Valmet (Valtion Metallitehdas - state metal factory) was born out of a Finnish World War II munitions factory. In 1949, engineers has produced a prototype 12 horsepower tractor. By 1951, this tractor was in production as the Valmet 15. Valmet's first diesel tractor was the 33, with excellent cold starting abilities (needed for the Finnish winters). Valmet began exporting tractors in 1958, and had a factory in Brazil by 1960. Valmet continued to improve and expand, with particular leadership in the design of tractor cabs and controls that were quiet, comfortable, and easy for the operator to use. By 1973, Valmet led in tractor sales in Finland. In 1979, Valmet partnered with Volvo and produced tractors under the Volvo BM Valmet brand. Valmet bought out Volvo in 1985, and entered into an agreement with Massey-Ferguson to produce tractors at Massey's factory in France. Valmet had been a government-owned company until 1993, when it incorporated with Sisu. Part of this arrangement required the Valmet name to be phased out. It was replaced by the Valtra name, which had already been in use on implements and forestry machinery.
Valtra - official site
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