EasyTraktor is a tractor hire company that carries out the majority of its business online. Is this something hire firms in the UK and Ireland could also do? We visited the Hamburg-based hirer to discover how its service works.

KEEPING IT BRIEF

  • EasyTraktor currently supplies tractors to customers in Germany and Austria purely due to the limitations of insurance, but it is working on ways of expanding to additional countries.
  • The hire company has tractors ranging from 150hp to 300hp.
  • Rentals are limited to one season to minimise downtime.

Founded in 2020, EasyTraktor wants to rethink the rental business. It is looking to make tractor hire more simple, more digital, more reliable … and with full cost transparency. The young company offers annual rental agreements with a minimum of 300 hours, but more on that in a moment.

Meeting the demand for flexibility

EasyTraktor reports there is growing demand for seasonal ag machinery, driven by the increasing need for flexible and on-demand solutions. Its customers value the reduced capital investment required and the ability to adapt to changing workloads. Nothing much new there with regards to the benefit of hiring.

Keeping it simple

The basic idea behind EasyTraktor is to keep the business simple for everyone involved. For the customer, this means that they can select what tractor they want from the list of machines available on the firm’s website. If you have any additional queries there is always the option to pick up the phone and ask. For peace of mind, the contract is always finalised by email.

The terms are relatively straightforward, too. All tractors are insured against all risks including damage (with an excess). Service, repairs and maintenance are carried out by the nearest dealer. In case of breakdowns, a replacement machine is promised within 48 hours. If a replacement is unavailable, downtime is reimbursed, and the hire fleet is renewed every year.

For EasyTraktor itself, simple’ means that all of the tractors need to have a good level of specification. Likewise, service coverage for the different makes has to be top notch.

‘Simple’ also means clear rules. For example, using the tractors for snow clearance is a big no, no. Also, they can only be operated in Germany and Austria, or at least for now.

This is a bit more rules and regs for Germany, but the tractors have a “black number plate” so that they can also be used for commercial applications. The commercial application should already be specified when signing the contract. Customers can usually get the permission for commercial applications also in retrospect, should these opportunities open up at a later time. 

Things only start getting complicated when a ‘tachograph’ is needed, which would have to be retrofitted by the customer.

Rental payments are made monthly — the monthly instalments are calculated before the contract is signed. EasyTraktor debits the amount from your account in advance by direct debit. A credit check is carried out before the deal is made.

Dealerships are in the loop

EasyTraktor doesn’t have its own yards but works closely with dealerships. This means that some of their tractors are parked up at various dealerships all over Germany. This way, the tractor is hopefully nearer to the customer, which shortens delivery times — book today and get the tractor out working tomorrow.

Selecting a tractor on the EasyTraktor site’s homepage is very simple — just choose from the four makes, the model, planned period of the hire and the number of hours … and the system tells you the cost straightaway.

What is the offer?

EasyTraktor focuses on the popular 150hp-300hp bracket. In 2024, the firm had 120 tractors on its rental fleet. Average rental period is around 600 hours, but 300-1,250- hour packages are also available. 

The hourly charge rate largely depends on the package and the model, with the net rental rates varying between around €16 and €35 per hour.

Last year, the hire fleet included a range of Case IH tractors. Deutz, JCB and John Deere are the other options.

A Case IH Puma 175 CVX with RTK steering system costs €25.90/hour when booked for 300 hours; for 750 hours the rate drops to €24.90/hour.

You can only book the tractors that are actually available on the website. In peak season it may happen that tractors of a certain horsepower bracket are ‘sold out’. This was the case when we were researching into the business in October 2024. At that time, there were no 300hp tractors available for field cultivation. 

Summary

The core aim of EasyTraktor is to simplify the tractor rental business. The business is conducted primarily online in order to keep structures lean and communication fast. 

The offer is clearly structured and simple to understand. And this also applies to the configuration of the machines and their applications. Minimum rental period is 300 hours for the 150-300hp fleet.

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

This is the second season contractor Thorsten Illers has used EasyTraktor. “The name ‘Easy’ is for a reason,” says Thorsten. “The rental process and dealing with the company is indeed easy and straightforward.” Last year, he rented one tractor; this year the number has increased to four. 

“Their machines are always new and well equipped — but to a spec, which makes having extra features difficult. But EasyTraktor, together with the dealer, was able to provide the extra kit that we needed for our forced steering system — very good.”

The contractor hires mainly on a seasonal basis for manure spreading, maize harvesting and also for construction projects. The rental tractors usually clock up 600 to 900 hours during that time.

This is the second season that contractor Thorsten Illers has been using rental tractors from EasyTraktor.

Christian Brüse

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