SHANGHAI, CHINA — AGCO, a manufacturer and distributor focusing on agricultural equipment, announced on Sept. 9 the opening of its brand new manufacturing base in Changzhou, China. AGCO has invested $300 million in factories in China.

“China is one of the world’s largest farm equipment markets and AGCO has attached great importance to the market,” said Martin Richenhagen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of AGCO. “The opening of the new Changzhou location will further enhance our R&D and manufacturing capacity in China, and is a critical step in the implementation of our development strategy for the Asia Pacific region.”

Since entering China in 2001, AGCO has taken a series of measures to expand the business and benefit local customers. The establishment of the new Changzhou factory shows its continuous confidence and commitment to the Chinese market, AGCO said. The new site will serve both domestic as well as export markets and covers a total area of nearly 200,000 square meters. Established as a manufacturing and R&D base with state-of-the-art technology, the company said it aims to gradually reach an annual capacity of 20,000 tractors, 30,000 engines and 40,000 rear axles and transmissions, and further promote the localization of product manufacturing in China the company said.

“AGCO has already invested $300 million into existing and new manufacturing sites in China,” Gary Collar, AGCO senior vice-president and general manager of Asia Pacific, said. “We are now operating a total of five manufacturing sites in Changzhou, Shanghai, Daqing and Yanzhou, respectively, across the country and employ more than 1,500 people.”

“Our whole-machine and spare parts equipment produced in Changzhou are for the domestic market, but are also exported to other Asian and international markets. We aim to offer comprehensive solutions for professional farmers feeding the world and to promote the agricultural mechanization progress of China and the whole world.”

“Changzhou is a strategic location for our long-term development,” said Fred Yang, AGCO vice-president and managing director of China. “The geographical advantage and the policy support and incentives to the industry, led to its advantages for establishing manufacturing facilities and the supply chain. The Changzhou site will not only serve the domestic market, but also become a major global hub of AGCO’s brand new product series, 'Global Series' 70 to 130 hp tractor range. It will provide more opportunities for AGCO to increase its production capacity and develop lean production efficiencies.”

There is a keen demand for high-end agricultural machinery products in China but with insufficient supply, AGCO has invested strategically in China and aims to become the premium international agricultural equipment supplier that leads the agricultural equipment market trends of the country, AGCO said. The company now operates four key brands in China, Massey Ferguson, Valtra, Dafeng King, and GSI, and continuously introduces and manufactures premium medium and high end products, in order to provide more mature and feasible solutions for users.

Since 2011, AGCO has purchased GSI, Johnson System Inc., and Intersystems Holdings.