Crister Stark receives the dipolma
Awarded for digital innovations
In 2017, Väderstad was awarded an Honourable Mention by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences for its digital innovation, the Väderstad E-Control. This technology allows farmers to control and monitor their seed drill with an iPad. The award ceremony was held at the German-Swedish Tech Forum in Stockholm, where the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven were present.
Tempo has set many records
In April 2016, Väderstad set a new world record for the most hectares planted within 24 hours. The previous record for maize planting was 448.29 hectares, and Väderstad broke it by planting 502.05 hectares using the high-speed planter Tempo L 16. The event took place at the Ágoston Puszta farm outside the city of Enying in Hungary.
Celebrating the official Tempo world record
In April 2013, the Väderstad Tempo F8 competed in a 24-hour race near Kiev, on the fertile black soils of this region.
An astonishing 524 acres of corn were drilled at the high average speed of 11 miles per hour. This represented a 42 per cent increase in capacity per row aggregate compared with the existing official world record, which was set with a 24-row planter in 2012.
Innovation is to be first
In 2015 Väderstad was listed at an impressive 24th place in the list of Swedish companies applying for most international patents. Ola Byström, head of patents at Väderstad, said “We place a high priority on applying for patents for inventions which markedly improve and simplify the daily work of farmers, often through rationalising arable technology and improving its cost-effectiveness.”
The new generation of Rapid 300-400C/S
Rapid - Rebirth of a legend
In 2015 Väderstad rolled out a new generation of the legendary seed drill Rapid. The machine was reborn to suit modern agriculture. The new Rapid 300-400C/S has a new design, with a more streamlined hopper that is raised slightly above the chassis, increasing access to the machine. This, together with greaseless hubs, makes it easier to service and use, while freeing up more time for work in the field.
Opening of new production hall
In the fall of 2013 Väderstad introduced E-control, which is an application that you download to an iPad. The application provides an easy way of controlling Väderstad planters and seed drills. E-control allows you to control all functions of the machine in an extremely user-friendly manner. Controls included are adjusting seed metering, tramlining, calibration and logging data & events, for example.
In the spring of 2014 Väderstad opened a new 8396 square foot production hall. The new building doubled the size of the research and development workshop and allowed 6-7 prototype machines to be built at a time.
The contract was signed on October, 2013. Seated from left: Pat Beaujot, Crister Stark, Christina, Stark. Standing from left: Nicklas Bjersér, Brian Dean and Andreas Stark
Väderstad acquired the Canadian company Seed Hawk in 2013
During 2013, we bought over the Canadian company Seed Hawk, which manufactures large direct seed drills. With this acquisition, Seed Hawk has become Väderstad’s platform for development and sales in North America. The partnership with this company first began in 2006, when Väderstad became part-owner.
Largest investment in production to date during 2013
In order to meet increased demand, we are carrying out major rationalizations and efficiency improvements. In total, we have invested almost 150 million Swedish crowns. At Väderstad, this means a new internal logistics centre for production, a new large 3D laser cutter for pipe, new automated equipment for welding and preparation of row aggregates for the Tempo seed drill and an upgrade to our painting department.
New automated equipment for welding
“This is the first time the company has invested so heavily in production in a single year. These changes are essential in order to eliminate bottlenecks and to ensure the future manufacturing of Väderstad’s new Tempo ‘planter’, which is designed for drilling e.g. corn”, said Andreas Stark, Production Director.
A 64,583-square feet internal logistics centre for production was the single largest investment in 2013. The centre has double the capacity of the current logistics unit.
Investing in Lithuania
2013 saw the opening of a brand new center in Lithuania, a service center, parts depot and meeting place for Lithuanian farmers. The new premises are located north of Kaunas, in the middle of the country. To coincide with the opening, Väderstad celebrated the 10th anniversary of its presence in Lithuania.
Christina and Bo Stark attended the official opening of the new Lithuanian office, together with the mayor and MD Romas Naudziunas
Expansion into new parts depot
In 2012 Väderstad invested in a new depot for wearing parts, spare parts and accessories. The new parts depot allows faster service and meets the needs and expectations of customers in a more efficient way. The new larger premises also contain space for a permanent exhibition of the Väderstad Parts range, and a shop where visitors can buy Väderstad merchandise.
Magnus Samuelsson "the world's strongest man" pulled a 3-metre seed drill, Rapid weights 4,7 tons
Our golden jubilee
In 2012, it was 50 years since Rune Stark developed the first harrow on his farm outside Väderstad. Since then, ‘Rune’s Mechanical Workshop’ has become the global Väderstad concern and the local market has been expanded to more than 40 countries.
New subsidiaries in Denmark and Romania and sales in Africa
Väderstad has been active in Denmark since the 1980s through the import company Kverneland. Over the years Denmark had become an increasingly important market and in 2011 a decision was made to start a completely new sales subsidiary there. Romania’s immediate future made it easy for us to decide to open a fully owned sales subsidiary there too. MD Mihai Rausser has gathered a very enthusiastic team in an office near Bucharest airport.
A new era of precision drilling
When Crister Stark visited Argentina in 2006, he got the idea of developing a Väderstad planter, or maize seed drill. It didn’t take long before this idea was converted into a vision that was shared by all within the company. Simply making yet another planter was naturally not an option, so Väderstad decided to invent a planter with greater precision and capacity than ever witnessed before.
Crister Stark and Gert Gilstring at the launch of Tempo at Agritechnica in 2011
Five years of development work
It took five years before Väderstad was able to launch its first planter, Tempo. In fact, this proved to be the largest research and development project in the company’s 50-year history.
What is a "planter"?
The term "planter" refers to a precision drill for crops such as corn, cotton and sunflower. These crops differ from cereals in that they need to be drilled with only 8-10 seeds per square metre, very evenly positioned and at the specific depth for optimum emergence and crop establishment. This is the unique feature of Väderstad Tempo – it can achieve this with high precision even at very high driving speeds.
The Gilstring seed meter
Gert Gilstring, one of the driving forces in the project, is very enthusiastic about the technologically advanced solutions and the end result – Tempo. The new seed metering system uses pressurised seed transport, which results in the Tempo drill being unaffected by slopes, vibrations and speed.
Africa is becoming a new market
Contact with farmers in South Africa was only established in 2010. However, this was not Väderstad’s first visit to the continent. Rune Stark travelled to Kenya and Botswana on different development projects back in the 1960s. However, success with sales in North Africa did not come until much later.
Rollex, Carrier, Seed Hawk and Tempo are popular machines in South Africa
Väderstad’s importer Vitamech is a distributor for machines throughout South Africa. In the provinces of Western Cape and Southern Cape the Seed Hawk direct drill is generally the most popular machine, but the Rollex roller and the Carrier cultivator are also popular products. In 2012, Väderstad’s unique new planter, Tempo, was introduced in the so-called corn belt in northern areas of South Africa. In a very short time this seed drill has attracted great positive attention among farmers and dealerships
Christina Stark and Governor Gordejev at the official opening
Väderstad starts up manufacturing in Russia
In 2010 Väderstad declared its commitment to Russia by starting to manufacture parts of the Väderstad product programme in Liski, in the Voronezh region. Manufacturing on-site for the Russian market is a way to enhance the company’s position in this market. It also signals Väderstad’s intention to have a long-term involvement in Russia.
Carrier 10 000 celebrated at Elmia exhibition 2010
Väderstad’s success is largely based on the Carrier and Rapid machines. Carrier is a unique implement that can perform stubble cultivation, seedbed preparation, re-consolidation, rolling and surface levelling. At the Elmia agricultural machinery show in Jönköping, Väderstad held a ceremony in which Carrier 925 number 10 000 was handed over to Anders Henningson, who runs the company Agrotech outside Norrköping.