a detailed drawing with
precise measurements taken from
photographs and documents that
reproduce the machine».
A few machines and lots of hand
tools help Andrea to construct and
assemble the models, but the real
help comes from his patience and
pride in showing off the final result, tangible evidence of so much
work and all the long hours passed
in his workshop.
D’Ippoliti has always stood up for
his hobby along with other collectors. So much so, he recently
founded the “Gaima” club together with his friend from Budrio,
Sandro Poli, and others, an initiative that involves and will be happy
to involve anyone who wishes to
join and share in this passion.
«Our club» Andrea proudly tells
us, «is organizing a national meeting that will take place this year in
Budrio, in the province of Bologna,
on 9 April.
Important Italian collectors will be
taking part and will be exhibiting
thousands of craftsman’s and industrially made models of tractors,
combine-harvesters, seed drills,
trailers and the like. The festival
will also host an exhibition of farm
machinery, tractor gymkhanas and
tractor-pulling competitions. I’ll
be there with my Laverda corner,
where I’ll be exhibiting my wooden
models, proud to let the visitors see
them with their own eyes».
Simonetta Lambrocco
The marckets by Simonetta Lambrocco
An English farm-contractor
“spills the beans” about the 255 REV
“It fully came up to my expectations during its first 150 hours of work”
Relations with combine-harvesters at
Hilltop Farm began in 1979, when my
father bought a brand-new M 132,
with a 3.6 metre cutting table from
Power Farming Ltd. of Stamford.
This machine was to provide many
years of honourable service and reliable harvests right until 1992, the
year in which a hefty increase in harvesting land, which rose from 240 to
420 hectares, and our desire to sample the more comfortable work environment provided by a machine with
a cab, led us to replace our original
machine with a two-year old 3750
model featuring a 4.8 metre cutting
table, which we purchased from Burgess of Melton Mowbray.
This machine also proved to be highly
reliable and economical as to running
costs. At that time, we were working
over 600 hectares of land, but no technician ever had to be called because the machine had stopped during
the harvest. It was actually thanks to
the simple routine maintenance and
the ease with which the machine
could be used that we were always
able to deal with all the operations
required during the harvesting jobs
ourselves, except for recharging the
air conditioner in 1996.
It was this undeniably simple operation (and low running costs) and
reliability that made us decide to purchase another Laverda for our farm.
The 255 REV with its 5.4 metre cutting table arrived just in time to thresh the 2006 harvests. It was supplied
by C&M Tractors Ltd. of Oakham.
We had LH Agro Ltd. install a GPS
mapping system in it.
All the draw-backs of the 3750 combine have been resolved with the REV
Series. The mechanical clutch has
been replaced by the hydrostatic drive, and it was really easy to get used
to this and the electrohydraulic clutch
assemblies, the system for controlling
the cutting table and the cab, soundproofed in a much better way.
The low power we often noted with
our 3750, when we unloaded while
on the move on hillsides for example,
or when we chopped straw in a harvest heavy with grain, has been completely overcome by the 255 HP Iveco
engine. And the fuel consumption is
lower, 15 litres per hectare with wheat
and when shredding the straw, and
10 litres per hectare with beans. But
other things have also been improved. For instance, the greasing points
are much easier to reach (there are
fewer points and their accesses have
been enlarged).
Access for the cleaning operations
is also decidedly better: the rotating
filter with fast release mechanism
allows the radiator to be easily reached.
The increased grain tank capacity
means that one tractor and trailer
can still keep up with loading grain
to the store.
Reliability during the first season was
excellent. The only fault was a broken cable in the automatic self-levelling system. We just switched to the
manual mode until the next morning,
when the new cable arrived straight
from Italy. It was installed before the
dew had time to evaporate.
The quality of the threshed crop was
excellent, as with all Laverda’s machines.
The straw shredding and spreading
operations have been greatly improved thanks to the simple way the
straw chopper and chaff spreader
are engaged and disengaged. The
quality of the straw left in windrows
for the successive baling phase is still
very good, even in very dry harvesting
conditions.
All in all, the new Laverda 255 REV
came up to our expectations during
its first 150 hours of work and will
certainly continue to do so for many
years to come.
Robert Allen
Below: the 255 REV combine at work in the English countryside.
«Savings and quality
with our M 304 LS»
The satisfaction of English farmers
David and Tim Mendus-Edwards
David and Tim Mendus-Edwards run their family farm in Alton,
Hampshire.
«Ours is a family-run farming enterprise» explain the two farmers,
father and son. «We purchased our first Laverda M 304 Levelling
System combine from Mike Garwood Ltd. for the 2006 harvesting
season, after we had witnessed an extremely successful practical
demonstration the year before. We work with our combine in an area
measuring 325 hectares, with a great variety of crops: wheat, beans,
oats, rape, spring and winter barley. We used a New Holland combine
for many years and one of the main advantages we immediately
discovered was undoubtedly the considerable saving on fuel we now
obtain with our Laverda M 304 LS».
The Mendus-Edwards family is very satisfied with the way their Laverda
combine harvests.
«The quality of all the crops harvested with our Laverda combine is truly
excellent» confirm the two farming entrepreneurs. «The adjustments
we must make so as to thresh the different crops and the cleaning
system are very simple and require very little time. Apart from anything
else, some of our land is rugged and slopes steeply, with difficult soil
but our M 304 LS is fantastic, with its tractive force. It easily climbs up
and down every slope».
Maintenance proved to be one of the machine’s salient features for
the English customers as well: «Laverda’s combines are very easy to
keep clean. During the harvesting period, the best solution we found
was to open the large side doors and give the machine a regular blow
with a petrol-fuelled compressor. The air conditioner is also extremely
efficient».
In short, all-round satisfaction. «Our decision to purchase a Laverda
combine has been a success from all aspects» underscore David and
Tim. «It has allowed us to reduce our running costs, obtain a high
quality crop and conduct a fully satisfactory harvesting campaign,
without difficulty and without problems».
In the photo, father and son pose proudly in front of their Laverda combine.
Spain, the sales
network plans further
growth
The annual appointment in Breganze with
the dealers from Agriargo Iberica
Agriargo Iberica’s sales organization and the national network of
Laverda dealers visited the combine-harvester factory of Breganze in
February and took part in its annual meeting, which was held in the
prestigious Hotel Villa Michelangelo of Arcugnano, in the province of
Vicenza.
The dealer network’s annual meeting is always a very important
venue for all. Firstly, the dealers enjoy the chance to meet and get
to know each other as the great distances that separate them and
the demanding work they do are an impediment to routine meetings.
Secondly, they are able to obtain first-hand information about the
developments undergone by the brand over the past few years and,
even more important, are able to learn about the industrial projects
involving the product and about the sales strategies.
The meeting got off to a start with a welcoming speech from Angelo
Benedetti, the sales and marketing manager, who greeted the
organization and the dealers and presented the programme for the
day as well as certain of Laverda’s important innovations.
After this, Antonio Esteve, director general of the Spanish branch, took
the chair and presented the organization chart of Agriargo Iberica, the
financial statements of the last 10 years and a few details of interest
for the Spanish market, such as the renovation plan.
The next person to speak was Mario Scapin: the director general of
the Breganze plant described Laverda’s historic evolution of the past
few years, underscoring significant changes such as that of turning,
in 2000, from a simple manufacturing unit of a multinational into a
true industry again, the only one of its kind in Italy, dealing with the
development, production and marketing of combine-harvesters.
The process for re-launching the historic and prestigious brand
coincided with a constant growth in sales volumes, with hefty
industrial investments and with the recruitment of new employees,
all of which took place in a climate of economic stagnation and a
difficult market.
All this was made possible thanks to the entrepreneurial abilities of the
Argo Industrial Group, to the dynamic management, the professional
skills and renewed enthusiasm of Laverda’s collaborators. Strategic
investments, the rationalization process that affected the existing
installations, research and development combined with constantly
upgraded products were the first activities faced with passion,
professionalism and painstaking attention to the market demands.
Mario Scapin concluded by illustrating the big investments made in
Breganze to improve the manufacturing system. These have included
the modern automated laser cutting station, the various different selfstanding welding robots, the modern mechanization systems and the
sophisticated electronic instruments installed in order to improve the
quality controls.
Andres Moradas, sales manager for the Spanish market, spoke about
the way the brand had developed in his country over the past six
years. Moradas analyzed the sales targets achieved during the first
season, the 2000 - 2001 sales campaign when results near to a 3%
market share had been obtained, and concluded by emphasizing the
important growth experienced by Laverda in the last campaign of
2006, when it topped 8% of the market share in the areas in which
it is present. A very interesting result
and rich in promise for the future
sales campaigns, especially if one
notes how 70% of Laverda’s sales
are obtained with the high product
range or top range, mainly designed
for professional users or service
enterprises.
Product manager Luciano Parise
illustrated the innovations for the
2007 campaign, speaking at length
about the new M Special Power series
combines, the new LCS series and
the M 304 Special Power Levelling
System Integrale combine.
The innovations include GSAX, the
new electronic system for adapting
the cutting table to the ground, the
7.60 metre bars, the new Sisu and
Iveco Tier III engines and the 20%
increase to the separation surface for
the M series.
After this, Gianfranco Dal Santo, the
person in charge of the technical
service for the Spanish market,
underscored the importance of
collaboration in his department when
it comes to back-up for the product
in the field, technical training, the
guarantees, the specific technical
documentation and the spare parts.
The
company’s
communication
programme
was
described
by Simonetta Lambrocco, the
communication and public relations
manager.
The
instruments,
forms
and
communication levels created and
used to date have contributed
towards increasing the standing of
both Laverda and its products in the
territory. A complete communication
programme, Lambrocco explained,
is achieved by using all the media:
advertising, press releases, articles,
interviews,
press
conferences,
meetings with journalists, meetings
with the customers, visits to the
factory, participation in both national
and international trade fairs.
Before accompanying the guests on
a visit around the factory and to the
manufacturing departments, Andres
Moradas spoke of the initiatives
to be developed in Spain for the
next 2007 campaign, substantially
based on three fundamental actions:
develop the image, increase the
know-how and be successful in the
territory. He concluded by briefly
outlining the work plan and targets
for the future campaigns, particularly
directed towards increasing Laverda’s
coverage throughout the country by
recruiting new dealers in zones that
are still without, and proceeding
with the growth process at the same
rhythm as the previous campaigns so
as to increase Laverda’s market share
in the Spanish market.
It was a very pleasant day of work
with lots of satisfied and motivated
guests ready to face new challenges.
And Laverda reaps success in Paris
The specialized public was fascinated by the new combines on show at the Sima trade fair
After a period with a steady
market, Laverda’s management
for France concentrated its
expectations on the 2007 Sima
trade fair.
In
a
currently
favourable
economic situation and with
the morale of both farmers and
farm contractors in a fairly high
state, we can express a certain
satisfaction with the outcome
of the fair and for the quality,
diversity and number of contacts
we made.
In actual fact, the main visitors
to Laverda’s exhibition booth
at the important Parisian trade
fair had previously always been
customers who had remained
loyal to the brand and who were
intrigued by seeing the Laverda
logo on the market again.
Nowadays the situation has
changed.
The
competitors
coming and going to and from
out booth proved that Laverda’s
combines
are
“disturbing”.
Until just a few years ago, not
many people believed that
these machines would make a
comeback, even though they
were built with the skill of an
exemplary tradition acquired
throughout decades of work in
the factory of Breganze.
Numerous
visitors,
farmers,
farm-contractors, journalists and
professionals from the sector
stopped by and spent a lot of time
in our booth in an endeavour to
get to know the ranges on show
while asking a lot of questions
about our products.
The ultra-new LCS 296, a
machine with 6 straw-walkers,
the M 304 SP Levelling System
4WD Integrale and the M 306
SP kept the visitors rooted to the
spot.
There was not a moment’s rest for
our sales staff and technicians as
they had to keep on answering
the visitors’ questions and
satisfying their curiosity.
Sima 2007 concluded with a
considerable number of potential
customers, many of whom
appeared to be strongly desirous
of making a purchase during the
next few months.
There were also lots of requests
from dealers wishing to represent
and promote the Laverda brand
and products.
We can now humbly affirm that
Laverda is back on the scene and
is fast becoming the great brand
of the past.
The appointment at the next
Sima fair is in two years time, in
2009.
Fabrice Rondeau
Top: the M 304 SP Levelling System combine
aroused lots of interest in Paris.
Bottom: Laverda’s booth was always crowded
with professional visitors.
Interesting steps forward in France
New dealers for an increasingly more specialized sales network
Last season’s sales campaign allowed
Laverda to win back a significant share of
the French combine-harvester market.
«We are fully satisfied with our results for
the 2005- 2006 business year» declared
Laverda’s sales manager for France,
Fabrice Rondeau «and halfway through
the 2006-2007 sales campaign, in a
favourable climate thanks to a series of
positive elements that should support and
encourage the investments (grain prices on
the upswing, well directed prices for beef
and pork), Laverda’s sales balance is now
in black».
Laverda uses many different strategies
to maintain this growth and the trust the
French customers are now manifesting
again.
From the sales aspect, the additions to
Laverda’s dealer team will soon allow the
network to be managed in a better way,
with a more reactive response and greater
familiarity with marketing instruments
of both the practical type and regarding
relations with the end customers.
A specific, direct promotion and marketing
policy will boost Laverda’s image and the
way the products are distributed.
An intensive technical and business training
scheme will also be developed so as to
adapt the dealers’ skills. «We must create
our own specificity in a rapidly changing
farming world» maintains Rondeau, «one
that adapts very quickly to any new data
from the market». Performance, efficacy,
relations, reactivity: these are the key
words.
When it comes to the network, Laverda
intends to become even more present.
By recruiting new dealers during the last
business year and considering the interest
in developing the Laverda brand shown
by many new candidates, the French
management, in direct contact with the
parent company, is preparing to nominate
a considerable number of new dealers for
the current business year.
«We carefully evaluate all our options and
all requests for distribution in areas that
are still without dealers, or with Laverda
dealers who are not developing our brand
in a satisfactory way on the long term»
declared Rondeau.
«Our independence allows us to choose who
to recruit: the newcomers must necessarily
possess the tough fibre of those who deal
with harvesting, something that didn’t
always occur in the past. Development
synergy» added the sales manager for
France, «functions, and remains a priority
with the rest of the Argo Group if there is
a possible nomination and the feasibility is
checked out with one of the tractor brands
and products of the group».
Speaking of the product, the exemplary
quality and reliability of Laverda’s combines
are features that are acknowledged
everywhere. «This is what triggered off
the renewed trust we’ve found in France,
from users of all makes of combines» said
Rondeau.
Thanks to the work that has been done from
the time the Laverda plant was taken over
by the Argo Group in 2000, we are now
able to propose an extremely articulated
variety of products: 4 ranges with 20
models available in 34 versions allow us to
meet the demands from France and from
the rest of the world when it comes to
conventional machines.
Indispensable “partners” in regions with
steeply sloping land, the Levelling System
combines represent a real reference point
for their users in terms of reliability and
profitability.
The medium range, the LCS Series launched
during the previous season, now includes
model 296 LCS, which has been very well
received by both the network and the
customers.
«Laverda’s combines» concluded Rondeau
«are reliable machines that provide a
high performance and are simple to use.
Machines that, along with these qualities,
combine the undeniable advantage of truly
low maintenance costs. They now allow us
to “make the difference” on the fields and
will continue to do so in the future».
10
The events
Technology viewed with Tibetan wisdom
Samdong Rimpoche, the exiled prime minister, visits Breganze
It was a moment of profound
spiritual depth, the meeting that
took place in the Laverda plant
just before Christmas, on 15
December 2006. The guest was
a very important personage, the
exiled Prime Minister of the Tibetan
Government,
prof.
Samdong
Rimpoche.
Designated by the Dalai Lama in
1991 as member of the House of
Commons, prof. Rimpoche desired
to add a visit to the Laverda plant
to his tight schedule, even though
he had to deal with a multitude of
institutional commitments during
his trip to the Veneto area.
The invitation to visit our region
was submitted by the Mountain
Community from Astico to the
Brenta, and by the Makalu 2006
expedition organized by Luciano
Covolo, during which the Olympic
torch reached the summit, borne
in the last part of its journey by
barefooted
mountain-climber
Tom Perry, and was signed by
the Dalai Lama. It was actually
during Samdong Rimpoche’s visit
to Veneto that the torch was
put up for auction. The proceeds
will be used to build a school in
Dharamsala (India) for Tibetan
orphans.
The reason for Samdong Rimpoche’s
desire to visit Laverda lies in the
historicity of our company and the
type of products it manufactures,
i.e. combine-harvesters.
As the Tibetan monk explained
during the conference that took
place during the morning, the world
possesses two different types of
technology, i.e. “bad” technology
that exploits the resources without
contributing towards the progress
and well-being of mankind,
and “good” technology, which
contributes towards developing
and improving man’s condition
both by lightening his tasks and by
helping to produce food.
Laverda rightfully belongs to this
second category. It’s worthwhile
remembering how the Breganze
enterprise has always led and laid
the course for the development
of farming machinery in Italy: the
first self-propelled combine was
produced here in 1956 and gave
rise to the great turning point
towards mechanization.
Received in Laverda by director
general
Mario
Scapin,
the
marketing and sales manager
Angelo Benedetti and by the
communication and public relations
manager Simonetta Lambrocco
in the presence of the local
institutional authorities, Samdong
Rimpoche listened carefully to
the presentation of Laverda’s
history and the description of the
exclusive techniques featured by
the products, and showed a sincere
interest in the planned visit to the
factory.
The
morning’s
conference
concluded with the customary
words of thanks, after which a
parchment was signed by the
director general and the prime
minister in memory of the event.
The programme proceeded with
the visit to the factory, at the end
of which, the professor climbed
into a combine-harvester and not
only asked for details about how it
operated but also wanted to start
it up.
During the afternoon, Samdong
Rimpoche met several of the local
entrepreneurs, also guests of
Laverda, and was interviewed by
journalist Claudio Tessarolo.
Samdong Rimpoche’s most significant and touching message can be
summed up in his request to preserve the resources of the land as
they are not unlimited and in his
plea to take up and overcome
the great challenges of mankind,
which involve four important subjects: economic inequality, violence, environmental degradation,
intolerance.
A message expressed with the
utmost simplicity, but charged with
profound significance
Samdong Rimpoche with
Mario Scapin, Laverda’s director
general, and the customary
group photo in the factory’s
display yard as a souvenir of
the visit.
On the other page, Tom Perry’s
extempore performance.
11
And Tom Perry climbs
barefooted up the combine
Tom Perry, the famous barefooted mountain climber, certainly
could not have failed to be among the many persons present during Samdong Rimpoche’s visit to Laverda last 15 December.
It was he who carried the Olympic torch, now being auctioned
for charity, right to the top of Makalu where it was signed by the
Dalai Lama, after 140 kilometres of barefooted trekking.
The likeable ranger couldn’t wait to kick off his shoes at the Breganze factory and “climb” barefooted up one of Laverda’s combine harvesters.
«I’ve known the Laverda brand and products since I was eight
years old» said Tom, «and I used to see a reaper-binder and one of
Laverda’s motor mowers at work in the field alongside my home. I
feel a strong bond with the land and with the products it supplies,
thus with agriculture and with the technology that allows man to
work in the fields without the backbreaking effort of yesteryear.
This is why I’m also fond of companies which, like Laverda, have
always worked towards mechanizing farm work».
But why climb mountains or volcanoes with bare feet? «If you’ll
pardon the pun, walking without shoes “keeps your feet on the
ground”. It reminds you that you’re a man, that your origin is the
land and it is to the land that you’ll return. It makes you understand that simple things are the most important and authentic
ones. It helps you understand that men are all equal with just one
father under the same sky».
A simple but highly significant message that Tom Perry also imparted on Thursday 9 March from the summit of one of the most
famous active volcanoes in the world, Etna. Among other things,
he underwent his new exploit, which got him climbing once again
with bare feet, in order to honour the European year dedicated
to women.
The barefooted mountain climber symbolically dedicated his feat
to the widow of Inspector Raciti, killed while in service at the stadium of Catania, and to the widow of free flight champion D’Arrigo, who died last year in an accident.
The volcano climbing exploits will continue in Japan in May, when
Tom will carry the ashes of Etna to Fujiama, in a sort of symbolic
twinship.
Argo informs
Gruppo Industriale ARGO
TechnoFarm in the “Europa” version
an open-field Utility range
The new Technofarm “Europa” series tractors are an innovation for the
international markets, a range of true “utility” machines for open-field work
launched by Landini during the 2007 Sima trade fair. In the 60 to 75 HP power
bracket, the Technofarm Europa family features an optimum balance between
tough and reliable construction combined with efficacious technical solutions that
tend to minimize the cost impact: an increasingly more pressing need in many
European countries. Landini’s new range is equipped with the same engines as
the Rex series. This means: 3-cylinder aspirated engines for “Technofarm 60”, 3cylinder turbo engines for “Technofarm 70” and “80”, and 4-cylinder aspirated
engines for “Technofarm 75”. The suspended semi-platform keeps the noise
level to within 86 dBA, the limit imposed in European Union countries. Available
in versions with 2 and 4-wheel drive, the Technofarm Europa series has been
designed to deal efficiently with open-field jobs depending on the weight and
power of the machine itself. It is also ideal for preparing seed beds, for jobs that
require the power take-off and for transport work.
It’s a versatile range that targets on facing all the soil working and handling jobs
in a simple and economic way. All this is achieved thanks to the dimensions,
typical of open-field tractors with a 2030 mm wheelbase for the version with
the 3-cylinder engine and 2140 mm for the one with the 4-cylinder engine.
The machine weighs 2300 kg and there’s a wide variety of 8” and 30” tyres
to choose from, through to the 16.9-30 size, which is the reference tyre for
the more powerful model. The transmission complies with market requirements
and features a double dry clutch, 24+24 gearbox with a fully synchronized
mechanical reverse shuttle.
The transmission is complete with epicyclic rear final drives.
The generously sized cab
and side levers confirm
Technofarm’s accurate layout
project that also reflects in the
large wrap-around mudguards
fixed to the folding rear safety
frame.
The 65-litre capacity fuel tank
installed between the engine
housing and steering wheel is
true to the typical conformation
of the Utility tractor as are the
pedals, which are connected
straight to the linkages of
the oil-cooled multiple-plate
brakes.
A new look for the McCormick range
which matches anthracite grey with the well-known red colour
McCormick presented the new colours and decals that will identify all the brand’s
families of products in the future at the 2007 Sima trade fair.
The colour used for the chassis of McCormick’s tractors will be different from that
of the bodywork so as to make the machines more attractive as to appearance.
The bodywork will still be painted in the McCormick red colour, while the chassis
will be given a new look in anthracite grey.
Moreover, the decals will sport a more modern design to reflect the brand’s
stylistic developments.
12
“Italy that works” reaches Breganze
Laverda gets an award and special mention for over 130 years of history
Laverda won the “Italy that works”
award for 2007. This occurred during
the conference organized by Pragma
Grandi Congressi at the conference
centre of Russot Hotel in VeniceSan Giuliano on the subject “Small
and medium-sized enterprises, a
dam against the crisis”, that was
particularly dedicated to companies
in the Triveneto area.
The prize was awarded thanks to the
hard-working, serious and ethical
dealings that have distinguished
the Breganze company since 1873,
the year in which it was established.
Qualities that have made it the
emblem and driving force behind
the development of the economic
and social framework of the NorthEast. Requisites that the technical
commission of experts noted
and awarded in their decision to
encourage the efforts of men and
enterprises that contribute with
their work towards the growth of
our country’s economy and prestige
throughout the world.
In front of over 800 guests from the
various different provinces of Veneto,
Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia
Giulia, the two speakers, Gianluca
Versace, television journalist, and
Giovanni Agretti, expert in matters
concerning small and mediumsized undertakings, underscored
the importance of these enterprises
as “bearing axle” of the national
economy.
Mariolina Cannuli, the vivacious
TV compère, was patroness and
coordinator of the event.
Laverda gadgets,
a fresh and
pleasant line
There are lots of new gadgets
and clothing articles in the new
catalogue, presented during the
2007 Sima trade fair in Paris.
And the public appeared to
be extremely interested in the
products.
Please contact the parts division
of Laverda spa, in Breganze, for
further details.
The conference was crowned by the
prize giving ceremony where awards
were presented to the representatives
of more than 100 enterprises.
Laverda spa obtained a special
mentioned for over 130 years of
history and was the first to be
awarded.
Simonetta Lambrocco, Laverda’s
communication and public relations
manager, collected the prize on
behalf of the Breganze company.
Left: television journalist Gianluca
Versace consigns Laverda’s award to
communication and public relations
manager Simonetta Lambrocco.
Below on both pages: a few of the
articles in the new gadget catalogue.
13
Make way for women in the plant
More women employed in the Laverda factories
After a few months of planning, the
“Women in Laverda” project launched
by Mario Pretto, Laverda’s human
resources manager in collaboration
with the Thiene branch of Adecco,
the temporary employment agency,
with the Labour Exchange and union
representatives, got off to a start.
The programme began in January
2007 with a professional training
course dedicated to learning assembly
techniques. This was followed by a
stage in the factory, which led to a
fixed-term employment contract.
The recent crisis in the textile sector has
created considerable difficulties when
it comes to female employment, and
has inevitably affected the Breganze
area.
This initiative by Laverda and Adecco
has a doubly positive outcome as it
provides employment in a fairly flexible
way for people who have lost their
jobs.
Laverda’s objective is to create an
already trained work force to be
employed by the company in a cyclic
way and to face seasonal peaks when
the production must be increased
in certain periods of the year or for
particular market situations. Thanks
to this flexibility, the women Laverda
employs by virtue of this project will
be able to organize their jobs to suit
their family commitments. In view of
the success enjoyed by the project
and the difficulty in finding specialized
male workers, other companies in the
area have also decided to recruit their
employees in a similar manner, by
offering women the chance to work
in areas that were traditionally the
prerogative of men.
«After the Argo Industrial Group
relaunched the Laverda brand»
explained Simonetta Lambrocco,
Laverda’s communication and public
relations manager, «we are again
witnessing a characteristic for which
the Breganze company has always
stood out. I’m talking about a special
sensitivity towards the problems that
affect the area. There’s also a renewed
sense of belonging amongst both
male and female workers, who now
feel proud to be part of a winning
enterprise. One should also remember
that the “Women in Laverda” project
also complies with the European
Commission’s directive defining 2007
as the year of Equal Opportunities».
At the present time, there are twenty
women who benefit from the
“Women in Laverda” project, and
they are shortly to be joined by eight
more.
14
The album
A roaring “monster” in the wheat fields
The M 182 was first tested 27 years ago and paved the way for the “red” giants
Breganze, summer 1980. A
strange looking monster was
moving through the wheat fields
to the south of the town, not far
from the big new Laverda factory
that had recently begun full
production. The dark red colour,
the funny letters formed by green
dots, the large beak at the rear
with its alarming eye, a cloud of
dust and straw and a deep rumble:
it looked more like something out
of the realms of science fiction
than a farm machine.
But the human beings that flocked
around it soon shed a light on this
fantastic scene. Dressed as always
in a white shirt, tie and boots,
Chev. Pietro Laverda controlled
every movement. His planning
engineers rushed to and fro. The
mechanics from the “experience
department” all dressed in faded
green overalls, brandished their
tool boxes while a photographer
took snaps as the machine
proceeded step by step. Laverda’s
gigantic new M 182 combineharvester made its debut on the
fields.
The following year, painted in
the traditional and certainly more
reassuring red colour, it was tried
out in fields over the half of Europe
so as to fully test its qualities
and defects. It was exhibited in
public in September during the
corn day organized in Caorle
(Ve) by the Farming Development
Authority of Veneto, where it was
acclaimed by the farmers. Lastly,
in November of the same year, the
new M 182 was the pride of the
Eima trade fair in Bologna. Let’s
try to understand the reasons for
this immediate interest.
At the end of the ‘70’s, the growing
needs of modern grain cultivation
encouraged the manufacturers
to create increasingly more
powerful and bigger machines.
Laverda, then unrivalled leader
in Italy and also well placed in
important markets like those of
France and Spain, couldn’t just
remain an onlooker. At that time,
the top of the range was the M
152 model with 5 straw-walkers,
the utmost development of the M
120 project. The strategy chosen
was to create a conventional
combine-harvester without limits
as to cost, despite the tendency
towards axial machines that was
rife at that time. But this machine
was to provide high performance
and possess decidedly innovative
characteristics as compared to
the other products available on
the market. Thus, a large machine
with an adequate power rating,
but one that, for the very first
time, featured a massive use of
electronics to control the various
different functions. This was a true
revolution in the sphere of farm
machinery and a real challenge
in view of the suspicious way in
which the traditionalists viewed
the machine.
In the big cab set at the side,
complete with air conditioning
and heating system, a control
panel with as many as 45 functions
included all the electronically
controlled
electrohydraulic
commands, with a digital display
that kept the operator informed
about the drum’s speed and
revolutions.
Moreover,
the
A lovely shot of the revolutionary
M 182 at work.
15
standard equipment also featured
the leak monitor, hour counter
and hectare counter. A 1600 mm
drum, the widest of its category,
six straw-walkers with an overall 8
sqm cleaning surface, a 7000 litre
capacity tank, a cutting bar of as
much as 7.60 m, 225 HP engine
with hydrostatic transmission and
3-speed gearbox: these were the
main technical features of the
machine.
On the outside, the line was both
imposing yet attractive. It had
been designed by architect Olivieri
from Studio Nizzoli of Milan, a big
name in Italy’s industrial design
sphere who had already worked
on the M 120 and its evolutions.
This machine, which was to be
called the 3900, immediately
proved to be equal to its task.
It soon overcame the inevitable
difficulties due to the sort of
running in period the new
electronic technology had to
undergo.
Since it was so powerful and
productive, the 3900 combine
was perfect for use in farms that
cultivated grain crops or by farmcontractors. This was also due to
its versatility, always a feature of
Laverda’s machines.
This combine could be quickly
adapted for harvesting rice and
with 6 to 8 row corn apparatus.
It remained in production until
1985, after which it was substituted
by a lower powered model with
simplified components, i.e. the
3850, but above all to make way
for the top of the range, Laverda’s
newly created “unconventional”
machine. This was the MX 240
which, despite its interesting
characteristics, was never as
successful as was hoped.
But the path marked out by the
M 182 project, with technical
solutions
that
were
truly
innovative as compared to the
other combine-harvesters on
the European scene, allowed
Laverda’s range of machines
with 5 and 6 straw-walkers to be
totally renewed within just a few
years and enabled the company
to become established on the
markets.
Piergiorgio Laverda
Above: the first prototype of the M 182.
Above: the innovative cab with the
electronic control panel.
Left: the M 182 combine at work in a
paddy field.
16
The history, the stories
The different skills that make the most of work
Cooperativa Verlata of Villaverla and the partnership (since ‘90) with Laverda
Veneto and the province of Vicenza have
lots of undertakings that operate in the
social sphere.
Just think how, according to recent
estimations, of the over 700 enterprises
in Italy, as many as 623 are situated in the
Veneto Region and 105 in the province
of Vicenza.
In Italy, there are extremely eloquent
statistics that testify to this situation: in
2005, the overall turnover was well over
400 billion Euros, involving about 200
thousand workers, amongst whom the
chance offered to
more than 23,000
disadvantaged
persons (disabled,
with
problems
c o n c e r n i n g
drug
addiction,
mental health, exconvicts, persons
suffering
from
social
hardship,
etc.) was of great
significance.
An
important
social
initiative
was accomplished
by
Cooperativa
Sociale
Verlata.
Established as an
association in 1984
in Villaverla by a
group of people
who had been
doing
voluntary
work for years with disabled persons,
helping them to integrate in schools
and in the recreational activities that
took place in the area, this Cooperative’s
goal is still to promote wellbeing and
to integrate these persons. This is done
by helping to reduce the effects of the
various different handicaps, to increase
personal autonomy, and to improve
skills that could be used to advantage at
work.
Over the years, the project became
specialized and led to the establishment
of Verlata Lavoro, a social cooperative
that prepares people for jobs.
This enterprise operates like any other
undertaking on the market and deals
with work in the fields of mechanical
assembly, carpentry, ground care and
computer services.
The partners of the cooperative deal
each day with the business aspects,
production, relations with the customers
and assist the persons who have been
given jobs. The work done by Verlata is
extremely positive and the cooperative
has been able to expand to an increasing
number of new areas. The stability of the
cooperative’s structure confirms the image
of a company that has been able to strike
a happy balance amongst commitments,
difficulties and its mission.
The jobs are offered to persons suffering
from social hardships (owing to disabilities
or some other form of disadvantage), the
purpose being to prepare them for future
employment outside.
Laverda S.p.A. via F. Laverda, 15/17 - 36042 Breganze [VI] Italy
t. +39.0445.385311 f. +39.0445.873355
[email protected] www.laverdaworld.com
Employment in the Cooperative, with
direct experience in a job, has proved
to be an efficacious way of preparing
people for work: more than 110 persons
have taken part in a training scheme over
the years, and have actually found jobs
outside at the end of the course.
In 2006, Verlata’s overall turnover
amounted to one million 850 thousand
Euros with 33 worker partners
provided with employment, and with
an equal number of regularly engaged
disadvantaged persons to be added to
their number.
One of the first
companies in the
area with which
Cooperativa Verlata
collaborated was
Laverda spa, in a
partnership
that
began way back in
1990.
The Cooperative
actually carries out
certain processes
concerning
the
packaging of parts
for the Breganze
company.
Ground care for
the areas around
the
Breganze
plant is another
significant service.
It has been going
on for fifteen
years and provides employment for
three persons. Collaboration that
upholds social values but that also
testifies to Laverda’s roots in the
territory as, in its 130 years of history,
the Breganze company has always
developed a strong ability to stimulate
the energy put into the work and ideas
of its area, besides having a deep
respect for social matters and for the
events of the community in which it is
situated.
This journal is printed on fully
recycled paper, in the utmost
respect for the environment.