PROXIMA

ZETOR tractors help their owners with a wide variety of work tasks. They prove their versatility, durability, and reliability not only in agriculture, forestry, or municipal services. For example, the legendary red tractors serve in many hospital complexes, where they help to keep these facilities running as smoothly as possible. Today, we look at the story of the ZETOR tractor that is literally saving lives. Introducing the PROXIMA CL 110 model, which has been in service for more than a year with river rescuers based in the town of Hessle in the East Riding of Yorkshire, just off the UK's east coast.

It all started in the garden

Humber Rescue is an independent charity that supplies fast response search and rescue operations on the Humber Estuary into the North Sea. They cover approximately 1400 square kilometers of several watercourses. The River Humber itself has proven to be one of the most unpredictable stretches of water in the world. Even the most experienced navigators can get caught out by the shifting sandbanks and strong currents in the area.

The river rescue service was established in 1990 when the first lifeboat on the river was launched from the garden of the founder of Humber Rescue, Mr. Paul Beriff. It was a small 3.5-meter rubber dinghy that was assisted by an all-terrain vehicle to launch. However, by 1995 a local boatyard was opened and immediately became the new base for rescuers.

New reinforcement from the Czech Republic

The years passed and the charity grew in numbers, volunteers from a range of backgrounds were stepping up. Equally, the callouts increased. Attending requests that range from the Coastguard to deploy to vessels on fire, and even rescue the crew of a Royal Air Force Tornado that had ditched in the Humber in 2002. This has gone hand in hand with the modernization of response technology and equipment. In October 2021, the Humber Rescue team expanded to include a ZETOR PROXIMA CL 110.

As the rescuers themselves say, "No rescue operation can start without a ZETOR. PROXIMA serves as a launch and recovery tractor. Its hydraulic lift and size allow us to quickly launch any of our rescue boats to the surface, regardless of the tidal condition. As part of our standard procedure, the tractor remains attached to our main barge to enable its rapid deployment into action. However, it can be towed behind any other vessel within minutes."

Tractor robustness, durability, and reliability. These were the main criteria when choosing a new machine. But not only that. Humber Rescue also appreciates PROXIMA's easy handling, good performance, and, above all, the low operating costs that save the budget of this non-profit organization.

The latter is now a vital emergency service for all those living near the Humber River and surrounding waterways. With a total of 3 boats and 27 volunteers, it is the busiest independent water rescue service in the UK. They go out on an average of 110 sorties a year and the ZETOR PROXIMA plays an indispensable role in every one of them. We wish Humber Rescue and their new, red crew member as many successful rescues as possible and many years of perfect cooperation.

The small village of Světnov is located just a few kilometers from Žďár nad Sázavou, surrounded by beautiful nature, typical for the Vysočina region. Even though it has only around 500 inhabitants, there is more than enough work here. That is why the municipality acquired a new reinforcement at the end of 2020. It was ZETOR PROXIMA CL 100. "In the past, local farmers used to help us with some work, but they were not always available and the cost of specialized companies was high. So, we decided to buy our own tractor for the municipality," explains Mr. Pavel Štefan, Mayor of Světnov.

Work of all kinds

So far, the tractor works mainly in winter. "The terrain in Světnov is very hilly. We have about 6 kilometers of roads in the village and they have to be gritted, otherwise, the garbage men won't even take the bins out. Sometimes we shovel snow from 5 am and the afternoon shift ends at 10.30 pm. So, with PROXIMA, it's up to whoever is on hand," says Mr. Štefan about the main job of the tractor. "We also sometimes use the tractor to pull out cars stuck in the snow, because the winter here in Vysočina is hard and there is a lot of snowing," he adds with a smile.

Most often PROXIMA works with an arrow plow (which is highly praised by the locals because it plows snow on both sides) and a spreader in the back.

However, PROXIMA is not only used in winter. In addition to the plow, the municipality has also purchased a container carrier, so that they can now take the containers away themselves, and a sweeper for cleaning the roads and pavements. "This is a really big help for us. The ZETOR also proved its worth last year when we asphalted the road to Stržanov and the PROXIMA helped to remove the cut trees," adds the mayor.

They are very satisfied with the tractor in Světnov. It handles all the work without any problems, is still under warranty, and has had no serious breakdowns. The village wanted the ZETOR from the very beginning. Mainly because of the favorable price and easily accessible service. After all, the company Agrozet Havlíčkův Brod, where they bought the PROXIMA, is only 30 km away and it is easy to get there "on the wheels".

Plans for the future

In Světnov they are already thinking about how to use the potential of the new PROXIMA. The first step will be to add another pair of hydraulic sections forward and backward. In the future, they are considering buying a mowing arm to use in the maintenance of local roads and around Světnov. "We pay for the service now, so we would be self-sufficient in that as well. In addition, we can transport the mown greens to a nearby biogas plant and reduce our costs," says Mr. Štefan. Another possibility would be to use PROXIMA to take out the sludge from the local wastewater treatment plant. So far, they are outsourcing this service, but soon, it could be another way to save some money from the municipal budget.

And we wish the whole Světnov many satisfied motor hours and as much work well done with the ZETOR as possible.

Running a farm nowadays is not easy. It is difficult to plan and predict anything. The weather, the price of grain, farm machinery, fertilizers, or plant protection products are unpredictable and the only constant that can be factored into a business plan is the increase in the price of everything used for agricultural production.

"These are not optimal conditions for farming and it takes a lot of strength and selflessness to feed your family," says Paweł Cierniak, a 32-year-old farmer living in the small village of Pacanowice, located in the Wielkopolska province in central Poland.

He has always been connected to the land. As a child, he helped his parents on their 50-hectare farm. There was a lot of work, but Paweł did not neglect his studies and after graduating from a technical high school he continued his studies at the University of Agriculture in Poznań, majoring in agricultural and forestry technology. As he says himself, this gave him a different perspective on his farm and the need for changes seemed more and more urgent. But they came sooner than he wanted.

Time of change

"My parents invested in the farm, planned their crops wisely, and raised several cattle and pigs. We tried to be self-sufficient in both breeding and farming technology, even though it was not the latest generation at the time. The two main tractors, the Ursus 902 and 914, were past their prime and starting to cause problems," says Paweł. "My father and I started talking about buying a brand-new tractor to take over the main role on our farm. The choice wasn't easy, because Class III to VI soil is challenging and the crops that guarantee the self-sufficiency of a family farm require good equipment."

The young farmer recalls looking at the tractors of neighbors and friends and weighing up the pros and cons together. Acquisition and running costs mattered, and servicing and spare parts had to be reasonably priced. In the end, the decision was made. The choice fell on ZETOR.

I couldn't have done it without the ZETOR.

The new ZETOR FORTERRA 135 tractor arrived in 2015 when Paweł was slowly taking over the farm. After many years of using Ursus tractors, the powerful FORTERRA with its 136 hp engine, modern and relatively quiet cab, and two-wheel drive was something of a release. Working on the 50 hectares of the Czerniakow farm was suddenly more pleasant and faster. However, the joy of the new acquisition was overshadowed by the unexpected illness of his father, who soon died, leaving Paweł alone on the farm.

"When I was left alone, it was very difficult for me. My mother and my wife helped me, but the main work on the farm remained with me," says the young farmer. "I couldn't have done it without the ZETOR. A piece of land that used to take me two days to plow with the Ursus 914 took me only one day with the FORTERRA, and that without getting tired. And what a saving in fuel!"

Although the large Ursus continued to be parked under the shelter, the new ZETOR FORTERRA acted as the main transport and auxiliary tractor, as Paweł ordered it with the original Zetor System loader. As he says, the work went faster and the tractor itself proved to be much more profitable and economical.

Old farm, new farm

Paweł decided to stay with farming and still relies heavily on independence and self-sufficiency. Although he stopped breeding pigs due to AMP (African swine fever), he still raises a few beef cattle. He feeds them with his green fodder from meadows and silage, for which he uses several hectares of cultivated maize. He also grows rape, wheat, and triticale. "It's safe and stable, I follow a step-by-step process. It's my heritage and I have to respect it," he says in a moving voice.

Looking around, you can see the results of the young farmer's decisions that are transforming the farm. Gradually, Paweł is replacing old and worn-out farm machinery with new: a plow, a drill, rotary harrows, trailers - all Polish-made.

For difficult times - ZETOR PROXIMA

"Farming is going through tough times, which is why I recently bought another ZETOR," smiles Paweł, pointing to the new Proxima HS 100 in his yard. He says it's a bit of an investment for the future, as a new tractor would be needed soon anyway. Although the PROXIMA is less strong than the FORTERRA 135, it can easily pull a 12-tonne trailer. He is so pleased with the performance of the ZETOR engine and, as he points out, he deliberately chose a model without AdBlue.

When asked about the other advantages of his ZETOR, he replies: "Operating and service costs are much lower than my fellow farmers with other equipment, and spare parts are simply cheap and readily available everywhere," says Paweł. "And what do I like about the Zetor? It took me a while to get used to the PROXIMA reverse lever under the steering wheel (PowerShuttle), but I have to admit it's convenient. The same goes for the clutch engagement button on the gear lever (PowerClutch), which is particularly useful when transporting," he enthuses about the equipment on his new tractor.

We listen to Pawel and take a close look at the older FORTERRA, now seven years old. It has 3,300 mths on it, but despite the hard work on the farm, it looks very good. We wonder how much of this is due to the quality of the construction and how much is due to the farmer's care.

"You see, there are about 300 people in our village, and as I counted, with my tractors there are 10 ZETORs in total." Suddenly he stops and laughs, "No! I stand corrected, there are exactly 10 and ⅛ ZETORs. Come on, I'll show you." He leads us into the house where his young son is sitting on a small model of a FORTERRA pedal tractor...

This is what ZETORland looks like.

You surely know that customers for our tractors come from nearly all over the world. This time, we have set out to Lithuania, to a family farm in the town of Užpaliai (Utena County) that uses our tractors. The farm is managed by Ramūnas Milys and his son, Tautvydas Milys. It spreads on approx. 45 hectares of land which is mainly used for growing vegetables: cucumbers, cabbage, potatoes and sugar beet. The vegetable is also directly processed on the farm. The farm is also involved in breeding deer.

Work on the farm is done by two tractors of the ZETOR PROXIMA model range. The older PROXIMA CL, made in 2015, works mainly with the front loader and has over 2,400 operation hours. The newer and more powerful PROXIMA HS 120 is already coated in the Pininfarina design and has only around 200 operation hours as it has not been on the farm for a long time yet. The exclusive distributor for the customers in Lithuania is the UAB SPECAGRA Company which has been cooperating with the ZETOR brand for 12 years already.

The Farming Company Horní Krupá, a.s. specializes both in crop growing and animal breeding. In total, it farms on 1,567 ha of farming land, 1,240 ha of arable land and 326 ha of permanent pastures. The farm is kept in perfect condition by fifty employees and professional farming machinery. The company is run by the Director, Mr Jiří Novák, who has been working there for forty years. They use the vast fields to grow rapeseed, wheat, potatoes and forage. They must be really busy in this respect to get sufficient reserves as there is a lot of cattle to feed: 490 dairy cattle, 230 calves, 2,400 pig fatlings and 150 sow pigs. In large amounts, they also grow different kinds of potatoes. Mr Novák has the credit for the construction of three new silos, which made the job considerably easier. One silo can store up to 12,500 tonnes of wheat.

Recently, the Farming Company Horní Krupá, a.s. has used subsidies to purchase a new tractor PROXIMA HS 110 with a feeding trailer STORTI husky DS 120 with the volume of 12 m3. It was distributed by MOREAU AGRI VYSOČINA spol. s r.o. in Nové Město na Moravě. ‘The ZETOR brand is still exceptional in the acceptable price of spare parts and maintenance,’ says Mr Novák assessing the brand.

In addition to the new tractor and trailer, there are several other tractors and farming machinery including older as well as more recent ZETORs. Yet, the newest one is this red beauty of the PROXIMA model range. Mr Novák has decided for this model having been inspired by a different local farm. The Farming Centre Vesa Česká Bělá, a.s., which is a neighbouring farm, purchased PROXIMA with a feeding trailer a year ago and they have been satisfied with how it operates.

The family farm of Antonín Šťastný is located in Julčín, Ústecký Region. Mr Šťastný has been farming the land since 1991. A year later, he started to breed beef cattle of the Blonde d´Aquitaine breed. Apart from cattle, the farm also keeps bees (producing their own honey) and pigs of the Mangalica breed. Part of the remises is also a biogas plant. During our visit, we were hosted by the plant’s manager, Mr Petr Horák.

He told us how important ZETOR tractors are in running both the plant and the farm. Tractors are distributed and serviced by ZEMĚDĚLSKÝ SERVIS s.r.o. Třeboutice. The total of four PROXIMA tractors are used for mowing, snow blading and other kinds of maintenance. Yet, their main job is to transfer biomass from storage houses around the farm to the plant. The most important part is taken by PROXIMA HS 110, which was bought in January 2021. The family of ZETOR tractors on the farm is going to extend soon by PROXIMA HS 120. The family includes also several older ZETORs, e.g. Z 6911, Z 7211, Z 7011, and Z 5011.

The biogas plant in Julčín operates 24/7. Altogether, it employs 30 permanent members of staff and several part-timers. Running a biogas plant is both economical and environment-friendly. It results in reduction of greenhouse gases and, when burnt, biogas emits only little pollutants. Eventually, it is important to say that biogas is one of real renewable resources.

As the saying goes, farming jobs never end. Mr Jakub Stolle from Habrovany in Ústecký Region knows that it is really true. Still, when you have reliable helpers in your job, just like ZETOR tractors are, you might understand that you can also enjoy your work.

Mr Stolle runs a farm after his father. The total area of land is 130 hectares. He also breeds about 150 pieces of beef cattle. The lands are partly used as pastured because cattle are kept outside from May to October; partly it is used for forage for the farm’s own needs.

The farm purchases ZETOR tractors from an authorized dealer N&N KOŠÁTKY s.r.o. from Kropáčova Vrutice. The first in 2005 was PROXIMA 8441; in 2014 there was another one – PROXIMA 100 POWER with equipment. The latest tractor is FORTERRA HD 150. It was purchased in May 2021. Mr Stolle has been so satisfied with the tractor that he is considering buying another model of the CRYSTAL range. This makes us very happy as multiple purchases are the best acknowledgement for both the producer and the dealer.

The Venekamp family has farmed the same farm for several generations. They currently own 65 hectares of land and keep 100 dairy cows and 50 small animals. Henri’s grandfather bought his first ZETOR 3011 tractor in 1955. Henri himself bought his first ZETOR (model 7711) in the 1990s. Over the years, this has led to an interesting ZETOR collection consisting of a dozen vintage machines as well as newer FORTERRA HSX 140 and PROXIMA HS 120 tractors.

Henri Venekamp does almost all the work on the farm himself. He says FORTERRA is excellent for mowing, ploughing and fertilising the fields, while PROXIMA for feeding the cows and also for working with the silage cutter, for example, and ZETOR 7711 for raking grass clippings. ’In short, ZETOR is suitable for every job,’ he says. He would not consider any other brand; for him and his family, ZETOR has always been the obvious choice. The fact that there used to be a ZETOR dealer about a kilometre from the farm helped.

The farm is currently testing new ZETOR CRYSTAL HD 170. ’I’m really curious to see what CRYSTAL offers. From what I have seen and tried so far, I am very pleasantly surprised,’ he says. ’The tractor runs really well, the gearshift is comfortable and the cab is impressive. In addition, the tractor looks really good.’ We believe that the user-friendliness of the tractor together with its design will convince Henri this time again

George organic farm is located in Jerlochovice at the outskirts of the town of Fulnek. It produces high-quality veal and beef meat and farms on 310 hectares of permanent pastures. The farm keeps top stud bulls of the Simmental breed and produces first-rate marbled meat of the Hereford breed. It is proud to have been awarded the certificates of Ecological Farming and Product of Ecological Farming. The farm is equipped with farming machinery of the ZETOR brand that makes their work easier and is friendly to the environment. Efficient design and economical operation help to save energy.

‘It is our main focus to keep our customers satisfied,’ says Jiří Ševčík, the owner of George Farm. And this makes a common ground with us. Customer satisfaction is the most important target for ZETOR as well. Thus, cooperation of the two brands is beneficial for both of them.

Jobs around the farm are done with four ZETOR tractors, which are taken good care. They are PROXIMA PLUS 105 from 2008, three years younger PROXIMA POWER 115. The most powerful tractor until recently was FORTERRA HD 150 from 2016. In 2021 Mr Ševčík extended his ZETOR fleet, with the most powerful and best-equipped tractors of the ZETOR portfolio: CRYSTAL HD 170. Due to longer wheelbase, higher weight and engine power, CRYSTAL is more convenient for ploughing. Mr Ševčík is really satisfied with the new helper

All tractors of the ZETOR brand on the George Farm were distributed by MITRENGA a.s. company. And how does Mr Ševčík assess CRYSTAL HD 170? Due to better performance and improved drag, CRYSTAL can work with tools with a bigger reserve. Mr Ševčík appreciates that this lowers the wear of both the tractor and the tool. Another positive fact is that speed can be kept between 7 and 10 kph at constant pace of 1,300-1,500 rpm even with the plough. This decreases fuel consumption to the lowest level, below 200 g/kWh.