DULUTH, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AGCO (NYSE: AGCO), a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and solutions, announced that Richard Markwell, Vice President and Managing Director Massey Ferguson in Europe, Africa and Middle East (EAME), has been elected new President of CEMA, the association representing the producers of agricultural machinery in Europe.
Mr. Markwell succeeds Gilles Dryancour (John Deere) who had been chairing the association for the past five years. The official handover took place during the last CEMA Board meeting in Brussels on 18 June.
“It is important that AGCO is an integral part of associations like CEMA, driving the way forward for the agricultural industry. We are very confident that Richard will serve AGCO and the industry well in this position,” said Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, President and CEO of AGCO.
Commenting on the election, Mr. Markwell said: “It is a pleasure and honor to take over the chairmanship of CEMA at such an exciting and challenging time.”
“Today, agricultural machinery represents a remarkably strong, vibrant and dynamic industry sector in Europe. Working together with the CEMA members, my aim is to ensure that our industry will continue to flourish and be in a position to offer innovative solutions to farmers worldwide.”
AGCO takes the challenge of feeding a growing global population very seriously. Advanced farm machinery solutions are key to solving the challenge of doubling world food production and being able to feed 10 billion people in a sustainable manner by 2050. AGCO is committed to producing equipment and solutions for professional producers working to do just that.
“CEMA will work closely with the new European Commission and Parliament to ensure that the EU will find appropriate policy concepts that will benefit Europe’s industrial base, including the agricultural machinery sector.”
The CEMA President is elected for a two-year term and is eligible for re-election once.
ABOUT AGCO
AGCO (NYSE: AGCO) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery. AGCO supports more productive farming through a full line of tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage equipment, grain storage and protein production systems, tillage implements and replacement parts. AGCO products are sold through five core machinery brands, Challenger®, Fendt®, GSI®, Massey Ferguson® and Valtra® and are distributed globally through approximately 3,100 independent dealers and distributors in more than 140 countries worldwide. Founded in 1990, AGCO is headquartered in Duluth, GA, USA. In 2013, AGCO had net sales of $10.8 billion. www.AGCOcorp.com
ABOUT CEMA
CEMA is the European association representing the agricultural machinery industry. The industry represented by CEMA includes 4,500 manufacturers of agricultural equipment employing directly 135,000 persons and indirectly in the distribution and service network another 125,000 persons. The companies are mainly small and medium-sized manufacturers according to the EU definition and in 2011 had a total turnover of 26 billion euro.
