AGCO Power drives the global agriculture with €70 million investment to Finland

Award for dedication 

The President of the Republic of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, recognized AGCO Corporation with a Long-term International Investor award in November 2023. Juha Tervala, the Managing Director of AGCO Power Finland, underlines that the award emphasizes AGCO’s commitment in Finland.

“The recognition was received very positively in the head office in the US, and they happily shared our newsletter of it.”

The phone call from Business Finland delivering the news was a wonderful surprise that made both Tervala and Jari Rautjärvi, the CEO of Valtra at the time, chuckle.

“I was in Shanghai and Jari was in Sao Paulo. We figured that the award hit the nail on the head. Personally, it was great to visit the Presidential Palace and meet President Niinistö.” 

Investments based on trust 

AGCO is a global leader in the design, manufacture, and distribution of agricultural machinery and precision agrotechnology with a revenue of $ 14,4 billion. The group has invested notably in AGCO Power and Valtra operations in Finland. The former specializes in producing engines and the latter in manufacturing agricultural tractors.

Since 2019, AGCO has invested over €100 million in the operations of the AGCO Power Linnavuori plant. Their latest investment of € 70 million will further accelerate clean energy innovations with the construction of a clean energy laboratory, a highly automated production hall for machining cylinder heads, and a training center.

AGCO Power's latest investment of € 70 million will further accelerate clean energy innovations with the construction of a clean energy laboratory.

Juha Tervala has worked at AGCO Power and its predecessors since the early 90’s. He tells how the investments by AGCO Corporation in Finland have gradually increased since AGCO became an owner 2004. Finns have shown that they create added value combined with improved productivity and quality at the same time.

”We have gained the trust of AGCO. The international image of trustworthy Finns is 100% accurate. We focus on doing the job well.”

Green practices start from green land 

The € 70 million also supports circular economy by enhancing testing and production capacity for AGCO’s remanufactured engines. The process extends the lifetime and value of the engines.

"To stay on the growth track, more international talents will be needed in AGCO Power Linnavuori plant in the future", says Juha Tervala, Managing Director of AGCO Power in Finland. Photo: AGCO Power

According to the Managing Director, there’s no point in talking about sustainability unless the base of the operations is also green.

“Think about green electricity in Finland, for example. Its capacity has grown and continues to grow rapidly. Or using alternative fuels, like hydrogen, makes sense only if the raw material production is carbon neutral.”

Skilled workforce and academic network of Finland 

When asked about Finland as a business environment, Juha Tervala starts with a typically Finnish joke about how Finland’s disadvantage of being in the furthest corner of Europe.

“But considering this, Finland needs to be – and is – better in other things.”

Tervala quickly lists the pros of Finland: a well-educated and highly skilled workforce, great language skills, flexibility, plus a stable and safe society, and nature. The NATO membership adds to the security.

”And, the price of expert work is competitive. In the US and Germany the cost of engineer work is considerably higher, nor is it much cheaper in Brazil.”

Tervala quickly lists the pros of Finland: a well-educated and highly skilled workforce, great language skills, flexibility, plus a stable and safe society, and nature.

A crucial component of innovation is research and development. In 2023, the revenue of Linnavuori plant was €434 million, with 6.2% share in product development. The educational network of Finland plays a central role. Tervala tells that Linnavuori plant in Nokia has a long-standing relationship with Tampere University of Technology.

“They even use AGCO Power’s components and robots for teaching and practicing.”

In addition, Tervala highlights co-operation between companies as one factor that makes the Finnish business environment efficient.

“Business Finland is the enabler for interaction between companies. They build platforms and forums that makes the collaborations and dialogue possible.”

The future of AGCO Power in Finland

Juha Tervala, Managing Director of AGCO Power, says that the recent investment helps to expand and enhance the operations and implement the AGCO Power’s strategy.

“We believe that AGCO Power will grow significantly within the next few years. As our capacity increases, the conservative estimation is that we’ll need dozens of new employees, likely more.”

The recent investment helps to expand and enhance the operations and implement the AGCO Power’s strategy.

According to Tervala, the growth comes with a new engine line and expansion inside the group. AGCO Power is the only facility developing and designing engines in the AGCO Corporation. This means that Massey Fergusons and Fendts have more and more Finnish power plants under their hoods. Tervala smiles.

”We are happy and proud. We’ve seen how the quality of customer feedback increases with the installation of our engines. This strengthens our faith in our efforts and provides clear proof that we’re not just patting ourselves on the back.”

The Internationalisation Award of the President of the Republic

The Award is a recognition granted each year to companies operating in Finland that have gained international success, and to the communities behind them. Since 2015, the proposal on companies and communities to be recognized has been made by the Board of Directors of Team Finland.

According to the rules, the internationalisation award is a recognition given for activities benefiting the Finnish economy and industry in an international operating environment. The Long-term International Investor has been awarded since 2021 – the awarded companies in the category, so far, have been Bayer, Andritz, and now, AGCO Power.