Global farm machinery giant, New Holland, is celebrating its 125th birthday in a year where a global coronavirus pandemic has driven home the value of farmers and agriculture.
Carlo Lambro, brand president of New Holland Agriculture, said the company had started in a small American town in Pennsylvania from where it had grown into a global brand with a presence in 170 countries.
"It is a history marked by important innovations that have changed agriculture. It brings together the unique legacy of brands such as Ford, Fiat, Braud and Claeys.
"Most important of all, it is a history marked by people: our customers, our dealers, our employees, day after day, year after year," he said.
"We are living in extraordinary circumstances that are changing how we live and work in ways we could never have imagined.
"This situation has highlighted the vital role of agriculture and brought to the attention of the public how important farmers are in their life.
"Agriculture has reacted to the crisis with strength, successfully ensuring the food supply without disruption in the face of exceptional difficulties.
"As we celebrate our 125th anniversary, at this unprecedented moment in history, we look to the future with confidence."
New Holland was founded by agricultural pioneers whose rich legacy lives on in the values that drove the brand today, Mr Lambro said.
People like Abe Zimmerman who understood the importance of meeting customer needs with simple solutions and reliable support and whose small machining company founded in New Holland, Pennsylvania in 1895 would one day grow into a worldwide brand.
Henry Ford who had the visionary aim to make innovation and mechanisation accessible to all and produced the world's first mass tractor in 1917.
Giovanni Agnelli who saw how a solution developed for a specific local need could be extended to provide farmers across the world a smart solution with easy-to-use, innovative machines, demonstrating its first Fiat tractor in 1918.
And Leon Claeys who dedicated his specialist knowledge to making farmers' lives easier and led to the first European self-propelled combine harvester in 1952.
New Holland was now one of the most digitally connected brands in the industry with its PLM solutions.
It was working towards a future where farmers can run their operations more proactively, turning the farm into a connected and smart ecosystem.
Some New Holland milestones
- 1917: Ford produces the Fordson Model F, the world's first mass produced tractor.
- 1932: Fiat produces its first crawler tractor.
- 1940: New Holland produces the world's first self-tying automatic pick-up baler.
- 1952: Claeys launches the first European self-propelled combine harvester.
- 1960: New Holland introduces the industry-first Speedrower windrower.
- 1961: New Holland launches its first self-propelled forage harvester.
- 1964: New Holland introduces the industry-first Haybine mower-conditioner.
- 1975: Braud launches its first self-propelled grape harvester.
- 1975: Sperry New Holland introduces the world's first Twin-Rotor combine.
- 1982: The Ford 10 series is the first truly modern tractor: it combines modern styling with the Super Q cab.
- 1998: New Holland extends its offering with planters following purchase of Flexi-Coil.
- 1998: New Holland introduces its first telehandler.
- 1999: New Holland launches its Precision Land Management (PLM) solutions.
- 2016: First autonomous concept NHDrive tractor is presented.
- 2019: New Holland launches the world's first production 100pc methane powered tractor.