AGCO Foundation Donating $100,000 to Support Brazil Flood Relief

Duluth-based AGCO Corp. is donating $100,000 to support relief efforts in flood-hit Rio Grande do Sul, the southern state of Brazil that the tractor and equipment maker calls its “home” in the South American country.

More than 130 people are dead and 400,000-plus displaced after torrential rains inundated parts of the capital Porto Alegre and other cities a week ago.

The floods hit home for AGCO, which has five factories in the coastal state just north of Uruguay. The company is already working on the ground to assess damage to facilities and to aid any of the 3,400 AGCO employees affected by the disaster.

The AGCO Agriculture Foundation is sending its donation to BrazilFoundation, seeding a donor-advised fund that can also take contributions from friends, family and supporters of the company worldwide. (Scan the QR code or visit the AGCO Flood Response page on BrazilFoundation’s website)

Roger Batkin, chair of the foundation, said in a news release that AGCO is “devastated” by the situation and the resulting losses of life and property.

“Our team on the ground has already been working around the clock, collecting and distributing donations, providing shelter, and preparing and serving thousands of meals to support their colleagues and communities. The Foundation’s donation is yet another way we are helping those affected in the region as they navigate the recovery and the rebuild ahead of them,” Mr. Batkin said.

Donations to the new fund set up by AGCO can be made in U.S. dollars or Brazilian reais, and will be used to support immediate emergency assistance and long-term recovery efforts.

AGCO’s facilities are located in Canoas, Marau, Passo Fundo, Ibirubá and Santa Rosa.

Georgia-based InComm also has connections to Porto Alegre, where it bought a payments company in 2020. The city is also the home base for firearm manufacturer Forjas Taurus S.A., which announced a factory in Bainbridge in 2018.