Martin Richenhagen (pictured below), chairman, president and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of AGCO Corporation, has been named a Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour) by the government of France.
This high-ranking honorary decoration was bestowed during a recent ceremony held at AGCO’s global headquarters in Duluth (US), in the presence of the French Consul General in Atlanta, Louis de Corail.
Martin Richenhagen
The Legion of Honour, established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, is the highest distinction conferred by the government of France. It is awarded to recognise those people and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to France in a variety of fields.
MF’s French factory
AGCO began operations in France when the group became the parent company of the Massey Ferguson brand in 1994, taking ownership of the Beauvais Massey Ferguson plant.
Opened in 1960, the Beauvais site is now the ‘Global Centre of Excellence’ for Massey Ferguson engineering and manufacturing.
Summing up its operations from Beauvais, Ennery and Courcouronnes, as well as its joint ventures GIMA and AGCO Finance, AGCO has approximately 2,500 employees in the country.
As continental Europe’s second largest economy, and one of the largest markets for farm machinery, France represents a strategically important market for AGCO.
In keeping with this, the Legion d’Honneur decoration is in recognition, under Martin Richenhagen’s leadership, of AGCO’s contributions to the development of France and French-US relations.
Louis de Corail, French Consul General in Atlanta; Martin Richenhagen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of AGCO Corporation; and Dr. Monique Seefried, chevalier in the Order of the Legion of Honour
Martin Richenhagen commented: “It is indeed an honour and privilege to receive this prestigious decoration from the French government.
During the past six years, we have invested more than €300 million in our Beauvais and Ennery operations.
Martin Richenhagen was selected by the board of directors back in 2004 as president and chief executive officer of AGCO Corporation. He was appointed as chairman of the board in 2006.
Under his tenure, AGCO’s operations in France have notched up some notable milestones, including:
- 2013 – The Beauvais 2 Cab facility and International Sales Training Centre for the Massey Ferguson brand opened. This €15.5 million investment created 100 new jobs.
- 2016 – The Beauvais site received two awards: Best Foreign Exporter and Factory of the Year (for its lean manufacturing implementation).
2017 – At Ennery, AGCO’s European Parts Warehouse and Distribution Centre increased from 30,000m² to 100,000m².
2018 – Five years after the opening of its new cab facility, on August 28, AGCO launched the operations of its new Logistic Centre in Beauvais (having invested another €11 million).
