Tradition and innovation for the forest
2024 has been a year of both challenges and progress for Vreten. With a difficult market behind it, Vreten has chosen to focus on its strength: combining traditional quality with innovative solutions. Kristian Jonsson, CEO of Vreten, summarizes the year:
– It has been a tough market, but we have increased our focus on product development.
Changing needs of forest owners
During the year, we have seen changes in forest owners' needs, which has also shaped our product range. Forest owners are investing more and more in large forwarders, while tractors today often require extensive modifications to function in the forest.
– Tractors are not built today as they were in the past. They are less well suited to today's forests and often require major modifications to function properly. Our investment in new valve controls makes the forest owner's job easier. We also believe that solutions such as the waist lock will be of great benefit to those who do a lot of driving where starting and stopping are a big part of the job. We also believe that the investment in smaller trailers will be well suited to the market, where smaller tractors are better suited to forests for removing individual windfalls, for example," says Krisitan.
Facing challenges
One of the most significant challenges during the year has been forecasting production.
"We have been working on technology for export markets, primarily compressed air brakes. This has involved numerous chassis redesigns to ensure that everything works properly. Despite this, we have seen strong sales figures for our 9- and 10-ton trucks, and increased interest in both larger and smaller models," says Kristian.
The ability to tailor solutions to different needs has been a success factor during the year.
We have built a number of trailers for municipalities, where there is often a demand for a combination trailer that can handle many different tasks. We have products that can be driven in the forest like a classic logging trailer, lifted into place with a brush rake if they need to go and pick up brush along a path or similar, and fitted with a dumper body with a crane to be able to transport gravel, soil, etc. We also have buckets that can be attached to the crane so that you can load soil into the flatbed yourself, for example. They are used extensively and for many different tasks in such operations, and we have a wide range of different products for this purpose.
One of the latest examples is a completed project for the municipality of Alingsås.
– They bought a cart like this and added radio control for the crane, which makes it possible to stand outside the tractor and work. The cart is also prepared for the addition of a flatbed later on.
International markets
In export markets, both the Czech Republic and Norway have shown strong growth during the year. For Germany, a large market with specific requirements for air brakes, extensive development work has been carried out.
"That job is pretty much done, and we are ready to start delivering," Kristian notes.
Another highlight was the launch of the waist lock – an innovation that attracted international attention and resulted in the award of the Sølvakset at Agroteknikk in Norway.
"It's a well-thought-out solution that solves some of the problems and difficult aspects of moving, but at the same time doesn't make the product significantly more expensive. It's still affordable!" Kristian concludes.
The future looks bright
With an expected increase in the market and a range of new products in development, Kristian is now looking forward to 2025.
– More new products will leave the Vreten factory in 2025. In addition, we will refine our website, where spare parts and components can be easily ordered. Stay tuned, concludes Kristian.