Deutz-Fahr is a German brand of agricultural machinery and tractors. It originated from the agricultural division of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG (KHD), the tractor maker Fahr and the threshing machine producer Ködel & Böhm, and since 1995 it has been part of the Italian company SDF, formerly SAME Deutz-Fahr.
Deutz-Fahr at a glance
| Brand | Deutz-Fahr, a brand of SDF |
|---|---|
| Origins | Gasmotoren-Fabrik Deutz AG, founded in Cologne in 1864 |
| Fahr works | founded 1870 by Johann Georg Fahr in Gottmadingen |
| KHD stake in Fahr | 25 per cent in 1961, complete takeover in 1977 |
| Deutz-Fahr name | from the 1970 acquisition of Fahr; Deutz tractors were badged Deutz-Fahr from 1982 |
| Owner since 1995 | SAME group, now SDF |
| Tractor plant | Lauingen, Bavaria |
| “Deutz-Fahr Land” | new tractor works in Lauingen, opened 2017 |
| Top power | up to 336 hp |
| Famous early models | F2M 315 and the F1M 414 “Elfer-Deutz” |
| Air-cooled era | FL 514 series from 1950 |
History of the Deutz-Fahr
From an engine works in Cologne
The origins of Deutz go back to 1864, when Nikolaus August Otto and Eugen Langen founded the world’s first engine factory in Cologne as Gasmotoren-Fabrik Deutz AG. The firm employed engineers such as Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, began with stationary engines and later moved into vehicle propulsion. An early tractor attempt was the 40 hp “Deutzer Trekker” of 1919, an artillery tractor that never sold widely. Series production of diesel tractors began in 1926 with the MTH models, followed in 1929 by the MTZ types of up to 36 hp. In the 1930s the F2M 315, a robust 28 hp steel-wheeled tractor, and the compact F1M 414 “Elfer-Deutz” established the name on farms; the F1M 414 stayed in production until 1953 with nearly 19,000 built.
The Fahr works
The second half of the brand came from Gottmadingen. The Maschinenfabrik Fahr was founded there in 1870 by Johann Georg Fahr and became known above all for its self-binder of 1911. Its first tractor, the Fahr F22, was built in 1938 around a 22 hp Deutz F2M 414 two-cylinder diesel; it was developed into the T22 in 1940 and the wood-gas HG25 in 1942. After the war Fahr broadened its programme with the D30 W and D15 of 1949, the D12N and D17N of 1953 and the D90 and D180H of 1954. In 1961 KHD took a 25 per cent stake in Fahr, and the complete takeover followed in 1977.
The name Deutz-Fahr
Deutz had acquired the Fahr company by 1970, and this acquisition led to the formation of the Deutz-Fahr brand; the German Wikipedia dates the change of the Deutz tractor badge to Deutz-Fahr to 1982. In the same period the range was renewed: the D-series of 1957 brought a new look and more powerful engines, the 05 series of the mid-1960s set standards in modularity and drive technology, and the DX series and the INTRAC system followed as further steps.
Under SDF
After an unsuccessful attempt to expand in the United States, the Italian SAME group took over KHD’s agricultural machinery division in 1995. Deutz-Fahr continued within the new SDF group, and the Lauingen site stayed in use. With series such as Agrotron and Agrotron TTV the brand entered new performance classes. In 2017 a new tractor plant was opened in Lauingen under the name “Deutz-Fahr Land”, building high-horsepower tractors of up to 336 hp for the world market, alongside the Agrotron 6.4 and the 6, 7, 8 and 9 series.
Design and features
- Three roots in one brand: the Cologne engine works of 1864, the Fahr machine factory of 1870 and the threshing machine maker Ködel & Böhm.
- Air-cooled diesels: from the FL 514 of 1950 Deutz was among the first makers to fit air-cooled diesel engines as standard.
- A long model history: from the F1M 414 and the D-series to the 05 series, the DX range and the Agrotron.
- Italian ownership: part of the SAME group, now SDF, since 1995.
- Lauingen: high-horsepower tractors of up to 336 hp built at the plant opened in 2017.
Deutz-Fahr versions
- F1M 414 “Elfer-Deutz” (from 1936): a compact single-cylinder tractor of 11–12 hp and a best-seller of the 1930s and 1940s.
- FL 514 (from 1950): the air-cooled series that shaped the post-war programme, with the 15 hp F1L 514 as its best-selling model.
- D-series (from 1957): the range that introduced modern design and more powerful engines.
- 05 series (mid-1960s): a modular range that set new standards in drive technology.
- DX series (from 1978): the first tractors sold with the Deutz-Fahr lettering.
- Agrotron and Agrotron TTV: the modern series that took the brand into new performance classes.
The early D-series tractors are described in Deutz D-Serie, the 1978 range in Deutz DX and the best-selling single-cylinder model in Deutz F1L 514/51. More machines are in the Deutz collection.
Video: Deutz-Fahr 9340 TTV im Einsatz – Premiere auf der Potato Europe 2014
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Deutz-Fahr, English Wikipedia: history of Deutz and Fahr, SAME takeover, Lauingen plant
- Deutz-Fahr, German Wikipedia: dates, model history, brand name
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