Väderstad once again has the pleasure of inviting more than 2 000 farmers and dealers from all over the world for the Väderstad Tour. It started on May 9th and goes on for a total of six weeks until June 16th.
The Tour started to take shape in the 1970’s, but the last couple of years it was cancelled due to the global pandemic.
This year Väderstad has invited farmers, dealers, other partners and students from more than 25 countries, even from as far away as Chile.
“Demoing machines has always been important for us at Väderstad. Nothing beats to see the machines in action, to see what they are really capable of”, says Crister Stark, second generation of Väderstad’s owner family.
The Tour concept has been gradually developed from the start in 1962, as Väderstad kept demoing machines and displaying what they could do in real conditions.
“We always used to visit farmers and demonstrate our machines. Then they started coming to Väderstad and the visits got more and more organized. In the late 1970’s farmers from the UK started coming here, and when Ryanair launched with their cheap flights the Tour really took off”, according to Stark.
Farmers from all over Europe were invited to Väderstad, to see the machines, visit the factory and just have a good time, building relations with other farmers and a partnership with Väderstad.
Crister Stark continues: “Our goal with the Tour has always been to give the farmers a really great day. To see our machines in action, to discuss their own challenges and come up with possible solutions. In the early days, my mother Siw used to cook dinner for them when they came here, then my sister Christina took over and invited them to their home for dinner which was very appreciated.”
These days the Tour has become so big the entire visit has to be thoroughly prepared and fitted into a schedule of events. This year the visitors will get to see demos of several Väderstad machines in field and visit the production in Väderstad. But they will also visit the stone quarry in Bleckenstad, where we put our machines and parts through rigorous tests, visit Rune’s old mechanical workshop where it all started 60 years ago and much more.
“We are really looking forward to inviting everyone to Väderstad once again, to finally put the pandemic behind us and meet face-to-face. I think this is something we all missed the last couple of years, and what better way to do it than with the Väderstad Tour as we celebrate 60 years of new solutions”, Henrik Gilstring, CEO of Väderstad Group concludes.
