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Zetor
Type Public
Founded 1946
Headquarters Brno, Czech Republic
Industry Heavy equipment
Products Agriculture, Consumer & Commercial Equipment, Engines
Revenue (turnover) 4.9 billion Czech koruna(CZK) (2006)
Employees 1,700
Website www.zetor.com

Zetor is a Czech tractor manufacturer in Brno-Líšeň, the Czech Republic, now owned by Slovak [[Company HTC HOLDING Slovensko. Originally, the Zbrojovka Brno company, an auto manufacturer, Zetor first completed building 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).

History[]

Zetor logo

Earlier Logo

Zetor logo

Later 'Modern' Logo

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 an efficient four stroke Diesel engines with mechanical fuel injection. They were considered very advanced, and have 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]


Especially innovative is the Zetor hydraulics system, "Zetormatic", which uses a hydraulic cylinder to transfer most of the weight of towed implements, such as ploughs, to the rear axle of the tractor at the hitch. This gives greater control over plough 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]


Zetor 8641

Zetor 8641 a modern 4-wd tractor

One feature of the late 1970s tractors was the spacious cab, which was a safety cab complete with a second seat for the wife or the Dog. They were also fitted with a compressor and air brake line for trailers on some models. They manufactured their own engines, and they had individual cylinder heads on some models.

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; HMT in India and Iskendiriya in Iran.


In 2009, with the then current economic crisis, HTC HOLDING Slovensko announced it was looking for a buyer for Zetor. However, with the crisis ending only a little while later, they decided to withdraw their offer. Zetor later enjoyed huge successes with the lunch of a bunch of new series, such as the modern Crystal.

Model Range[]

Early Models[]

Zetor 2511 of 1968 at Peterborough 08 - IMG 3160

A original Zetor 2511 of 1968, still on original tyres ! shown at the Peterborough National Tractor show in 2008

Zetor 3045 at Lincoln - P8170569

A 4-wd Zetor 3045 tractor at Lincoln Steam Rally 2008

  • Zetor 15 of 1947-48 was a 15 hp model single cylinder engine. (only 1800 believed built).[5]
  • Zetor T25 of 1946 was a 25 hp model with a 2 cylinder engine. (over 100,000 built)
  • Zetor 50 Super
Unified 1 series
Unified range 1 series
Unified 2 series
Unified range 11 series

The Modern Range (1990s > to date)[]

Zetor 6441 proxima - IMG 4563

A new Zetor 6441 Proxima 4-wd tractor

Zetor 9541 Proxima plus - IMG 4565

Zetor 9541 Proxima plus

Zetor 10541 Proxima plus - IMG 4566

Zetor 10541 Proxima plus

Unified range 111 series
  • Zetor 3320
  • Zetor 3340
  • Zetor 6421
  • Zetor 7540
  • Zetor 8540
  • Zetor 9520
  • Zetor 9540
  • Zetor 9640
  • Zetor 10540
  • Zetor Maxterra range
Zetor 18441 Maxterra

Zetor 18441 Maxterra

    • Zetor 135 Maxterra
    • Zetor 145 Maxterra
    • Zetor 165 Maxterra
    • Zetor 175 Maxterra
    • Zetor 12541 Maxterra
    • Zetor 18441 Maxterra
  • Proxima Power range
    • Zetor 85 Proxima Power
    • Zetor 95 Proxima Power
    • Zetor 100 Proxima Power
    • Zetor 105 Proxima Power
    • Zetor 115 Proxima Power

Models built for Zetor[]

Zetor Crystal/Crystal Zetor Models[]

Zetor Crystal/Crystal Zetor Tractor Models
Model Year(s) of Production Horsepower Engine Type Photo Misc Notes
Zetor Crystal 8011 80 hp Zetor Crystal 8011-1979
Zetor Crystal 8011 S 80 hp
Zetor Crystal 8045 Zetor Crystal 8045 MFWD ad-1984
Zetor Crystal 8111
Zetor Crystal 8145
Zetor Crystal 10011 110 hp Zetor Crystal 10011
Zetor Crystal 10045 (Master) 110 hp Zetor Crystal 10045 MFWD ad-1984
Zetor Crystal 10111 (Master) 100 hp
Zetor Crystal 10145 100 hp
Zetor Crystal 10645
Zetor Crystal 12011 115 hp Zetor Crystal 12011-1978
Zetor Crystal 12045 115 hp Zetor Crystal 12045 MFWD-1997
Zetor Crystal 12145 105 hp
Crystal Zetor 12245 115 hp Crystal Zetor 12245 MFWD-1990
Zetor Crystal 16045 Zetor Crystal 16045 MFWD ad-1984

Models built for other Companies[]

Tractor models built by Zetor for other Companies
Model Year(s) Produced Horsepower Engine Type Misc Notes Photo
Agri-Power 5000 46 hp (34 kW) sold in USA Agri-Power 5000 - 1984 2
Agtor 3511 35 hp (26 kW) Agtor 3511
Agtor 5911 58 hp (43 kW)
Agtor 7340 81 hp (60 kW) Agtor 7340 MFWD
Agtor 8245 82 hp (61 kW)
Agtor 9211
Agtor 9245
Agtor 10540 103 hp (77 kW) Agtor 10540 MFWD
Agtor 11245 105 hp (78 kW) Agtor 11245 MFWD - 1996
Agtor 12145 121 hp (90 kW)
Agtor 12245 115 hp (86 kW) Agtor 12245 MFWD
Agtor 16245 162 hp (121 kW) Agtor 16245 MFWD 2
John Deere 2000 @1995-1996 45 hp (34 kW) same as Zetor 3320/3340
John Deere 2100 @1995-1996 57 hp (43 kW) same as Zetor 4320/4340 JD 2100
John Deere 2200 @1995-1996 63 hp (47 kW) same as Zetor 5320/5340
John Deere 2300 @1995-1996 69 hp (51 kW) same as Zetor 6320/6340 JD 2300 MFWD (Zetor)1996
John Deere 2400 @1995-1996 78 hp (58 kW) same as Zetor 7320/7340 JD 2400 MFWD (Zetor)-1996
John Deere 2700 @1995-1996 82 hp (61 kW) same as Zetor 8520/8540 JD 2700 (Zetor)-1996
John Deere 2800 @1995-1996 92 hp (69 kW) same as Zetor 9520/9540 JD 2800 MFWD (Zetor)
John Deere 2900 @1995-1996 103 hp (77 kW) same as Zetor 10520/10540
DSCN0744

UK Preserved Tractors[]

Zetor 2023 vineyard crawler at Malvern 09 - IMG 5588

A Imaculate restored Zetor Crawler tractor at Tractor World Show - Malvern 2009, owned by Barlows the UK importers

Zetor 3013 vineyard (unrestored) at Malvern 09 - IMG 5585

An unrestored Zetor 3013 vineyard model at the Tractor World Show - Malvern in 2009

The older (early) models turns up on the show circuit, but they are not that common. There are quite a few still at work as they are well built and the early compact 4-WD models were popular with some hill farms.

PML Zetor tractors

See also[]

References / sources[]

Wikipedia for base article

  • The World Encyclopedia of Tractors by John Carroll
  1. http://www.zetor.cz/default.asp?nDepartmentID=231&nLanguageID=2 Zetor Company Activities page retrieved June 1, 2005
  2. http://www.zetor.cz/default.asp?nLanguageID=2 Zetor English language website retrieved June 1, 2005
  3. http://www.tractordata.com/td/zetor.html TractorData.com Zetor page retrieved June 1, 2005
  4. http://www.zetorworld.com/ Zetorworld.com various pages (direct linking not permitted) retrieved June 1, 2005
  5. Tractor & Machinery Magazine Vol13-3

External links[]

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