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AGCO/Fendt aiming for continuity - Peter-Josef Paffen succeeds Hermann Merschroth
It has been announced that the Supervisory Board of the AGCO GmbH Germany in Marktoberdorf has appointed Dipl.-Ing. Peter-Josef Paffen, 54, Spokesman of the AGCO/Fendt Management Board. He succeeds Hermann Merschroth, 58, who died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 1, 2009.
“In his role as brand director, Peter Paffen will assume the overall responsibility for the Fendt brand,” explained Martin Richenhagen, AGCO Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “He will press ahead with the recently started project for expanding the manufacturing facilities and continue the successful work of Hermann Merschroth. With the appointment of Paffen, we are aiming for the continuity of our premium brand.”
Fendt remains on course for continued growth. With 15,428 manufactured tractors and substantial growth in the harvesting technology segment, Fendt achieved record-breaking results in the previous year. The year 2009 is also starting according to plan, since the demand for high-tech agricultural machinery continues to remain strong. AGCO will invest some 170 million euros in the German locations in Marktoberdorf and Asbach Bäumenheim until 2012, setting the course for the successful future of the Fendt brand. Peter Paffen will now play a greater role in guiding the fate of the brand.

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In addition to his previous duties as Managing Director of Fendt Sales and Marketing, Paffen will now also be responsible for Human Resources, Parts Service and the chairmanship of the supervisory board of the Fendt-Italiana distribution subsidiary in Lana, Italy. Heribert Reiter, Vice President and Managing Director Research, Development and Purchasing, will also assume the responsibility for Service. Elmar Römer, Managing Director Production, will be in charge of Quality Management. The Finance and Data Processing departments will remain unchanged under the management of Michael Gschwender, Vice President and Managing Director.

Peter Paffen began his career at AGCO/Fendt in Marktoberdorf on January 1, 1998, at first in research and development. He was responsible for the international coordination of product management for the high-tech brand Fendt. Major projects under his management included the coordination of the market launch for the new Fendt Favorit 700 Vario series and the preparation and localization of Fendt tractors for the US market. Just eleven months later, Paffen became the head of Fendt Product Marketing, which included the areas of product management, price positioning, marketing communication and market research. In February 2000, Peter Paffen was appointed Managing Director Fendt Marketing. Under his management, the duties and positions in Marketing expanded continually and cooperation with Sales, Development and Production was further tightened. The focus of the work was on the extensive collection, processing and presentation of future customer needs as well as targeted marketing activities and events to promote the Fendt brand. In January 2004, Peter Paffen was appointed Vice President Fendt Sales and Marketing for Europe, Africa and Middle East (EAME); in September of the same year, he was appointed Country Manager Germany.

Before 1998, the farmer’s son from Floverich, near Aachen, Germany, gathered 19 years of international experience at the agricultural equipment company CASE IH.