Landini, a brand of the Argo Tractors group, is this year marking its 140th anniversary.

Landini was founded by Giovanni Landini in 1884 in Fabbrico, Italy.

The factory was initially set up to produce wine-making machines and was located 60km from the northern Italian city of Bologna, where the headquarters of Argo Tractors is still based today.

Inspired by the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, Landini successfully built the world’s fixed hot bulb engine a decade later, which was initially used by farmers for threshing and water pumping.

Going on to forge more agricultural equipment, he built his first engine (two-stroke 12hp) in 1910. In 1925, the company produced its first tractor, with the 30hp tractor entering mass production three years later.

Soon after, Landini developed 40hp and 50hp tractors which were introduced in the 1930s and early 1940s. They were named the Velite, Buffalo and Super ranges.

In 1950, the L25 and L45 series were introduced, followed by the 55-60hp L55 Landinetta in 1956.

In 1959, Landini began using Perkins three- and four-cylinder engines. In 1960, Massey Ferguson purchased Landini. Two years later, Landini began manufacturing crawlers for Massey Ferguson.

Vineyard tractor

In 1971, Landini began using six-cylinder engines. Two years later, the manufacturer launched its line of 6500, 7500 and 8500 series of two- and four-wheel tractors. In 1977, Landini developed its first 100hp tractor.

In 1982, the manufacturer launched its vineyard tractor. In the following years, the manufacturer redesigned its 60, 70 and 80 series tractors.

In 1989, Massey Ferguson and Iseki sold a large share of the Landini company to the Argo group. Argo continued to invest in Landini and purchased the final shares of the company in the late 1990s.

Despite the takeover, Landini entered a supply agreement and continued to supply tractors to AGCO.

This year also marks the 30th anniversary of Landini's acquisition by the Morra family, which, combined with the subsequent addition of McCormick, led to creation of Argo Tractors in 2007. Today, Landini accounts for two thirds of Argo’s total production.

Argo Tractors Ireland Ltd was launched at the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show in Punchestown Racecourse last July. It's understood further events to commemorate Landini’s landmark anniversary will be announced by Argo Tractors in the coming months.

Argo Tractors is the parent company behind Landini, McCormick and Valpadana. The firm has a production capacity to build over 22,000 tractors annually, making it one of the biggest players in the western world.

With 130 importers, Argo distributes its tractors through a massive 2,500 dealers all over the world. With 1,800 employees, Argo builds tractors from 35hp to over 300hp, with 75% of the tractor value components internally manufactured.

The Fabbrico factory is Argo’s headquarters and main tractor assembly plant. Built in the middle of the town, the site is 130,000m2 with 60,000m2 of it under roof.

With two production lines, the factory has a production capacity of 60 tractors each day. With 150 engineers onsite, the R&D and engineering divisions are also located at the plant.