1910 Giovanni Carraro: the Pioneer

Obstinate in character, gifted with a brilliant intuition and organizational capabilities. In 1910, at the young age of 20, the black smith Giovanni Carraro participated at the first industrial exhibition in Padua. He brought with him a machine that could simultaneously plough, sow, harrow and roll. This first, or one of the first multipurpose machines ever built earned him special recognition. Since then, the strategy that has guided the entrepreneurial and technological decisions of the Carraro family is embodied in the concept of the multifunctional tractor.

The six children that Giovanni and his wife Leonilde had grew up with this atmosphere of intuition and creative ability and their childhood was marked by the beating of the hammer in the season less heat of the smithy. Soon the sons began to assist their father in his work and shared his success. Antonio was one of them, and he was destined to continue and rejuvenate the family's entrepreneurial tradition.

1950’s onwards the birth of Antonio Carraro

The path was now well established. Following the boom of the sowing machines, the family's enterprise experiences an extraordinary success. During the 50's, on the strength of the experience accumulated, the first Giovanni Carraro tractors are developed. 1960 Antonio Carraro separates from his brothers and founds the company "Antonio Carraro di Giovanni", no longer building tractors and sowing machines, but single-axle tractors.  At this time a small evolution takes place, with the application of rear or front carriages that allows the work to be carried out from a sitting position without treading on the cultivated ground, and eventually a rear carriage tractor is developed, and the vehicle gets the configuration of a small tractor with 4 equal driving wheels. 1961 is the year when the SCARABEO wass developed. Its name is a symbol of rebirth and power. In this decade the company experiences a strong boost. The distribution all over Europe continues to expand. Many of the current Antonio Carraro dealers start to take root in this period. In 1964 the project for a small tractor with original characteristics takes shape: articulated and with up to 20 HP. This is the famous Tigre, originator of a glorious lineage with new models being added during the glorious 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

The expansion & modernization of Antonio Carraro continues thorugh the 70’s, 80’s 90’s and into the new century.

Continually developing and growing Antonio Carraro expanded the production lines and then established the Study and Research Center (CSR) in the 70’s. A new method of designing is thus introduced. After decades of evolution and investment, the new production methods achieves the highest standards in quality, power, style and character. The body and comfort that represent the highest level in the research is of a typical Italian design, universally appreciated worldwide.

A distinctive style , a determined strategy, constant expansion.

History, Style and strategy: Antonio Carraro’s added value can be summed up in these three words.  Its history, style and strategy are tangible elements that make it unique and renowned amongst present day tractor producers. Antonio Carraro’s long history bears witness to its continuity, reliability and independence. The company continues to thrive and grow by embracing the ability to listen and understand, offer constant assistance, training, competency.  Style also means ideas, design and applied technology Antonio Carraro designs its products with the idea of improving the quality of the end-user’s working environment.  Antonio Carraro dedicates all of its energy into improving itself, following original designs, favoring performance, ergonomics, comfort and design quality even at the expense of price, without making compromises in order to cut costs and without being a slave to fashion.

The beginning of the new millennium marks an important moment in the history of Antonio CARRARO S.p.A. After a phase of internal restructuring, the company is ready to take on new and fresh challenges. The results of heavy investment carried out just prior to joining the Euro zone (more than 20 billion lire) manifests itself in the launch and consolidation of the ERGIT Series, the new 14,000 m2 production unit, the employment of 100 new staff and the strengthening of the CSR, Antonio CARRARO's Centre for R & D.  

An investment plan has also been set up to rationalize the commercial and production areas with the help of Porsche from Stuttgart: The Japanese system "Kaizen" (which literally means "change for the better") which has long been adapted by Toyota has brought to the company new ideas regarding transparency, unification and speed to the assembly lines; the result being an immediate cut in costs and improvement of the product's final quality along with offering the operators new skills and responsibility and consequently an increase in production.
  
Although Antonio Carraro tractors have been available in the UK for many years they have never benefited from a dedicated tractor specialist. January 2005 marked the beginning of just such a relationship. Riko UK Ltd established Carraro UK, a division of the company dedicated to developing the UK market.

‘It makes me very proud to be working with Antonio Carraro, and when people ask me why I tell them that the answer is simple; ‘Antonio Carraro continues to invest heavily in meeting the needs of a changing market place and ensuring the product range has the potential to fulfill all sectors of the market. AC is the most professional when it comes to marketing and brand image. Together it is why AC is the number one worldwide producer of this type of tractor’.