Zetor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zetor is a Czech tractor manufacturer in Brno, the Czech Republic. Originally, the Zbrojovka Brno company, an auto manufacturer, Zetor completed prototype tractors in November 1945. 1
The name Zetor originates from the name of the first letter of the company name Zbrojovka (Zet) and last two letters of the word tractor (or).
The company started production in 1946. Since then, the company has produced over 1.1 million agricultural tractors that are now sold in about 80 countries, including the United States. 2
Early Zetor models used efficient four stroke diesel engines with mechanical fuel injection. They were considered very advanced, and proved quite durable. This, combined with their low cost, made them popular in many areas of the world. The company was an early adopter of four wheel drive and mechanical front wheel drive systems, and one of the earliest companies to build heated and air conditioned cabs on their tractors for operator comfort. In 1958, Zetor was an early adopter of unified production methods, where different models used common parts. This led to leaner manufacturing, and allowed the company to meet rising demand. Zetor also licensed its models for production in India and Iraq in the 1950s and 1960s. 3,4
Especially innovative is the Zetor hydraulics system, "Zetormatic", which uses a hydraulic cylinder to transfer most of the weight of towed implements, such as plows, to the rear axle of the tractor at the hitch. This gives greater control over plow depth, especially in hilly terrain, and greatly reduces fuel consumption. To deal with larger, wider implement sizes in the 1960s, the system was updated to "Zetormatic II", a system still in use today. 4
From 1993-1998, Zetor built some tractors for John Deere that were marketed as John Deere in some parts of the world. They have had involvement in the tractor companies Ursus in Poland, (selling some models as Zetor Crystal; ZTS of Slovakia; Agrale of Brazil; Agtor sold in Australia; Hindustan in India; HMT in India and Iskendiriya in Iran.
