Agritechnica showcasing Irish machinery

This year’s Agritechnica, the world’s largest trade show for agricultural machinery and equipment, takes place at the Hannover Showgrounds in Germany from 12 to 18 November. This biennial event, which attracted over 452,000 visitors in 2015 always sees a significant influx of Irish visitors and is sure to do so again this year with a considerable number of representatives from the Irish machinery trade, as well as many Irish farmers and contractors intending to visit.

The show will feature approximately 2,900 exhibitor firms from 52 countries exhibiting across 394,000 square metres of stand space in 23 exhibition halls. The advice for anyone planning to visit is to plan your trip in advance and wear a good pair of walking shoes.

A number of FTMTA member firms including Abbey Machinery, Agri-Spread, Cross Agricultural Engineering, Denis Doyle, Major Equipment Intl, Malone Farm Machinery, McHale, NC Engineering and Tanco will exhibit at this year’s Agritechnica.

While some of these firms will exhibit in their own right on individual stands, a number will exhibit on a new group stand through the auspices of Enterprise Ireland. The FTMTA welcomes this first such participation by Enterprise Ireland in support of Ireland’s farm machinery manufacturing sector at the largest showcase for such products in the world.

It is very encouraging to see so many Irish manufacturers preparing to exhibit at Agritechnica in Hannover next week. Ireland, both north and south, has a well-established and deserved reputation for the manufacture of quality machinery, in particular relating to our core agricultural strength of grass-based production.

Irish machinery manufacturers produce high-quality and well-regarded, innovative farm machinery and our machinery manufacturing sector is gaining a growing presence in global markets.

The UK has been a traditional first export market for many Irish manufacturers due to the comparative ease of access and similarity of some farming practices. With considerable uncertainty surrounding the future prospects of the UK market due to the ongoing lack of clarity around Brexit, it is important that our machinery manufacturing sector is facilitated in developing alternative markets.

A strong and ongoing presence at events such as Agritechnica is a key part of such an effort. Our agricultural machinery manufacturing firms are one of the few indigenously owned heavy engineering sectors remaining in the Irish economy, providing high-quality employment opportunities in areas where alternative employment may not be easily available, and are strongly deserving of such assistance from state agencies in reaching their full potential on world markets.