New Board of Directors and President at Agrotec Suisse
The general meeting of Agrotec Suisse, the Swiss trade association for agricultural machinery and farriery businesses, made some important personnel decisions: the board was reorganized and a new president was elected.
Andreas Baumgartner was unanimously elected as the new President of Agrotec Suisse. He succeeds Jörg Studer, who is stepping down after eleven years at the helm of the trade association. Andreas Baumgartner is the owner and managing director of Baumgartner Landmaschinen GmbH in Tegerfelden, which he founded in 1995. The company is an established supplier of agricultural machinery and special equipment for vineyards and orchards, agriculture and municipal services. In addition to individual advice, Baumgartner also offers customized machine solutions and metal construction work. His many years of practical experience and proximity to the industry make him a strong representative of the interests of agricultural machinery dealers.
New composition of the Executive Board
Jörg Zimmermann from Zimmermann AG in Domat/Ems was newly elected to the Board of Directors. He will be responsible for finances. Jörg Zimmermann is President of the ch-Motoristen core group and has been actively involved in the association for many years. Werner Berger was confirmed for a further term of office.
With the election of Andreas Baumgartner as President, Hansruedi Schär takes over as Vice President and also remains Head of the Technical Commission for Municipal and Agricultural Technology. The other areas of responsibility remain unchanged: Pius Buchmann is responsible for the Vocational Training Commission, Peter Wäfler for the Blacksmiths' Commission, Jean-Louis Henchoz for representing the industry in the BZA and Werner Berger for the Business and Communications department.
20 years of association work at Agrotec Suisse honored
An emotional highlight was the farewell to Jörg Studer, who had been active in the association since 2005, eleven years of which as President. He was made an honorary member of AM Suisse at the delegates' meeting in the afternoon for his extraordinary services. In his farewell speech, Studer called on everyone to actively shape the future of the industry with courage and cohesion. Rob Neuhaus, editor-in-chief of the specialist magazine forum for many years, was also bid farewell. Rob Neuhaus played a key role in shaping the publication for over a decade. Since the beginning of 2024, editorial responsibility has been in the hands of his successor Emanuel Scheidegger, who has seamlessly taken over the management of forum.
Challenging market environment
In addition to the personnel changes, the current situation in the industry was also discussed. The agricultural machinery sector continues to find itself in a tense market environment. The decline in new registrations of tractors and other machinery continues - in April 2025 alone, the drop was 12.9 %. Price increases in recent years and a change in willingness to invest in agriculture are having a noticeable impact. The industry faces the challenge of adapting its services to changing customer needs while at the same time offering attractive working conditions. Agrotec Suisse emphasizes that despite the difficult situation, there are also opportunities - for example through digitalization, new drive technologies and targeted training.
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