50 years of Hoftrac - our long-standing experts report.
A machine development and the people behind it make history.
Memories are an important part of an anniversary: the past forms the foundation for the present. The present prepares and builds the future. The people who stand behind the machines and the Weidemann company with their energy and passion are crucial. This becomes particularly clear on our 50th anniversary of the Hoftrac when you look at the diverse experience of our long-serving employees.
„At that time, we had received the first workshop van ever. Thanks to the good equipment in this vehicle, we were able to repair our Hoftracs directly at our customers' premises. That was really great!"
„The Hoftrac is a totally important part of my own work and life story. Without this machine, my life would certainly have been different."
The picture was taken in the 1980s - Carsten Strasen was a customer service fitter at Weidemann at the time. “Farmers tended to repair as much of their machines as possible themselves - if this wasn't possible, we came into play. We from customer service then took the tools from the farm, packed them into a normal station wagon and went out with them,” he reports. The desire soon arose to bundle the tools and suitable spare parts in a new, modern van and to sort and store them professionally for use on the road. This was a very forward-looking idea for the time and made on-site work considerably easier.
The picture was taken on a farm for advertising purposes and was accompanied by the statement “We'll take care of you” - the same objective then as today in the after-sales sector.
"Once we were on site, it could happen that other Weidemann customers in the village asked us if we could take a look at their machine. This meant that the end of the working day could be delayed a little,” smiles Carsten Strasen.
Importance of the Hoftrac(s) for him:
“I sort of grew up with the Hoftrac. I joined Weidemann as an apprentice at the age of 16. In my early years, the 100 series came onto the market - the first successors to the Perfekt 130, so to speak. We always had a lot to do because the Hoftracs were developed further at very short intervals. For us in customer service, this meant that we had to have many different models within a few years - which of course also made the work very interesting.
In those years, we had significantly more demand than we were able to build machines in Diemelsee-Flechtdorf. It was a real spirit of optimism. Customers were happy that the Hoftrac made work on their farms so much easier.
I have a close relationship with every single generation of machines and am delighted that our Hoftracs are so widespread and have been in demand for decades. Even today, no farm should be without such a machine.
The Hoftrac is a totally important part of my own work and life story. Without this machine, my life would certainly have been different”
