Valtra history
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2021 New logistics centre enables growth
The number of parts needed in tractor manufacturing has continued to increase with the introduction of new model series and new features on tractors.
2018 Series 4 Valtra tractors showered with awards
The 4th generation of Valtra tractors have earned numerous international awards since they were launched. While many of these are design awards, even more are related to specific features and overall usability. For example, the Tractor of the Year jury is made up of European trade journalists who test drive all the nominees in real-life conditions.
2018 AGCO Power engine plant: 75 years and a million engines
Engine manufacturer AGCO Power celebrated its 75th anniversary and millionth engine in spring 2018. Out of those one million engines 700,000 have been manufactured at the Linnavuori plant in Finland. AGCO Power’s history is closely connected to that of Valtra, having previously been known as Valmet Diesel and Sisu Diesel.
2013 Remanufacturing Workshop and Unlimited Studio
In the early 2010s Valtra introduced two new functions at the Suolahti factory that proved to be very successful: the Remanufacturing Workshop at the transmission plant and the Unlimited Studio at the assembly plant. Both of these functions expanded rapidly in just a few years.
2011 Valtra celebrates its 60th anniversary in Finland
A 60th anniversary seminar was held on 23 January 2011 at the Jyväskylä Congress Centre, just a kilometre from the original factory in Tourula, to discuss the future of agriculture.
2010 Valtra becomes a full-liner in Brazil
Joining AGCO allowed Valtra to become a full-liner in Brazil, offering not only tractors but also combine harvesters, front loaders, seeding equipment, sprayers and sugar cane harvesters.
2010 Celebrations and development
In January 2010, Valtra do Brasil celebrated its 50th year of operation, with 1,300 guests being invited to Mogi das Cruzes. Beside enjoying the social events, the invitees showed keen interest in the exhibition of historical models and the Valtra brand's most recent top achievements, such as the Versu and Direct models.
2005 Building projects in Finland
The Atrium hall at Valtra’s Suolahti factory, where tractors had been kept for customer test drives, was converted to a personnel restaurant and office premises in late 2005. A separate wooden hall was built for test drive tractors by the test drive track, next to the Lappish ‘Kota’. The new personnel restaurant started serving meals in 2006.
2004 Valtra joins AGCO family
For the first time in Valtra's history, the company owner operates in exactly the same industry and has a full understanding of the business activities and needs of Valtra.
2003 Licence agreement with Hema Endüstri
Hema Endüstri AS had sought a partner and seen promise in Valtra, owing to Valtra's success in countries like Brazil and its sensitivity to different cultures. Negotiations were held in 2002 and 2003. By September 2003, the talks had advanced far enough to gain permission from AGCO, the soon-to-be owner of Valtra, to sign a co-operation agreement.
2002 Kone Corporation acquires Partek
Partek had assured that it will take good care of its Valtra tractors. But the corporation value was smaller than that of its components and Kone Corporation acquired Partek in 2002.
1997 Partek acquires Sisu
The Sisu Group had a long way to go before being listed. The problem was solved when the listed company Partek, which was interested in engineering operations, decided to buy the entire Sisu Group in January 1997.
1994 Sisu ownership
The Finnish State wanted to consolidate rubber-wheeled vehicle and implement operations within the Sisu Group, which would then be prepared for an eventual stock exchange listing. The largest unit of the Sisu Group was Valmet Tractors.
1991 Restructuring
1991 and ‘92 were dark years for the tractor industry. Sales collapsed, and tractor manufacturers throughout the world were in trouble. Valmet Oy restructured by merging its Brazilian tractor operations and the diesel engine factory located at Nokia, Finland, with its European tractor operations, which were headquartered in Suolahti.
1982 Volvo BM - Valmet co-operation started in total secrecy
“Back in the 1970s, when I was R&D Director at Volvo BM, I was involved in the development of the new joint Nordic tractor. Work began in 1978 in total secrecy. I made many trips to the factory in Finland, though officially I was “somewhere else”.
1980 Valmet 604 – Made in Tanzania
The tractor model chosen for the Tanzanian market was the Valmet 604 due to its simplicity and reliability. The first two hundred Tanzanian Valmet tractors were manufactured in 1983, followed by 414 in 1984 and a record 729 in 1985.
1979 Valmet acquires Volvo tractors
When Volvo BM made a strategic decision to cease production of tractors and agricultural machinery, successful negotiations were carried out with Valmet.
1969 The move to Suolahti
Tractors with cabs required higher assembly areas than were available in the Tourula plant, and it was recognised that a new factory would be required. Initially this was to be located near Jyväskylä. However, an appropriate alternative location was found 45 kilometres away at the present site in Suolahti, where production commenced in September 1969.
1963 FAP-Valmet – The original Portuguese project
Once Valmet had successfully established Valmet do Brasil in the early 1960s, similar projects were tried elsewhere. An unsuccessful attempt in Mexico led to an opportunity in Portugal, where an agreement was signed between Valmet Oy and Fabrica de Automóveis Portugueses S.A:n (FAP) in February 1963.
1960 Valmet goes Brazil
Valmet exports to Brazil had started promisingly, but almost immediately the Brazilian government decided to commence domestic tractor production. The proposals presented by Valmet were considered the best in their class.
1951 Valmet tractor production begins
Once the Tourula factory had completed its major national duty of war reparations alongside other Finnish industrial plants, a new threat revealed itself: how to find civilian products to sell on the markets. The first Valmet tractors were assembled at the Tourula factory in 1951. This date is considered the birth of Valmet and Valtra brand tractors.
1950 Volvo acquires BM
In 1950 Bolinder-Munktell was acquired by Volvo, which subsequently transferred tractor production to Eskilstuna in order to free up space for expanded car production.
1932 Bolinder and Munktell join forces
In 1932 the merger of the mechanical companies Munktell and J & C G Bolinder was arranged, creating AB Bolinder-Munktell – also known simply as BM. The merger had a big impact. Bolinder’s share of exports was half its turnover, and it had customers in major markets including France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union.
1927 AB Volvo is founded
SKF, the Swedish Ball Bearing Factory (Svenska Kullagerfabriken), in Gothenburg played a central role in the establishment of AB Volvo. Already in 1915 SKF had registered the trademark “Volvo” to market a range of its products. The word itself is Latin for “I roll”. The name was then adopted by the new car company, which produced 297 cars in its first year of production.
1926 The Rifle Factory in Tourula
In the 1920s the government of the young Republic of Finland decided to establish a rifle factory. In 1926, the district of Tourula on the northeast edge of Jyväskylä was chosen as the most suitable location.
1844 Bolinder’s famous engines
The brothers Jean and Carl Gerhard Bolinder established a mechanical workshop and foundry on an industrial site in Kungsholmen, Stockholm in 1844. The company was called J & C G Bolinder. Jean had a similar technical education to Johan Teofron Munktell, while Carl trained at various foundries throughout Sweden.
1832 Munktell in Eskilstuna
In 1832 mechanical workshop “Eskilstuna Mekaniska Werkstad” in Sweden began its operations under Johan Theofron Munktell. This is considered to be the beginning of the industrial history of both Valtra and Volvo Construction.
