BEDNAR FMT Concludes 2021 with Turnover over 2.5 Billion, Entering 2022 with Determination and Several Challenges

This year marks twenty-five years of existence of BEDNAR FMT. Our Company, founded under the name of Strom Export s.r.o. as a trading company, purchased its first production hall in Rychnov nad Kněžnou in 2006. In the same year, the Company reached a turnover of CZK 120 million, with about twenty full-time employees. Until 2006, the Company was a ‘mere’ intermediator between the manufacturer and the farmer without any production facilities, but with a strong vision of modern agriculture.

BEDNAR FMT uzavírá rok 2021 s obratem přes 2,5 miliard, do roku 2022 vstupuje s odhodláním a řadou výzev

Production is a lively mechanism. What have we succeeded in and what pitfalls has the production plant dealt with?

The growth of the Company and the continuously increasing production volume require new procedures in work management. In 2021, we implemented an information and control system in the production plant. It considerably increased labour productivity and effectiveness. A systematic control is required to manage such a large number of employees and facilities. The Company management and managing employees are provided daily reporting on the performance of the individual workstations. For instance, we can solve problems occurring in the production process and plan production more effectively. Building a quality information system continues to be our priority.

The launch of the semiautomated warehouse and expansion with other automated vertical warehouses was an important measure in increasing labour efficiency and in accelerating the individual production steps. Two thirds of articles in the total warehouse capacity (other than frame structures) are stored using semiautomated or automated technology. The increasing interest in the OMEGA seed drills and the wide-span EFECTA CE seed drills has forced us to reconstruct the large assembly line. We have increased the number of workstations essential in the assembly of machines to be able to satisfy customer demand.

We are pleased that BEDNAR FMT is known as a promising and stable employer in the region. It has been reflected in the recruitment and provision of a sufficient number of employees at all levels of the production plant – from blue-collar professions to managerial positions. Towards the end of 2021, we completed the construction of the new freight gatehouse with facilities for the machine shipping department. The new freight gatehouse is not only a representative entrance. We also built a facility for the drivers (changing rooms, showers, a dayroom).

Like most industrial companies, our Company has been facing many issues, especially the continuing problems with the supply chain. The consumption of some items has to be estimated and ordered with a delivery term of ten to sixteen months. The growing supplier prices also have a negative effect on the Company’s profit. This mostly includes price increases in input materials, or the lack of some metallurgical materials. The supplier prices have also been influenced by the growing costs of energy and increasing wages.

Vojtěch Bednář, Director of Production plant

What was 2021 like for BEDNAR FMT in terms of trade and building of a distribution network?

In 2021, BEDNAR FMT concluded the economic year with a record-breaking turnover exceeding CZK 2.5 billion. When compared with 2020, it is an increase by 17% and it is 21 times the turnover from fifteen years ago. We have reached the level of the turnover of a leading domestic tractor manufacturer, and we are on a path to become the largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery under own brand in the Czech Republic. A total of 450 employees contributed to the achieved turnover last year.

In the past five years, BEDNAR FMT has become a company with a coherent portfolio of machines for soil cultivation, seeding, fertilization and mulching. The machines are distributed by a global sales network with predominant premium dealers who have a clear business strategy, based on maximum care for the end customer.

The sales ratio of BEDNAR FMT in terms of geographical allocation is: 7% in the Czech Republic, 49% in the EU (outside CZ), 35% third countries, 9% overseas. Our long-term objective is to create a strong third sales pillar on the overseas markets that would exceed 30% in total sales besides the EU and third countries. Once again, the new year of 2022 is marked by a considerable increase in orders. At this moment, the orders correspond with a turnover of CZK 3.2 billion.

This number is a proof that we play a significant role in the field of manufacturers of mounted farming technology, that BEDNAR machines are increasingly popular with customers, and that authorized sales partners are interested in representing BEDNAR FMT machines on local markets.

Jan Bednář, Sales Director

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BEDNAR FMT s.r.o.