Exel Industries, the owner of familiar European sprayer brands including Agrifac, Berthoud, Hardi and Tecnoma, plans to restructure its agricultural spraying business and close two of its French production facilities.
Blamed mainly on the slump in sales to large arable farms in Australia, the US and the Ukraine, policy decisions in France to reduce the use of crop chemicals have not helped, placing increasing pressure on firms selling mainly to the French market.
At the end of the statutory period for employee consultation and government approval, the production, purchasing, marketing and R&D activities of Exel Industries’ French operations will be consolidated at so-called centres of excellence.
The restructuring will see the closure of the Noyers-Saint-Martin and Saint-Denis de l’Hôtel sites with production transferred to Beaurainville and Epernay (Fère-Champenoise) respectively. Overall, the plan will result in around 200 job losses.
Beaurainville will focus on self-propelled Matrot, Evrard and Hardi sprayers, while Epernay will specialise in self-propelled sprayers for Berthoud and Tecnoma.
In the future, the Belleville and Norre Alslev (Denmark) sites will focus on the development and production of mounted and trailed sprayers for Berthoud/Tecnoma and Hardi/Evrard brands respectively.
And this is just the start. “Over time, we will streamline our commercial offering by reducing the number of brands,” said Exel Industries group CEO Guerric Ballu. Casualties include Caruelle, Seguip, Thomas, Fischer and Loiseau, all of which we understand will ultimately be discontinued.
“At the same time, we will focus more on global brands and market leaders to make them stronger, clearer and more distinctive.”
For large-scale arable farms, the Evrard, Matrot and Berthoud brands will offer a range of ‘Premium’ products and services, while Hardi and Tecnoma will be aimed at the mainstream market.
“This consolidation is not only designed to stimulate innovation and the development of new ranges, but help to lower production costs and improve the quality of our sprayers,” added Mr Ballu. “Our centres of excellence will also develop new technologies in areas such as precision agriculture, electronics, robotization and artificial intelligence.”
