Agritechnica Opens the Door for Several Local Companies

Twelve American companies had booths in the USA Pavilion of the biennial German trade show, Agritechnica, in November 2017. Five were from Northwest Minnesota/North Dakota. Mattracks, WCCO Belting, Alloway Standard Industries, Grouser Products, Inc., and Iteris (which has an affiliate in Grand Forks, ND) were all in attendance. Agritechnica is one of the largest agricultural equipment shows in the world and attracts manufacturers, distributors, and buyers from over 130 countries. Dates for the next Agritechnica show are November 10-16, 2019, in Hanover, Germany. To be added to an advanced notification list for the USA Pavilion (spots typically sell out quickly), please notify Heather Ranck at Heather.Ranck@trade.gov. For more information on the show, visit https://www.agritechnica.com/en/

Several of the participating companies have already reported success at the show, connecting with new partners and making sales. Mattracks, based in Karlstad, Minnesota, manufactures crawler and rubber tracks for trucks, combines, tractors and other vehicles. Their participation in the show contributed to a sale made with a new overseas partner. They credit their ability to participate in the show to the work done by the US Commercial Service in organizing the USA Pavilion. “We probably wouldn’t do Agritechnica if it weren’t for the U.S. Commercial Service and its USA Pavilion. We are going to Agritechnica in large part due to market research that was done by the U.S. Commercial Service in the US showing that Germany was a top potential market, and the Agritechnica show was a perfect venue for us to connect with German and other buyers. This was a new market and it would have been difficult to approach it on our own…. We feel the USA Pavilion at Agritechnica is going to be a great vehicle to success.”

Alloway produces equipment for agriculture and sugar beet production out of Fargo, ND.  About their experience, Alloway stressed how important taking the first step is, and how the USA Pavilion is a great way to do that. “Agritechnica is a meeting point for customers and vendors from Western Europe to Russia and beyond, which allows for companies to pre-arrange meetings with multiple customers to make introductions or close sales.  The US Commercial Service is very accommodating to provide meeting rooms and to assist in researching potential customers to meet at Agritechnica.”

WCCO Belting is a belting producer based in Wahpeton, ND. Representatives met with several potential new partners because of their attendance.  “Agritechnica was an excellent event for us in 2017 and we’re grateful for all of the support that we received from the US Commercial Service.  Onsite CS staff made us feel welcome and graciously ensured that all needs were met. Many of these relationships are relatively new and the opportunity to meet so many of the company representatives face to face in one-week was invaluable.” WCCO Belting signed agreements with several foreign companies, continuing their relationships into the future.

Local companies, such as Amity and HayBuster also participated in Agritechnica, outside of the USA Pavilion. HayBuster, a hay processing and handling equipment manufacturer out of Jamestown, ND, calls Agritechnica their most influential show in Europe. Because of the show, they secured new distributors in six new countries. “Bringing these new distributors on board was a direct success from us exhibiting at Agritechnica and the ability to meet with so many of our international distributors and customers in one place is a huge benefit to us. We have already planned to exhibit again in 2019”. Amity found that they were well received by others in attendance, and could close deals by meeting with companies face to face.
Grouser Products, based in West Fargo, participated in the USA Pavilion for the third time in 2017. The company produces dozer blades and over-the-tire tracks. “One of the greatest values we find at Agritechnica is that we can finally meet face-to-face with people who we have emailed with or shipped product to for years previously,” said Bryan Garberg, Sales Manager. “It’s also a great location to get a sense of industry trends and technical changes.”

The US Commercial Service works with the ND District Export Council to sponsor and host the USA Pavilion, an area within the Agritechnica show grounds where companies can rent booth space of varying sizes and receive assistance for logistics (hotel, transportation, booth set-up, internet connectivity, etc.), hospitality (food and drink are catered within the USA Pavilion, and businesses’ contacts are invited to a reception), business matchmaking support (electronic and print outreach to potential business partners from around the world, along with access to private business meeting rooms and common seating areas within the Pavilion; and in-person show floor export counseling support from U.S. Commercial Service staff).