Agromehanika, d. d.

The founder’s innovation and determination still permeate the company’s values

“The company has an excellent base. This is thanks to its founder Friderik Lazar, a stubborn and hard-working man from Žiri, the now deceased father of Agromehanika,” agree the company’s Supervisors, Viktorija Lazar, Friderik’s widow, and Frank Selak, one of Friderik’s close co-workers. Both also agree that the company sprouted from Friderik’s lifelong desire to make work easier for farmers, winegrowers and fruit growers through mechanical innovation. Everything started with simple changes and improvements to existing machines and continued with the production of spraying machines and mist blowers of his own design. These made Agromehanika the leading manufacturer of machinery for produce protection in Yugoslavia between 1970 and 1990, with successful exports to other eastern European countries. 

Agromehanika had business centers and offices throughout Yugoslavia and sold both their own products and those of other manufacturers. After Yugoslavia fell apart, they lost their main market practically overnight and had to go from 160 employees to only 60. “As legislation changed, the company became privately owned and Friderik Lazar remained the Director. We worked hard to enter western markets and some of the key moments were definitely when we became representatives for Antonio Carraro tractors, and later for Renault and Deutz Fahrer tractors. However, the true challenge and success was the development and production of our own AGT tractor,” says Jan Šinkovec, Friderik’s son-in-law and the current head of the company, summarizing the next part of Agromehanika’s story.

The world’s first environmentally-friendly tractor

Since that first model, their flagship model has undergone several innovations and improvements. “We were the first in the world to put out a compact tractor with a new STAGE 5 engine in the 50-60 KM division. This is something we can really be proud of,” says Anže, the Director’s son and Head of Sales, and the third generation of the family to work in the family company. They also like to point out that the design of their new AGT 1060 tractor makes it easy for users to perform complex tasks in agriculture and horticulture. When used with additional equipment, it can also be applied to forestry and communal work. The AGT 1060 is not only functional and environmentally friendly, but also has a unique design by the famous Slovakian industrial designer Bystrik Micek. “This makes us one of the most progressive agricultural companies and helps us retain a strong market position,” adds Anže.

Jan Šinkovec, the current Director of Agromehanika, has always had a good working relationship with his father-in-law, and today they form a good team with his son Anže. Both Jan and Anže had to learn the family business on the job ­– Jan studied physics and Anže political science – and both recognize that working for the family has a special pull. “In our industry, where most companies started within families, this is very important. The relationships are much more personal. It doesn’t matter if I turn up for a meeting at our offices or at our partner’s offices instead of my father, since they know that I have an important role in the family. They know that I am the Director’s son. This is how our partner sees it, and I personally see that as an additional motivation and responsibility, as I have to keep that trust and exceed expectations,” explains Anže.

When farmers are unsure, they do not invest and we cannot sell

Quality, innovation, development of their own products and representation of foreign brands of the highest quality have been Agromehanika’s guidelines for several years. Around 60% of their revenue comes from their own products and around 40% from selling products from other brands. Even during the coronavirus crisis, they did not have to furlough any workers. As part of the food sector, they kept their shops and service center open, while making sure their workers and sales personnel were well protected. “Our exports fell, of course, but retail sales of tractors, spraying machinery and trailers were impacted even more. 

All these are high value purchases; people do not decide to buy a new tractor overnight. Some have waited for a while, but still decide to go through with the purchase in the end, as they cannot work without them. But the restriction of movement within the municipalities affected sales in our shops. We have shops in only four towns in Slovenia and people were afraid to cross the municipality borders,” explains Anže. Jan adds that this problem, which appears during every crisis, will be hard to break. This means they have to try even harder to sell their products. “We have to go to the clients. We organize demonstrations for smaller groups of interested clients, we drive to them, we put ourselves out there,” he explains.

They will probably have to do this for a while, as the fate of annual agriculture fairs is also uncertain, affecting opportunities to do business and sell to clients in Slovenia and abroad. Agromehanika fortunately has not had any major problems with foreign suppliers, not even from China or Italy, which were hard hit by the pandemic and where they have several close business ties. They are still on target to meet their mid-term vision and become an important member of the leading group of spraying machinery and compact tractor manufacturers in the EU.

Development and good employees ensure future success

Why is Agromehanika more successful than its competition? Partly this is certainly due to the development of their own technology and improved models of spraying machines, mist blowers and other machinery, which they bring to the market every year. Their development team is working at full capacity and they are one of the few spraying machinery manufacturers to develop their own computer for automation of the spraying process. Anže is optimistic about the future: “This is the perfect time for development, as we do have a bit more time than before the crisis, and we can use it to reflect on our way forward. Our goal is to offer our clients new and improved products when the crisis is over.”

The company’s firm foundation is confirmed by Janez Pušavec, Supervisor and co-owner, who believes Agromehanika’s strongest competitive advantage is the ability to respond to clients and market conditions. “It is important not to be tied to just one market, as you can be more independent and maintain at least minimum production. Even when a crisis hits, the strength of the blow differs in different markets,” explains Janez, who has been part of the company for more than four decades. Viktorija Lazar, who has been with Agromehanika through the good and the bad even a decade longer, believes their best asset is the young generation: “The company is getting younger, which is good, the young had to have an opportunity. I think they are familiar with the history of the company and they respect and value the experiences of the older generation.” Franc Selak, another elder in Agromehanika, concludes with this important idea: “A computer cannot replace human relationships. A machine is a machine, and a man is a man. The young have to be aware of that. Even if an order is placed via computer, that does not mean the goods are on their way. The personal relationship is what is really important.”

Summary

Agromehanika in a nutshell: experience, tradition, flexibility, developmental focus, following common goals.