175th birthday self propelled harvester

• Throughout 2024, AVR, manufacturer of a full range of potato harvesting machines and a world player in that market segment, will celebrate the company’s 175th anniversary
• This anniversary year AVR will be presenting its first miniature Puma 4.0 and every customer who buys a Puma 4.0 this year will also receive a miniature version.

The story of AVR started in 1849 when Pieter Vansteenkiste founded a forge in Roeselare where he manufactured agriculture and horticulture tools. Later the business was named after his son Alfons Vansteenkiste Roeselare and AVR was born.

The company grew in step with the breakneck-paced technological advances of the 20th century and by the time engineer Norbert Nollet took over the company in the 1970s, it was an established manufacturer of mechanical potato harvesting machines.

After several attempts in the early seventies, the first 4-row self-propelled potato harvesters on a Moreau frame leave the workshop in 1975.  In 1986 the first 2-row self-propelled bunker harvester was built and in 2006 AVR launched its first Puma – the 4-row self-propelled harvester, currently in its fourth generation and it remains the showpiece of the product range thanks to an exceptional basic concept and countless evolutions.

But our mission remains unchanged,” says AVR’s managing director Stefan Top. “We manufacture, sell and service machines for potato growers who wish to work more efficiently and more sustainably. We market innovative technologies and products that make it possible to store more saleable potatoes with less effort in less time, using less fuel and with less soil compaction.  We aim to be the partner par excellence for those farmers who are taking up the challenges of tomorrow,” Top concludes.

The self-propelled Puma, has shifted more than 550 units, from its home market in Western Europe to Canada and Australia.

This anniversary year is the perfect occasion to satisfy the long-standing demand from the market for the Puma 4.0. Every customer who buys a Puma 4.0 this year will also receive a miniature version. This also goes for the limited edition Puma 4.0, which comes with a miniature limited edition.

Delivery of the miniature versions is expected in early November, just in time for Interpom and other festivities taking place around that period that are centred around AVR’s 175th anniversary. Preordering will be possible this spring.

Throughout the year, AVR is planning a variety of commercial actions, exceptional merchandising and anniversary events, on the one hand to thank its loyal and familiar AVR network of employees, customers and dealers while on the other hand prefacing a bright and innovative future.

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