So why write anything about Zetor in the context of the Czech fair, if the stand was not spectacular? In accordance with the principle that no news is also some news, it is worth mentioning Zetor in the pages of Farmer.
If the Czech manufacturer is preparing to start production of a new series of 6-series tractors, why hasn't even a prototype been shown? Things aren't going well in Brno. Just a few weeks ago, it was announced that the old factory would remain, but a few days later, the Czech press reported that Zetor was laying off 111 people.
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Zetor stays in Brno and continues to fight
Jubilee fair in České Budějovice
This year, the Země Živitelka trade fair in České Budějovice is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The event is still ongoing, as it takes place every year from Thursday to Tuesday (this time from 22 to 27 August). Many companies tried to organize interesting and interesting stands for this occasion. One of the most popular exhibitions was the stand of the Museum of South Bohemian Agriculture (Jihočeské Zemědělské Muzeum), which showed the GDR combine harvester E512, the agricultural Skoda-Liaz 706 Trambus and older Zetor tractors.
– Even I drove some of the machines on display. We still have a Zetor 8011 at home. "Stodvacítka" was the first tractor I bought when I started farming in 2002. I like to remember those times because those were machines that I could repair myself at home, Czech Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka told the Českobudějovický Deník newspaper, adding that he would not swap his current, modern agricultural machines for the exhibits on display because of the driving comfort.
What about this Zetor?
The Zetor stand displayed three of the latest versions of already known machines. There was the Compax 25 CL Plus based on the technology of the Indian VST Tillers, there were also Forterra HSX 140 and Proxima HS 120. The tractors were cool, interesting, showing a cross-section of Zetor's offer, but for a popular domestic exhibition, the stand was very modest. And there was no accent with the new, announced for some time now, series 6.
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Zetor returns to numerical designations. Here is the new Zetor 6 series
In the Czech media, Zetor is hardly mentioned, and the name of the Czech brand is more often mentioned in connection with subsequent layoffs than in the context of fairs or announced new products. At the end of July, the Czech media wrote about job cuts in Brno.
– The Brno tractor manufacturer Zetor Tractors will lay off 111 people at the end of July, who will leave the company at the end of September. Of the 300 employees Zetor employed at the beginning of the year, only about 100 will remain at the end of the year – Alois Kazelle, head of the company's trade unions, told ČTK after a meeting with the company's management – České Noviny reported a few weeks ago.
The layoffs are related to the end of production of its own engines and gearboxes. For this reason, production in Brno will be different and on a much smaller scale, and as a result, layoffs are inevitable.
According to the head of the trade union, who was quoted in ČTK, the demolition of the production hall should begin after the production of components is completed.
– This year's number of layoffs has already reached almost 200 people, because at the end of April the company announced the layoffs of 18 people, a month later 58, and now another 111. However, it is not only about production employees, but also people from the office are among those laid off – ČTK continued.
It is worth noting that 10 years ago, the local factory employed almost 800 people. It is no secret that sales of Czech tractors have been falling not only since the crisis that began at the end of 2022. As ČTK emphasizes, in the years 2018–2022, the management only once ended the year with a profit, and losses ranged from CZK 100 to CZK 220 million. The sole shareholder of the company is the Bratislava company HTC Investments.
– We are further optimizing our business model, including affiliates and subsidiaries abroad. These steps mean a significant reduction in costs – by more than two hundred million crowns year-on-year. Thanks to this, Zetor will return to profitability in 2025 after the crisis years – Róbert Harman, the company's executive director, told Czech television.
Such news does not help the Czech company, which informed everyone a few weeks ago that production in Brno remains and that business in India does not affect Zetor's European operations. In addition, the company is preparing to introduce new series of tractors to the market.
Other machines at the Země Živitelka fair
The agricultural media are rather silent about Zetor at the fair in České Budějovice, especially since other companies showed much more interesting equipment.
The Czechs could see the new New Holland CR11 combine harvester, the Case IH Quadtrac 715 premiere from Agritechnika, the Claas Xerion 12.650 Terra Trac or the Zuni-X-trac – a Zunhammer barrel with a capacity of 16 m3, placed on the Claas Xerion. The offer of grassland machines from the domestic company Rozmital also enjoyed great interest, including the LB-V120 baler offered with a discount of over 30% at the price of CZK 399,110 (a little over PLN 68 thousand).
It is worth adding that in the Czech Republic, similarly to Poland, farmers are not very satisfied with the policies of the current and previous governments, as well as with the pro-ecological activities of the European Union, as demonstrated by the booing during the opening of the fair by prominent Czech politicians.
– Last year's economic result of Czech agriculture was the worst since 2011, and this year's may even be the worst in two decades. We do not see light at the end of the tunnel – said the President of the Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic, Jan Doležal, during the opening of the event, who was the only one able to receive applause from farmers.
