In 2016, Zetor tractors will be celebrating 70 years of tractor production from the Czech city of Brno. The Zetor tractor has almost as long an association with Ireland. One year after Zetor began producing tractors in 1946, Cork man Tim O’Shea went to post-war Czechoslovakia to seek the Irish franchise for the Skoda car. He came home with a Zetor tractor; the Skoda franchise was to follow later.
In 2016, Zetor tractors will be celebrating 70 years of tractor production from the Czech city of Brno. The Zetor tractor has almost as long an association with Ireland.
One year after Zetor began producing tractors in 1946, Cork man Tim O’Shea went to post-war Czechoslovakia to seek the Irish franchise for the Skoda car. He came home with a Zetor tractor; the Skoda franchise was to follow later.
O’Shea was interested in the Zetor 25 tractor, which he had researched and had potential, in his view. He bought 10 tractors in his first deal and it included a deal to take 50 Jawa motorbikes, which were also a Czech product.
The first tractors to arrive in Ireland in 1947 were the 25hp Zetor 25 models, powered by a two-cylinder diesel engine. They were fast on the road with an eight forward and two reverse speed gearbox. They were also reputed to be more fuel-efficient that the TVO and petrol-powered tractors of the time.
The tractor was expensive at £850 relative to a Ferguson TE20 TVO costing £350, and it was not well equipped. The early models required a hand starter and had no hydraulics. They were upgraded in 1953 with full electrics and a hydraulic lift.
Sales were difficult against the Ferguson, Fordson, David Brown and Nuffield competition and, despite that, the O’Shea Group is reported to have sold 100 tractors in the first five years. Tim O’Shea organised loans for farmers to buy these expensive tractors, often with his personal bank guarantee.
The Zetor range was significantly upgraded in 1961, when the Unified 1 (U1) range of tractors was introduced. These included the 3011 and 4011 models, followed by the 2011 model in 1963. These were two-, three- and four-cylinder engine tractors, all with the same engine bore and stroke. They were soon to become very popular among Irish farmers. Like the Zetor 25, these tractors were initially blue in colour and came with a dual clutch for a live PTO, full lighting and indicators, all very novel at the time.
O’Sheas introduced the first four-wheel-drive Zetor models in 1965 and the change of tractor colour coincided with the introduction of a super large tractor cab, which was novel at the time.
The new 2511, 3511 and 4511 models were introduced in 1968. They, in turn, were replaced by the 4712, 5711 and 6711 models in 1972.
Zetor introduced the 8011 model, which was the popular Zetor Crystal in 1970, giving an affordable 80hp tractor that was to launch many a contracting career.
The Crystal was a joint Zetor and Ursus tractor development which pushed Zetor into first place on the Irish market in the early 1970s. At that time, the Czech brand was getting more price competitive as western-built tractor prices rose with inflation.
By 1975, Zetor was offering 12 tractor models on the Irish market. They introduced the larger 120hp Crystal, the 12011, in 1980. The ninth Zetor range followed in 1977 in the form of the Zetor 4911, 5911 and 6911 models. The tenth generation introduced in 1981 included the 5011, 6011 and 7011 models.
The O’Shea Group ceased operations in 1984 and the Zetor brand was taken over by Motokov Ireland, a subsidiary of the Czech export company Motokov. Motokov continued with the brand until 2011 when it was taken over by McHale Plant Sales, based in Birdhill, Co Tipperary, which is currently the Irish agent.
Zetor’s tractor production history
While Zetor produced its first tractors in 1946, serious production began six years later in 1952. By 1960, Zetor was producing 19,262 tractors per year. A total of 158,570 Zetor 25 tractors were produced during its 16 years of manufacture.
By the beginning of the 1980s, Zetor had ramped up production and had produced more than 736,000 tractors. For a period during the 1990s, Zetor produced a series of tractors in John Deere colours for sale to a limited number of Deere markets. The deal was short-lived.
By the turn of the millennium, Zetor was still a Czech state-owned enterprise and was on the verge of bankruptcy with tractor production falling. The Slovak-based HTC company bought out the business in June 2002.
Zetor production volumes increased again to 7,000 tractors by 2007. Sales have dropped since and are expected to reach just over 4,000 for this year, the year when the Crystal name has been reintroduced to the Zetor tractor range.
Carlow to Cork Tractor Club sets fundraising level
The Carlow-based Carlow to Cork Tractor Club recently presented a cheque for €23,250 to Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, based in Crumlin, Dublin. The money was raised during this year’s tractor run. That figure brings the total donated by the club to €229,000 over 11 years, a huge and generous sum of money for a very good cause.
Brendan Byrne of the Carlow to Cork Tractor Club was delighted with the fundraising effort and thanked those who supported the run.
The club had two-time world ploughing champion Eamon Treacy join them for the start of the event at the end of May this year and for the recent presentation night.
Brendan Byrne added that the club could not achieve such a tremendous fundraising effort without the help of their truck drivers and breakdown crews, who travelled with them to the very end.
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