AGCO to Increase Procurement in Taiwan by 53% in 2006

Taipei, July 4, 2006 (CENS)--AGCO Corporation, the world's third-largest producer of agricultural equipment, is holding a procurement presentation accompanied by trade talks with domestic suppliers at one o'clock in the afternoon today at the Taipei World Trade Center. The company is also the world's largest manufacturer of tractors.

AGCO estimated it would procure more than US$2.6 million worth of Taiwan-made products this year, representing an increase of 53% from 2005.

At the invitation of the semi-official Taiwan External Trade and Development Council (TAITRA), AGCO came to Taiwan to source such products such as automobile electronics, tires, and steering wheels. Once domestic firms are singled out by AGCO as suppliers, they will be able to expand overseas markets through AGCO's 3,600 well-established sales points in 140 nations worldwide.

Founded in 1990, AGCO is a listed company headquartered in the state of Georgia in the U.S., with annual sales reaching US$5.4 billion last year. To date, the company already counts four Taiwanese firms among its global suppliers, with procurement from the island amounting to US$1.7 million last year. This year, the company has plans to add more than five more domestic firms to its supplier list.

M.S. Yeh, vice president of TAITRA, said he visited AGCO's global procurement headquarters in the U.K. in April 2004 to persuade the company to source Taiwan-made products. In November that year, AGCO dispatched personnel to make a fact-finding tour to Taiwan. After making its evaluations, the company set up a procurement office in Taiwan at the end of last year.

TAITRA said AGCO has given high praise to the products made in Taiwan and has already elevated Taiwan's position in its global supply chain scale. For instance, AGCO has dispatched the heads of technical and procurement units stationed in France, Germany, and Finland to take part in the procurement presentation in Taiwan this year.

To promote the sales of domestically made products, over the past several years TAITRA has cooperated with the overseas representative offices under the auspices of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Economics to invite international-class importers and distributors of automobile parts to come to Taiwan. Over the past one year, the TAITRA has held approximately 300 trade talk sessions to help domestic manufacturers open the door to the international marketplace.