Efficient, customer-focused production in Finland
Recent investment in the Valtra plant in Central Finland lets the company serve customers even better, thanks to higher production efficiency and better working conditions for its 1,200 employees.
Major upgrades for large tractors
The most visible change at the Finnish factory is Valtra’s new 2,000 m² paint shop. This impressive building sits right next to the main assembly line. The new paint shop delivers a high-quality finish for customers and improves the process’s efficiency.
In the new setup, assembled tractor frames are delivered from the line to the new paint shop by automated guided vehicles (AGVs). The frames are then suspended and moved by overhead conveyors. This overhead transport method, together with the extra space in the new building, allows for more efficient washing, drying, painting, and priming.
The first paint shop was built in 1969 and stood inside the main assembly hall. And while paint technology has advanced considerably over the years, the old paint shop simply wasn’t big enough to fit Valtra’s newest, most powerful tractors – the Q and S series. Moving the paint shop let the Valtra team serve their customers better, enabling a faster production pace that boosts productivity. This change also significantly improves working conditions for assembly-hall workers, since the noise, heat, and humidity of the old paint shop have been eliminated.
Greater capacity and efficiency at the transmission plant
Valtra’s transmission plant in Suolahti is also undergoing significant expansion and modernization. It currently produces the transmissions used in the N and T series tractors, as well as supplying transmissions for the South American market and transmission components for other AGCO plants. In future, the stepless AGCO CVT transmissions used in the Q and S series will also be manufactured in Finland.
A new test bench for Q- and S-series transmissions will allow for increased production of high-power tractors to meet growing customer demand.
Among the other improvements benefiting customers is the new FMS 5 automated production system, integrated with the materials warehouse and modern machining centers. This new system ensures consistent quality as well as greater productivity. Three additional machining centers will complete the FMS in early 2024.
Valtra EME production director Tiiana Herlevi highlights the importance of safe, reliable, high-quality production in Suolahti: “We’re investing in technology that improves product quality and efficiency for customers, while also improving safety and working conditions for our team. Thanks to greater automation and precision machining, our operators can work in cleaner, quieter conditions.”
Investment in R&D
Valtra’s engineering teams will benefit from faster testing results once a brand-new test center opens in the second half of 2024. The 850 m² building, with full climate control, will allow whole tractors or individual modules to be tested in extremely hot or cold conditions and varying humidity levels – regardless of the weather outside.
“The new test center makes development and research processes more efficient, benefiting both our customers and our employees. Soon, right here in Suolahti, we’ll be able to test tractor modules under load and at extreme temperatures year-round. This change will speed up the development and testing of, for example, future power sources and technologies that operate at extreme temperatures, or cab temperature-management technologies,” comments Valtra development director Henri Palonen.
Visiting the Valtra factory
Factory tours and visits are available for special groups. During a visit, customers can see many of the improvements described above with their own eyes, as well as the recently renovated visitor center and shop located in the Atrium. Guests can also visit the updated Valtra Unlimited Studio, located next to the special rail line where tractors leave the factory, and the AGCO Reman center, which supplies remanufactured engines, transmissions, and parts to Valtra customers.
Valtra continues to improve the efficiency and sustainability of its production. Since 2022, the factory has run on 100% renewable energy, and it has used renewable diesel fuel during testing and for a tractor’s first fill for more than five years now. To learn more about sustainable production at the Valtra factory in Suolahti, visit www.valtra.com
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