John Deere acquieres largest sprayer manufacturer in Argentina

Buenos Aires, August 1st. After the buying of fiber carbon booms factory, King Agro, farm machinery John Deere announced its second acquisition in Argentina in 2018. It is one of the largest sprayers manufacturer: Pla SA.

The company was founded by Juan Carlos Pla in 1975 and is based in Las Rosas (Santa Fe Province), but since 2010 is owned by Pampa Capital, an investment fund headed by former Bunge & Born, Alejandro Quentin.

“Pla has one-third of the Argentine sprayers market”, explained to www.eFarmNewsAr.com, Mr. Gastón Trajtenberg, chairman of Industrias John Deere Argentina SA, during a conference press hold at Buenos Aires City, who added that the agreement is finished, but they are waiting for the formal approval by local governmental authorities.

Accompanied by Aaron Wetzel, VP of Global Crop Protection and Turf Platform, Trajtenberg affirmed that John Deere will keep on the Pla brand. The company not only supply Argentine farmers with sprayers and planters but has a factory in Brazil and exports to overseas countries.

Wetzel and Trajtemberg said that John Deere will continue offering local farmers imported sprayers and planters, complementing the national ones.

According to the Census and Statistics National Institute (INDEC), in 2016 1,240 sprayers (both self-propelled as pull-type) were bought in the Argentine market. In 2017 the amount was similar, 1,194. According to a report from the Agricultural Technology National Institute (INTA) 80% of the market is in hands of national companies, while 20% remaining is supplied by global farm machinery companies. The institute added that 85% of the chemicals in the country are applied by self-propelled sprayers and that 65% of them is owned by contractors, not by farmers, that sprays an average of 15,000 hectares each season.