AGCO – the company behind the Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Valtra and Challenger agricultural machinery brands – has confirmed a further expansion of its Massey Ferguson manufacturing site in Beauvais, France.
The news was revealed yesterday, Monday, January 20, by Martin Richenhagen, chairman, president and CEO of AGCO at the Choose France summit, led by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The expansion is in line with AGCO’s intention to ramp up the site’s production volumes to 18,000 tractors/year.
Announcing the news, Richenhagen said: “We are delighted to keep our promise, made exactly one year ago at the Beauvais 3 Logistic Centre opening event, to announce the acquisition of the 15.7ha of the next door ex-Froneri site…to consolidate our presence in Beauvais.
With this new acquisition, we are now looking at investing an additional €40 million as we develop a cutting-edge industry 4.0 site.
“This will add 200 new sustainable jobs to the already 100-plus jobs created with Beauvais 3, back in September 2018.
“At the end of this new investment programme, AGCO will have created 300 new jobs for its local Beauvais community as we intend Beauvais to become the global home of the Massey Ferguson brand,” the AGCO CEO said.
The acquisition of the 15.7ha ex-Froneri site, which includes 4.5ha of buildings, signals AGCO’s “strong appetite for continued investment”, which will enable Massey Ferguson to “meet growing demand” for its equipment, according to the global machinery giant.
The expansion will include: a tractor customisation workshop; an additive manufacturing facility; in-house production of hydraulic pipes; and gearbox manufacturing.
The unified Beauvais campus will encompass the full design, build, testing and manufacture of new models, and it is the company’s intention to ramp up the site’s production volumes to 18,000 tractors/year to meet market demand, AGCO says.
“After refurbishment, the newly-created and unified Massey Ferguson Centre of Excellence for Engineering and Manufacturing will cover a total area of 54ha and employ up to 2,500 people,” Richenhagen concluded.
