Massey Ferguson, a worldwide brand of AGCO turns 175 years old this year, a testament to the brand’s longevity. On this auspicious anniversary, the brand is delighted to celebrate its 40-year-old association with South Africa based company Farmtrac Dundee
The long history of the company began on 18 November 1981, when owner Oscar Wichmann converted a house into business premises. The company, which was initially called Farmtrac Spares, started out with only two employees and traded mainly in tractor replacement spares. The business then began to rapidly flourish to the point where the workshop was added to the same premises in 1984. Soon after, the name of the company changed to Farmtrac Dundee to reflect its sterling growth trajectory.
Today, Farmtrac Dundee has grown to market a full Massey Ferguson range from 34 kW to 272 kW (35 hp to 365 hp) and carries US$280,780 worth of spares in its warehouse to meet the needs of its customers. In addition to this, a fully-fledged workshop is available for routine servicing and repair work. The company serves a substantial agricultural area in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, where it has emerged as a resounding success. Reflecting on the company’s success story, Wichmann said, “We strive to listen to our customers and work with them to address their needs through new technology and innovative solutions.”
Farmtrac has a fully qualified technician in its workshop, who commented that the only problem with the brand was that the tractors seldom broke down. “It is a great product that does not give much difficulty, making it easy for us in the field, plus it is very user friendly,” he said. Looking to the future, Wichmann concluded that while the business continued to show tremendous growth, the passion and dedication of all involved remained equally strong. “Being associated with the Massey Ferguson brand for so long is what has allowed us to stay true to our motto of ‘Service Excellence’,” he added. Moreover, in celebration of its 175th anniversary, Massey Ferguson also announced a fresh look for its iconic Triple Triangle logo and its new ‘Born to Farm’ brand identity.
It is also fitting that in the company’s auspicious anniversary year, Farmtrac Dundee has achieved yet another milestone in its development. Wichmann explained that a new management structure had been consolidated under Farmtrac Group, which included Roland Bosse as CEO, Cor Breedt as financial director, Oscar Wichmann himself as group operational director, Richard Catlett as sales director, and Dieter Tschirpig as operational director in Vryheid.
