Tractor manufacturer TAFE acquires Serbian iconic IMT tractor brand

Tractor manufacturer TAFE has acquired the Serbian tractor and agriculture equipment brand IMT - Industrija Masina i Traktora. The acquisition cost is around Rs 45 million.

Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman & CEO, Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE), said that both the companies have shared a long mutually beneficial partnership and the acquisition will play a key role in TAFE’s strategic and growth plans for the future.

IMT is a pioneer in farm mechanisation and tractor technology with a wide range of implements and tractors suitable for cultivating agricultural land, vineyards and orchards and used for infrastructure applications. The implements range includes ploughs, trailers, maize planters, seed drills, cultivators and loader forklifts.

IMT produced a range of tractors between 35 hp and 210 hp and is a popular tractor brand in Eastern Europe, Northern Africa and the Balkans.

TAFE’s has had a long association with IMT for decades through business cooperation that involved the supply of components, aggregates and technical support. TAFE will support its local partner with supply of components and aggregates for the rollout of IMT tractors in Serbia and allied markets.

Through this acquisition TAFE acquires the right to use the Brand and Intellectual Property Rights, including the Designs, Trademarks and Copyright (IPR) of IMT.

TAFE, which claims as the third largest tractor manufacturer and second largest in India by volumes with an annual sale of over 150,000 tractors, is one of the leading exporters of tractors from India with a turnover in excess of Rs 93 billion.

TAFE manufactures a range of tractors in the sub 100 hp segment in both, the air-cooled and water-cooled platforms and markets them under its four iconic brands - Massey Ferguson, TAFE, Eicher and has over 1,000 strong distribution network that covers the entire length and breadth of India. Apart from India, its products have found excellent acceptance in over 100 countries across the world, including developed countries in Europe and the Americas.

Besides tractors and farm machinery, TAFE manufactures Diesel engines, silent gensets, batteries, hydraulic pumps and cylinders, gears and transmission components, and has business interest in vehicle franchises and plantations.