SDF, from Agriculture 4.0 Comes the Push to Grow Further on the Market

For the Treviglio-based group, market share is increasing both in Italy and abroad.

Product investments hit a record high in a year of global slowdown in tractor sales.
 

By Luca Orlando
From our correspondent
TREVIGLIO (BG)

Soon, S.T. will need to refuel. His tractor, at the foot of Mount Olympus, is moving at 4 kilometers per hour, the PTO is running at full capacity, the oil temperature is at 78 degrees, and the fuel gauge shows 30% remaining. And likely, given the time, he'll take advantage of the lunch break to top up. On the big screen in the SDF meeting room in Treviglio, the tractor at work in northern Greece appears just like thousands of others - individual dots scattered across the world map that can be “interrogated” in seconds to provide any possible data, opening a window into the world of Agriculture 4.0.
“These real-time usage data,” explains Lodovico Bussolati CEO of SDF, “are crucial for enabling predictive maintenance, but they’re also valuable for our product design work, providing feedback that allows us to constantly improve our products.” And indeed, it’s here - in research and product development - that the global agricultural machinery giant headquartered in Treviglio has placed the heart of its strategy: systematic investment of at least €60 million a year, reaching a record €75 million in 2024, both in absolute terms and relative to revenue. Real-time tractor connectivity is just one of many initiatives.
“Main components of the powertrain, as well as the software and electronics,” says Bussolati, “are developed in-house with continuous investment. The results of this groundwork are usually seen after about five years. That’s why we’ve never stopped investing - especially when the market gets tough.”
That’s the case now, as global demand for tractors plunges by double digits, affecting all major players. For SDF, this means a 19% drop in revenue from the all-time highs of 2024, though still 30% above pre-Covid levels. A decline largely absorbed in EBITDA, which remains close to €200 million - over 11% of revenue - marking the company’s second-best result ever, fueling its innovation engine.
“Thanks to the continuous product upgrades,” Bussolati adds, “even in a challenging time like this, our market share is steadily growing, both in Italy and Europe - a trend that is continuing into 2025, supporting our forecast to maintain last year’s levels.”
International expansion has been key to the group’s growth, with new branches opened in Ukraine, Tanzania, and Mexico - and, most importantly, production sites in India, China, and Turkey. The Turkish market, which brought in just €36 million in 2019, now exceeds €300 million.
SDF’s strength - where it plays as a global leader - is in specialized machinery for orchards, olive orchards and vineyards. This category has been bolstered by the recent acquisition of Vitibot, a startup capable of producing electric, autonomous machinery.
“An important acquisition,” says Bussolati, “which brought in know-how we didn’t previously have, allowing us to expand these technologies into other areas, like the development of an autonomous tractor - already in advanced testing.”
Technological development at SDF - which boasts €1.64 billion in revenue and more than 4,000 employees - is driven by a strong R&D department, with 250 people based at the Treviglio headquarters. The head office, home to 1,400 employees, benefits from an individual performance bonus of over €5,000 this year too - a now well-established trend that has generated a €50,000 value over ten years. This bonus is on top of a €30 million welfare plan that includes new changing rooms and offices, parking and bike paths, green spaces, and an on-site medical center offering specialist consultations.
The work schedule includes a 38-hour week for blue collars and 39 for white collars (both paid as 40), with average early closures on Friday afternoons and flexible arrival/departure times for white collars during the week.