Better times ahead, says John Deere chief

Optimism about harvests in looming seasons and a committed program of new product are positive signs for Australia, says machinery and equipment group John Deere.

The managing director of John Deere for Australia and New Zealand, Peter Wanckel, told farmmachinerysales.com.au that the past few years had been "a challenging time" in the agricultural sector, which has been driven down predominantly by severe droughts on the east coast.

"In Western Australia the weather conditions are more favourable, although there have been areas of frost and some that have experienced dry periods," he said.

Speaking exclusively to farmmachinerysales.com.au at the opening of AFGRI Equipment's new million-dollar headquarters in the Perth suburb of Guildford, Mr Wanckel said the outlook is for weather conditions to turn around.

"So, subject to that, we expect a better season next year coming off the back of some relatively weak seasons," he said.

Mr Wanckel said meeting the needs and expectations of customers in the rural community was the catalyst for a roll-out of new John Deere product.

Much of these are upgrades to existing products but there are new tractors and combines, he said.

"We are responding to global changes in agriculture, forestry and construction but we are also tailoring our products to suit the Australian market and local demands.

"The Precision Ag technology is one of those areas. This includes 'Connected Support' that we see as a path to the future in improving productivity while giving customers aftermarket support."

Connected Support was launched in April 2019. It works through the company's JDLink telematics connection and opens up dealer and factory tools aimed at increasing productivity and uptime while lowering operating costs.

The connection between dealer and the operators' machines monitors equipment health and allows remote decision-making about problems that can be avoided to reduce any downtime. This remote diagnosis can potentially eliminate a dealer service call-out, saving on expenses.

"We like to lead," Mr Wanckel said.

"We are always talking to customers about their expectations. John Deere spends about $US2.4 million a day in R&D. That investment is made for our customers to be successful. We have never spent more in R&D, especially now in technology with artificial intelligence and data."

Related reading:
New Deere forestry machinery and software coming soon
Deere roll out advanced air drills for small grains
John Deere 460M round baler: Machine Spotlight

John Deere Agriculture and Turf senior vice president of sales and marketing, John Lagermann, said there was a responsibility by global farmers and suppliers to feed and shelter and provide infrastructure for a growing world.

"There will be an estimated 9.8 billion people on the planet in 2050 and that growth will expand wealth and urbanisation," he said.

"So our role is to feed and provide the infrastructure for this world.

"That's a great responsibility. Farmers will shoulder all the risk – weather, market conditions, finances, planting the right crop – so it is one of the most difficult and challenging yet also one of the most rewarding enterprises. It's the same for contractors."

Key to the support role is suppliers like South African-based AFGRI Equipment, the Western Australian agents and distributors for premium brands including John Deere, Manitou and Gator.

AFGRI Australia operations director Gollie Coetzee said the new Guildford premises represented the first time that the company had consolidated consumer, construction and agriculture in one place.

"This building is the new standard for clients and the level of service and support you should expect from us," he told the gathering of farmers and suppliers at the opening of the new headquarters in September.

"We have gone from 79 employees five years ago to 322. Now we have the right equipment for a longevity and warranty point of view."

AFGRI Australia chairman of the board, Patrick Roux, told farmmachinerysales.com.au that the business survives "because of a couple of feet of topsoil around the world".

"Our aim is to see things grow and the more services we can provide to ensure that happens, the better the future in food production and the better it is for our customers involved in that business," he said.

"Energy and attitude is everything in this business. We operate in 14 outlets in WA and have 65 apprentices and the same number of technicians. We plan to double that in coming years and we aim to be the best at aftersales. Our claim is to minimise farmer downtime, maximise farmer productivity."

Mr Roux said AFGRI planned to open three new outlets in WA within 24 months, with Albany being more a substantial upgrade because of a change in location and the need for more space to add more products and services, including construction to the existing agriculture services.

He said he hoped the smaller Albany office would undergo a major change by mid-2020.

"The other two are new locations for AFGRI and we have not yet announced where they will be as we are negotiating on premises at the moment," he said.

"We expect these two will be operational within 18 months."

It's not just agriculture. John Deere Construction and Forestry director for Asia Pacific, Jeff Kraft, said new products have been designed to expand the product range and better serve customers.

"Twenty years ago we realised we had to change the construction and forestry business, so we have an expanded range of ADTs, large dozers and large-wheel loaders," said Mr Kraft, who is based in Singapore.

"In the areas of construction, agriculture, forestry and turf, I don't think you will recognise these businesses in five years.

"Everything is moving to the next level of technology."