Breganze, January 2009. Satisfactory results in 2008 for Laverda that records a 25% increase on its turnover in comparison with the previous year and even a 47% with the turnover of 2006. The Company of Breganze, in fact, despite the crisis and the difficult conditions in which the real economy already was at the end of 2008, maintains the forecast divulged in July also for the last quarter of the last year.
The 1040 combines produced and invoiced during 2008, allowed Laverda to celebrate the 5000th produced and marketed since July 2000.
Italy, France, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia have been the most satisfactory markets for Laverda, besides the important contribution, in terms of volumes, yielded thanks to the combines produced with the Agco brands.
Further investments, besides the ones previously carried out in the plant, characterized the last part of the year in relation to new logistics of production at Laverda. As a result of the reorganization of the assembly lines, the feeding flow of the materials for the manufacturing is nowadays even more rapid and continuous than it was before and allows achieving higher efficiency, flexibility and rapidity of reaction to the market demands.
Thanks to this, the productive system is based on the model mix and the Company is able to produce different typologies of combines without requiring minimum lots.
The strong determination towards the development, both in terms of quality and of volumes, the participation in this project of all the Company actors and of the sales network have allowed Laverda a considerable growth. In effect in the last 5 years the rise has been considerable: from 500 to 1040 combines produced and marketed.

This means that Laverda has shortly more than doubled its volumes creating occupation and development. Moreover, the Company continues to be an important flywheel for the area thanks to the induced activity, and a good example in terms of profitability and investment power.
The results achieved by Laverda in 2008 strengthen Agco and Argo shareholders’ intentions in their plans of development for the Company of Breganze.

The controlled Fella Werke GmbH of Feucht, in the year of its 90° anniversary, attests a growth of 10% in its turnover in comparison with 2007, despite the critical situation caused by an unfavourable exchange rate euro to dollar that has conditioned the export towards North America. The increase has been determined from higher marketed volumes and from the change of the Customers’ preferences towards bigger and more performing machines. The best results have been reached by the German Company in Germany, France, Holland, Switzerland and Austria, but also in other markets, as for instance in Poland, the result has been positive.

As a general overview, 2009 appears uncertain and it is not easy to foresee the real situation of the markets in the middle term. As a consequence of this a prudential attitude is necessary, especially in those countries in which the effects of the financial crisis are more evident. Despite this, the investments effected by Laverda in the markets throughout the recent years, the organization of a solid and efficient sales network, the offer of products and services able to satisfy the Customers’ demands, all this allows the Company of Breganze to foresee the continuation of its development course.

For further info:
Simonetta Lambrocco
Communication and Public Relations Manager
Laverda S.p.A. – Via F. Laverda, 15/17 – 36042 Breganze (VI)
ph.: + 39 (0) 445 385.305
fax: + 39 (0) 445 385.593
mob.: + 39 335 845.58.92
e-mail: simonetta.lambrocco@laverdaworld.com