Tractor Production In Rasnov To Start In September

Ovidiu Vranceanu, Brasov

Adrian Vestea, Mayor of Rasnov, announced that the tractor factory being built by the Chinese-based Hoyo - SHK Modern Agricultural Equipment in town would become operational in September. "Hoyo want to build 250-300 tractors at the factory in Rasnov by September and then have planned 2,000 tractors for the period between September 2008 and December 2009," Vestea added.

The mayor said that Hoyo was planning to open representative offices in all countries of Romania to ensure the sale, warranty and post-warranty of their products. "To start with, they will send five people to take care of the marketing activities and the construction of the factory. They plan to hire approximately 370 people by Autumn 2009," Mayor Vestea added.

The 50,000 square meter factory requires an investment of 30 million EUR. Although the initial announcement was that the factory would assemble tractors ranging between 20 and 120 horse power, Hoyo reconsidered the decision and reduced the maximum engine power to 30 horse power to adapt to the specificity of the Romanian market.

Hoyo also has a 120 hectare production facility near Shanghai, similar in surface to the one operated by the former Brasov-based company Tractorul S.A. The facility in Shanghai employs approximately 1,000 people in four factories: farming machinery, car parts, cabins and clutch sets and moulds. The company sells their products in China, Russia, the U.S., Canada, Europe and South-East Asia.

According to a market study, Romania has a farmable surface of 14,741 million hectares (39.44% of the overall surface of the country), of which 9.42 million hectares is arable land. For this surface, Romania has approximately 174,000 tractors, averaging 54.1 hectares per tractor. Some 80% of the tractors in Romania are morally and physically obsolete, having been used for over 20 years. For comparison, the European Union average is 12 hectares per tractor. In order to reduce the gap, Romania would need at least 400,000 tractors to lower the average to 24 hectares per tractor, without considering the existing ones, which need to be replaced.