1 Million

On the occasion of Kubota’s impressive milestone of producing its one-millionth compact excavator, we speak with Helge Tramann, Managing Director of Tramann+Sohn. As one of the first and largest authorised Kubota dealers in Europe, Tramann+Sohn has played a significant role in the distribution and success of Kubota machines. In this interview, we learn more about the long-standing partnership between Tramann+Sohn and Kubota, the challenges and successes the company has experienced, as well as future prospects in the construction machinery industry.

Tramann+Sohn has developed continuously since its foundation in 1926. Starting with the sale of road construction materials, product-related milestones were the entry into the sale of specialised construction machinery in 1969 and the entry into the sale of Kubota in 1982. In this year, the first Kubota KH-5 was sold by Tramann+Sohn, which was bought back after 30 years of use and now adorns the entrance area of our training building. Tramann+Sohn experienced its greatest upswing after the German reunification in the early 1990s, when turnover doubled from one year to the next. In order to cope with this enormous increase, the company responded by opening branches, first in Domsühl (1992, MVP) and shortly afterwards in Spreenhagen (1994, near Berlin).”

At the beginning of the 1980s, larger machines were used in Germany for laying cables, for example, or a shovel was used for smaller jobs. By chance, the then still small Tramann+Sohn team discovered models from Kubota’s KH series at a trade fair in the Netherlands and recognised the advantages of mini excavators. Tramann+Sohn saw this expansion of the product range as an opportunity to strengthen its own market position and give customers access to advanced technology. At that time, it was not yet foreseeable that Tramann+Sohn had chosen Kubota as a partner that would prove to be a supplier of high-quality and extremely reliable construction machinery.”

The collaboration with Kubota has proved to be extremely positive for Tramann+Sohn. The partnership has enriched the company’s product offering and strengthened its market presence. Through our close co-operation, Tramann+Sohn has benefited from training, marketing support and technical advice, which has had a positive impact on the efficiency and know-how of its employees. In addition, Kubota’s brand awareness has helped to win new customers and strengthen existing customer relationships. Overall, the collaboration has helped Tramann+Sohn to be recognised as a reliable partner in the industry and to continuously develop further.

In over 40 years of working together as partners, Kubota and Tramann+Sohn have overcome numerous challenges that have strengthened their collaboration. The companies have supported each other in difficult times and celebrated joint successes. After 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of honours for partnership cooperation, we are delighted to have also celebrated 50 years of Kubota in Europe in 2023 and congratulate them on this special anniversary. We are delighted for and with Kubota that the 1,000,000th compact excavator has been produced.

The quality and reliability of Kubota machines are key factors in Tramann+Sohn’s sales strategy. These aspects are crucial for building long-term business relationships and gaining customer confidence. The high quality of the machines leads to lower operating costs for customers and thus contributes to their satisfaction, as they can rely on the machines. In addition, Kubota’s reliability means that Tramann+Sohn can also offer targeted long-term service and maintenance.

The collaboration with Kubota opens up promising prospects for Tramann+Sohn in the future. In view of the increasing demand for modern and more efficient machines, Kubota’s innovative strength will play a decisive role. Tramann+Sohn plans to further expand its range of contemporary, sustainable machines and to focus increasingly on digitalisation and smart technologies. The close partnership with Kubota will hopefully help to celebrate the 2,000,000th compact excavator at some point and continue to operate successfully in the market.

We at Kubota are proud of our long-standing partnership with Tramann+Sohn, which is based not only on trust and quality, but also on shared successes and challenges. The remarkable development of Tramann+Sohn shows how important it is to adapt to changes in the market and at the same time put the needs of the customer at the centre. We look forward to the coming years of co-operation, in which we will jointly develop innovative solutions and continue to advance the construction machinery industry. Thank you very much for the interview Helge Tramann!