AGCO Corp. has promoted the vice president overseeing the Duluth-based farm-equipment company’s operations in the increasingly important China and India markets.
Andreas Weishaar was named vice president over operations in the two countries in November 2009. As of May, he is also managing director.
Mr. Weishaar oversaw the opening of a new factory in Changzhou, China, late last year. It began making 50- to 130-horsepower tractors under the Massey Ferguson brand earlier this year. Mr. Weishaar is also managing the launch of a new Valtra high-horsepower tractor plant and combine assembly facility in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province.
During a September interview in Changzhou, Mr. Weishaar told GlobalAtlanta that many foreign companies falter in China because they wrongly believe that Western business practices translate easily to the Chinese market.
“We’re hiring a lot of locals because we believe that in order to be successful in China you have to have a local workforce,” he said at the time. Still, he added that the Changzhou government’s savvy in dealing with Western firms was a major reason AGCO put its factory there.
Since 2007, Mr. Weishaar has handled AGCO’s partnership with Tractor & Farm Equipment Ltd. in Chennai, India. AGCO has a 23.75 percent stake in TAFE, India’s second largest farm equipment manufacturer, according to a news release.
AGCO recently agreed to buy an 80 percent stake in a combine manufacturer in China’s Shandong province.
In the first quarter on 2011, AGCO’s net sales climbed to $1.8 billion, up 35.3 percent from the same period last year. Profit margins also widened, with net income per share coming to 81 cents, nearly seven times greater than first quarter 2010.
Visit www.agcocorp.com for more information.
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