IMT, or Industrija Masina i Traktorais, was one of those Soviet brands that worked away behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ turning out tractors in their thousands for use at home with just a few escaping into the west where they were purchased by budget conscious farmers on a small scale.
They made it to the UK and even across the Irish sea where a small number were sold into the country on an irregular basis.
Based on older Massey Ferguson designs, they did come with the benefit of familiarity although hampered by the general mistrust of eastern bloc products.
At its peak, the company produced 40,000 tractors a year and employed nearly 10,000 staff at its Belgrade facility alone.
Most of these tractors were exported to fellow Soviet satellite countries and other friendly nations.
Production drops under Milosevic
Unfortunately, this level of productivity did not survive the Milosevic era during which the Serbian economy, and its industry, was handicapped by a combination of United Nations (UN) sanctions and the alleged gifting of state assets to party officials and financiers.
It was only after his overthrow in 2000 that some sense of normality returned to the badly damaged Serbian economy, yet there was no money available to invest in the factory despite the rapid recovery of the country.
Rumours of privatisation of what was still a state-owned entity surfaced in 2008 but came to nothing, and the company was declared bankrupt in 2015.
An old friend comes to the rescue
And there the story would have ended except for the intervention of TAFE, the Indian company which had partnered IMT up until 1992.
TAFE returned to Serbia and purchased the shell of the company in 2018 for 66 million dinars, around €600,000 at the time.
Soon after the deal was done it was announced that the company would not be restarting production at the existing facility, but, would instead, be seeking new premises in whichever region of Serbia offered the most favourable terms.
The area in which the old factory was situated was originally an industrial zone that now finds itself neighbouring a residential area with higher land values.
There is a suggestion that this is the main prize, however, Serbian politics are still vibrant and such accusations are only to be expected.
Strong loyalty to IMT
What is more definite is that IMT still enjoys a loyal following in its past markets and the name is still one that carries respect in the former eastern bloc and developing countries, especially in Africa.
Unfortunately, building back upon this base is not proving to be straightforward as there are some complaints arising about the quality of the new IMT tractors produced under TAFE ownership.
While we think of some soviet era tractors as being backward and unreliable, there are many older IMTs still working and mechanics who keep them going have pointed out that the component quality of the newer machines is not what they are used to.
IMT faces home competition
Into this scene has stepped a former IMT engineer by the name of Petar Grbic who, with the claimed support of many past IMT customers, has taken steps to create an alternative manufacturing company by the name of Traktora I Masina, or TIM for short.
In public interviews, Petar Grbic has made no bones about his business model, and that is to build the smaller IMT tractors under a new name but as a completely separate company to the TAFE-owned original.
He claims to have put together a team of Serbian designers and German machine tool manufacturers who will construct a facility to build everything but the engine, in-house.
Whether this is actually possible is a question being asked by critics of the plan who point out that although many items can be produced either in the new factory, or from within Serbia itself, it is likely that, in addition to the engines, the hydraulic systems and transmissions will also need to be bought in.
Petar Grbic is also taking an optimistic approach to financing the venture. Instead of going to the banks or turning to venture capitalists, he is intending to raise money via subscription from Serbia’s farmers.
He suggests that 100,000 investors placing €1,000 apiece in the new company will raise double what is required to get it up and running.
It was in late 2022 that Grbic announced his plans to the public but little has been heard since. Sources from within Serbia suggest that the new factory has yet to materialise so it appears unlikely that IMT will be challenged for a while yet, if at all.
