Massey Ferguson reports that a EUR:300 million investment and reorganisation of facilities over last five years at its Beauvais tractor production plant in France is driving manufacturing quality to even higher standards.


Another Massey Ferguson tractor leaves the production line at the Beauvais manufacturing facility in France

The Beauvais facility in Picardy is home to Massey Ferguson in Europe and produces MF tractors from 75-400hp. The plant is the largest producer and exporter of farm machinery in France and, in 2015, total production is forecast to reach 15,000 units.

Richard Markwell, Vice-President and Managing Director, Massey Ferguson, Europe/Africa/Middle East said, "Since 2010, our Beauvais factory has undergone a major transformation to incorporate industry-leading standards of Lean Manufacturing, bringing high levels of efficiency and, most of all, agility - the ability to respond quickly and effectively to changing trends in market demand."

"Most importantly, significant investments in new processes and control equipment have been made towards our goal of delivering ever-higher standards of product quality and customer satisfaction. Every employee at Beauvais is committed to this approach - it's our motivation and our inspiration."


One of the Massey Ferguson tractor quality stations on the production line at Beauvais

With these new moves, latest in-house figures from the plant show a rise in manufacturing quality levels, while Massey Ferguson's Customer Satisfaction Index reveals improvements in perceived quality by end-users.

A key manufacturing quality indicator employed at the Beauvais factory is the TGW factor. "TGW stands for 'Things Gone Wrong' and it measures non-conformances throughout the production process," explains Philippe Kerbrat, Manager Quality at the plant. "For example, this could be a non-conforming part from a third-party supplier or a small scratch on the tractor's paintwork. As improvements have been made at the factory, we have seen TGW reduce by more than 40% during the last two years from what was already a very low base."

As for assessing customer satisfaction, every new Massey Ferguson tractor purchase sees the customer asked for their opinion on the whole buying experience and delivery process. This comprehensive survey includes questions on product quality at the point of delivery. "Here, the 'positive answers' ratio has moved up to 94% in less than five years," says Philppe Kerbrat. "For us, customer feedback is not just a measurement, it drives change and sustainable success for Massey Ferguson."

The Beauvais tractor manufacturing plant was recently awarded ISO 9001 Quality Certification, as well as the 'Best in Class' Housekeeping Award from its parent company, AGCO.