We all know that Fendt tractors are super expensive tractors that are bought to park alongside one’s luxury yacht and private helicopter, and they are hardly expected to get themselves muddy.
This popular image is one that might bring a smile to the face, but it is also one that Sean Gorman, regional sales manager for Fendt here in Ireland, is working hard to correct.
Ground-up engineering
It is, he says, a question of justifying the premium and this is chiefly through the higher level of engineering applied to the design of the machines from the outset.
A clearly visible sign of this approach is to be found at the front of the machine where the frame for the attachment of a front power lift is integral to the chassis of the tractor.
All Fendt tractors leave the factory ‘power-lift ready’, because that is how they are built from the drawing board onwards.
Such preparedness might add both weight and expense, but there are very few out there who can claim to have ever broken one of these machines.
Digital systems as selling point
Solidity of build is but one aspect of the tractors, the other is the apparent electronic sophistication of its multitude of systems.
While this may put many people off – and there will always be a demand for more basic tractors – Sean really does not see this as a problem.
He points out that many customers are attracted to the brand because they believe that the various items of software can increase productivity and efficiency.
Those that come to Fendt are now not really interested in the precise power and torque ratings, and he rarely finds himself talking about the mechanical basics other than confirming where a tractor stands in the power spectrum.
Shift of emphasis
There is a new breed of customer who takes the performance and reliability of the brand as granted, it is the electronic peripherals that are of interest and these are now more widely recognised as falling into two segments.
Fendt refers to them as onboard and offboard systems, a somewhat tidier description than the more academic terms, embodied and disembodied, used by some organisations.
Onboard systems are those that work within the tractor: Auto pilot, headland management and so on. Fendt is also catching up on tractor implement management (TIM), starting, as everyone does, with the baler.
It is these that are of more concern to present-day customers than the offboard data management orientated systems.
Reshaping the workload
Removing the fear of doing everything digitally rather than pulling levers and twisting knobs is the greatest challenge for any manufacture and Fendt is fully appreciative of the need to make the interface between operator and tractor as simple as possible.
The greatest step forward in this regard is to do away with the gears. The Fendt Vario CVT has just two ranges, which can very crudely be labelled as being suitable for either fast or slow work.
With the tractor speed now just being a matter of selecting the hare or tortoise (not that such imagery is to be found on Fendt tractors) and then pushing the pedal or tapping the screen, the need to operate a sophisticated transmission is eliminated from the driving equation.
This leaves more brain space for the operation of the tractor systems and setting of the implement, of which the former remains much as before while the latter now often presents a wide range of adjustable parameters.
Tractor principles remain
The idea that the tractor operation remains much as before sounds a wild claim, but Sean insists that how tractors actually work remains as it was, it is that operators now have a different method of controlling it.
The smart phone revolution has done away with the traditional dials and lights on a dashboard; the passing of instructions and feed back to the operator has transitioned to screen and switches, but beneath it all, Fendt tractors are functioning as they always have done.
The development of the ISOBUS protocol has allowed implements to be set and controlled far more precisely from the cab, and with touch screens now commonplace in everyday life farmers and operators are quickly adapting.
Dealer sophistication also required
Offboard systems with massive amounts of data flitting between tractors and offices have been a lot slower to take off Sean admits, but the capability needs to be there and it will grow with time.
Having a tractor that is at the cutting edge of integrating electronics into everyday farming is one thing, selling and supporting those tractors are another.
Stepping away from traditional tractor operation requires more than just flashing lights in the cab, there needs to be trust in the manufacturer that it has got it right, and also trust in the dealer who will need to support the customer and service the machine.
Selling a premium tractor requires a level of application that may not come naturally to all dealers, patience is also a much required virtue as developing the necessary trust takes time.
Fifth birthday and thriving
Atkins Farm Machinery is celebrating five years of its Birr branch and it has been associated with Fendt right from the start.
Now that they are established as a significant dealer in the midlands, sales are starting to take off.
It has not been an overnight process; Fendt is well aware that the brand is not an impulse buy and that customers will sit on the fence for a while to ensure that the dealer is going to be around to back up the tractors.
This watershed has now been crossed Sean feels, and Trevor Richardson, manager of the branch agrees, that the Atkins and Fendt are now a fixture in the local farming landscape that can be trusted to look after a farmer’s investment.
Older Fendt tractors are not ignored
At the company’s recent open day there was a selection of older machines on display. Despite twenty or thirty years old, all were in fine condition and all were worked regularly.
While many other makes of tractor can be seen working well into middle age they don’t always keep their appearance and performance as well as these examples have done.
Longevity of service becomes another selling point, and they keep their value well enough for it being economically advantageous to refurbish older machines for customers, which is a growing part of Atkins’ business.
Market sector
Fendt does not pretend to offer a range of tractors that will suit every farmer. The company knows full well that there will always be space for budget-orientated brands.
Its philosophy is that for those farmers who seek a certain degree of quality in the engineering of their investment in machinery, combined with up-to-date digital technology that adds to the operator’s experience, then Fendt is where they should be heading.
The company is not alone in seeking out the discerning farmer, but the gradual increase in market share suggests that it is providing something more than the competition.