TECHAGRO, SILVA REGINA and BIOMASA 2024: A successful comeback six years on

While the SILVA REGINA and BIOMASA trade fairs were held in Brno in 2022, the TECHAGRO International Fair of Agricultural Machinery was last held before the covid pandemic in 2018. This year, the revived trio occupied four halls of the Brno Exhibition Centre and all the adjacent open areas. A total of 430 exhibitors presented themselves, of which one quarter came from abroad. The international dimension was reaffirmed by the official participations of Hungary, Austria and Ukraine. Nearly 65 thousand visitors visited the expo over the five days of holding; while Sunday was attended mainly by the general public, on weekdays the majority were professionals from the agricultural and forestry sector.

"Fortunately, the six-year intermission did not mean the end of TECHAGRO, and I am very grateful to all the exhibitors who believe in it together with us. BVV Trade Fairs Brno together with its partners will do everything possible to ensure that this trio of agricultural and forestry fairs will return to the level of the 2018 edition, and TECHAGRO will once again be the most important agricultural fair in Central Europe," promised Jan Kubata, CEO of BVV Trade Fairs Brno, at the opening of this year's expo.

TECHAGRO showed the future of agriculture

Not only agricultural equipment in its entirety was represented at the fair, but also municipal equipment, mostly in cutting-edge design and with advanced technologies. Displays were set up in halls P, F and G1 as well as in large open areas. The Smart Farm project had its highly successful debut, which raised visibility of exhibits and solutions for precision agriculture. Its centrepiece was the Smart Stage with a supporting programme sponsored by agricultural universities and the Society for Innovative and Sustainable Agriculture. Active farmers were also actively involved, and presentations of case studies, new solutions and interesting findings were featured throughout the fair.

The TECHAGRO fair also included a beekeeping exhibition and a sales show of regional foods, as well as livestock breeding demonstrations. The highlight of the specialised supporting programme was the 33rd Congress of the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic, which assessed the demanding situation in the agricultural sector and addressed urgent demands to the Czech government for its solution. The Climate Change and Agriculture conference, organised by the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic at the exhibition centre, also addressed current issues.

Twelve GRAND PRIX awards for innovative technologies

The traditional GRAND PRIX competition for the best exhibits was dominated by products with a high proportion of automation, robotics and other advanced technologies. Within the TECHAGRO fair, the exhibitors P & L, spol. s  r.  o. (Terrier applicator for field-mouse elimination), AGRIO MZS s. r. o. (Dino III self-propelled sprayer), VNT electronics s. r. o. (fencee energy DUO Cellular EDC150 – a smart LTE power supply for electric fences), SYNPRO, s. r. o. (Slopehelper – an autonomous robot with electric drive for vineyards and orchards), DVOŘÁK - svahové sekačky s. r. o. (Spider Autonomous 2.0 – a professional autonomous mower), Hungarian company Proofminder Services Kft. (Proofminder SW solution for detection down to the level of individual plants), Austrian company Austro Diesel GmbH (Massey Ferguson MF 9S.425 tractor) and ULLMANNA s.r.o. (Newman robotic hoeing device).

Within the GRAND PRIX TECHAGRO competition, two special categories were announced, focusing on the most topical issues in contemporary agriculture. In the Smart Farming category, the committee awarded the exhibitor Leading Farmers CZ, a. s. (autonomous field robot with crawler chassis AgXeed AgBot 5.115T2). In the Soil Water Retention Friendly category, dedicated to exhibits that positively affect soil properties leading to improved soil retention function, the award went to ESCUBE s. r. o. (ESCUBE natural plant nutrition containing a unique hydroabsorption microgel). 

The GRAND PRIX SILVA REGINA 2024 was handed to STROJÍRNA NOVOTNÝ spol. s r. o. (eight-wheel thinning harvester for coniferous and mixed stands HARVESTOR NOVOTNÝ H512). The GRAND PRIX BIOMASA 2024 prize was awarded to LASKI, s.r.o. (LS 160 A – the first all-electric chipper with intelligent control of all components).

The biggest SILVA REGINA of all times

The SILVA REGINA International Forestry and Hunting Fair occupied the largest area in its entire history, and was attended by all major stakeholders in the field. Everything related to hunting, including weapons, was concentrated in Hall Z. Visitors could find forestry equipment in Hall F and in the open areas around Halls Z, P and F. In the field of forestry equipment, most of the brands operating on the Czech market were present and visitors could see machines for harvesting and primary processing of timber, machines for handling, approaching harvested timber and its transportation. A significant proportion of visitors were forestry professionals and students from vocational schools. The expertise of the fair was also underlined by the participation of institutions and universities, such as the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology of Mendel University in Brno, the Czech Forestry Society or the Association of Owners of Municipal, Private and Church Forests in the Czech Republic.

The extra programme addressed forestry professionals, hunters and the general public. The forestry part of the stage programme featured expert lectures on current legislation related to forest management, adaptation of forests to climate change or promotion of forest diversity. Interesting guests came in, such as science populariser Václav Cílek, deer expert Pavel Scherer, musician Jožka Šmukař or singer Marián Vojtko. The trophy exhibitions were also a great attraction - the breeders‘ shows of district hunting associations‘ trophies from Brno and its surroundings, from the Obelisk game reserve and a unique trophy of Franz Vogt. On Sunday and Monday, visitors could watch the STIHL TIMBERSPORT lumberjack competition, in which women also competed for the first time at the Brno Exhibition Centre.

BIOMASA fair presenting highly sought-after ecological boilers

The BIOMASA Fair of Renewable Energy Sources in Agriculture and Forestry rounded off the offer, attracting to a really burning topic. As from 1 September 2024 only boilers of emission class 3 and above will be permitted, visitors were extremely interested in the stands of manufacturers and distributors of wood processing equipment and biomass boilers. All information on boiler replacements and obtaining a boiler subsidy was also available. There were also displays of biogas plant equipment and a two-day programme of expert lectures.

What people said about the expo

Marek Výborný, Minister of Agriculture 
I am delighted with the interest of the public and I am very happy that six years on, we have managed to resurrect TECHAGRO and in synergy with the SILVA REGINA and BIOMASA trade fairs show the complexity of the whole set of issues, which intertwine and influence each other. There are really modern machines and technologies here, and as a huge bonus I see the Smart Farm project, which is the future of Czech agriculture. 

Jan Grolich, Governor of the South Moravian Region
Today's agriculture is not in an easy situation at all, not only climate change is placing huge demands on it. That is why I am pleased that technologies are being developed so quickly to help on this, and that there are trade fairs that connect all these challenges and their solutions. 

Markéta Vaňková, Mayor of Brno
After a six-year break caused by the coronavirus, it turns out that these trade fairs do have a future and that they belong here in Brno. Out of several hundred exhibitors, about a quarter are from abroad, about one half of the exhibition centre is filled and I firmly believe that after the end we will be able to say that there was a very high visitor turnout. 

Filip Chvátal, Deputy Mayor of Brno
On behalf of the Statutory City of Brno, I am thankful for the honour of hosting SILVA REGINA. Forests are something that we cannot even appreciate ourselves. We see climate change and I am very happy that we are addressing this topic so that we can try to overcome all this through innovation and so that forests will continue to be there for us as well as for future generations.

Jan Doležal, President of the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic
I am glad that the general public is coming here, as agriculture needs to be presented to these people and its positive side must be shown, but it would certainly be good if farmers were also here. I will be very happy if the difficult situation we are experiencing now improves. And it will also be good for the exhibitors and farmers as their customers.

Martin Pýcha, President of the Agricultural Union of the Czech Republic
Czech agriculture is going through an exceedingly difficult and complicated period, but I have to thank the exhibition centre for holding TECHAGRO, because it is very important. And thank you for adding Smart Farming to the expo, because it is important for the public to realise what a  modern sector Czech agriculture is. 

Daniel Falta, Mendel University in Brno
I think the expo was a great success after the six-year break, maybe on a slightly smaller scale. Especially the new Smart Farm project. The response to it is great, people are interested in the lectures, our stand is a contact point for further cooperation. As far as we are concerned, it is a big satisfaction.

Jiří Mašek, Technical Faculty of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague
After six years, the Techagro fair took place again, which we all anticipated with considerable expectations. I can say that it was a success, as testified by the great interest of visitors and full-up exhibition spaces. Traditionally, selected exhibits were awarded in the Grand Prix competition, and it is gratifying that many of the winning exhibits are manufactured in the Czech Republic. What pleased me most was the Smart Farm project, which aimed to show visitors the way not only to more efficient farming, but also to a more competitive and sustainable agricultural sector. By presenting innovative solutions and findings, even non-trade visitors could easily understand how modern the agricultural sector in fact is.

Dalibor Šafařík, CEO at Lesy ČR, s.p.
The high visitor turnout at SILVA REGINA proves that people are interested in what is happening in forestry and forest management, and that forestry and forest management are not indifferent topics to them. I think this is the most important signal for us foresters, obliging us to do our work well and to develop it further. 

Radim Vlčko, Austro Diesel
On behalf of myself and our company, I have to say that I am very positively surprised.  The atmosphere of the expo was amazing, and a lot of people arrived, and for us it is important that a lot of customers came as well. On the last day I dare say it was also a contracting exhibition where we did a lot of business. The image boost is priceless.  The awards we received resonate around the world with Massey Ferguson – with the manufacturer, and with our owners. So, for me, a big 'A' to everyone and thanks to the customers and dealers who attended; we can look forward to the next show in two years' time.

Petr Jedlička, Opall-Agri
I rate the visitors' interest very positively. People were heading to the stands where the equipment was displayed. We gained a lot of new contacts and met up with existing customers. After the first day, we had already assessed that it was not a mistake to attend the expo and over the previous four days we had been able to visit the booths. Students are also important to us. We evaluate our participation very positively. Of course, we will see what the mood in agriculture will be and what subsidy titles will be announced.

Jan Kozman, area manager, Lemken
Personally, I am very happy that we have taken the expo business route, even though some companies have abandoned this. There is a big turnout, people are interested in technology, and you can see a bit of a hunger for exhibitions. We're here in full force because it's important for us to meet people.

Kornélia Vaněk, Marketing Product Manager, ZETOR TRACTORS a. s.
We are glad that TECHAGRO finally managed to be held, and that we could be here. You can see that the scope is a bit reduced compared to the previous editions, but it is good for a "kick-off" after all the years we missed. We had a lot of people turn up at our stand, so in that respect it certainly served its purpose for us. In the future, we hope the expo will get even better momentum to attract more people again.

Milan Sedláček, co-owner, AGROSERVIS Sedláček s. r. o.
Thank you very much for the exhibition. We were considering whether to go or not, in the end we decided to go and we did very well. A lot of our customers were here, potential new customers came as well. I rate our attendance very positively, and we will be back again in two years‘ time.

Josef Diviš, CEO, P & L, spol. s r. o.
We knew that the visitor turnout would not be huge, but in the end, there were relatively enough people. We targeted the small farmers who came, and our forestry division met with those they needed to meet. Preliminarily, the expo met our expectations, but we won't know the business results until after we have done the evaluation.

Agrotechnika Vaněk, Michaela Šafářová
We have been coming to Techagro and Silva Regina regularly for many years and we didn't even think about not going, we just surprised ourselves with the area we occupied, but still we couldn't fit everything in. Meeting in person on a trade show platform is particularly important to us.

Bohdana Křepelková, Key Account Manager, ESCUBE, s. r. o.
TECHAGRO is a springboard to the domestic market for us. We reach out to practically all visitors here and we are pleasantly surprised that even though we offer more expensive items, for example, for organic farming, non-trade visitors buy them here as well. This motivates us for the future.

Pavel Halama, Head of Sales Czech Republic, DVOŘÁK – svahové sekačky s. r. o.
Our business at TECHAGRO is always above standard and our customers came this year as well. Many of them are new, but many of our satisfied customers also keep coming. References are vital for us, and about 70 percent of passers-by already know what we offer, which is a tremendous success.

Pavel Tesař, Sales Representative, SYNPRO, s. r. o.
On Sunday, a vast number of people arrived, it was a lot about families, the other days it was more our customers and the professional public. Overall, we are really satisfied at this year's TECHAGRO.

Jiří Stolín, Product Manager, VNT Electronics s. r. o.
We were very surprised by the interest of visitors. Except for Sunday, which was a massacre, we were constantly checking in customers all the other days, and we hardly stopped in three people. Some even told us that they came here just for us.

Petr Kössler, Authorised Officer, WTC
We never missed Techagro in the past, and I'm proud of that. Personal meetings with customers and partners are very important to us, although we do not underestimate other forms of presentation either. Being present at Techagro is still very meaningful for us.

Zemědělská a dopravní technika, spol. s r.o., Miroslav Hladký
I like Techagro mainly because we as manufacturers do not supply our machines to end customers, but through trade organisations. It is one of the few opportunities to meet the end customer or directly with the operator and find out their insights. This is especially important to us. 

Vlastimil Zeman sr, Merimex
I was pleasantly surprised this year, I don't know exactly what number of visitors attended today, but our stand was visited by, dare I say it, a couple of thousand people. I am very satisfied with the visitor turnout.

Miroslav Klásek, Reparoservis
I think that this year, after a long time, there was a record-breaking turnout. All our customers that we invited came to visit us and we are absolutely satisfied with the numbers of visitors.

Jakub Hacura, Ponsse
Overall, we can evaluate the expo positively. We presented our harvesters, and there was a lot of interest in them because they have optimum width and new features that will help to make harvesting more efficient. There was interest in the simulator from students and pupils. By presenting to them we are building the Ponsse brand in the Czech Republic, so we are happy for their participation as well.

Filip Kandus, electrical circuit designer, LASKI, s. r. o.
We were very pleasantly surprised by the participation of the exhibitors, so the director promptly decided to send a bus of our employees. There are so many companies and things here that are interesting and that they should see. We are also satisfied with the turnout. Even on Sunday, when mainly families come, we had a lot of customers who already knew what they wanted.

Hořické strojírny, Monika Štěrbová
We are satisfied to the maximum. The feedback on our stand and our products in general is to our maximum satisfaction, and the overall environment of the Brno Exhibition Centre is completely suitable for us. So, a big plus for us.

Dřevoprodukt, Oldřich Václavek 
The atmosphere of Silva Regina is amazing. Already two years ago, foresters showed that they are interested not only in meeting up, but to see the products they need for their operation. Combined with agricultural machinery, which is also usable in forestry, and biomass, it is a synergy effect of three interconnected fields that could result in better economy for all.  

René Andreš, Arcon Machinery
The visitor turnout at this year's expo is quite good, we had harvesters here, there was interest in them and overall, I rate the participation positively.

Eduard Sýkora, Esako
We are satisfied. I compare it with last year when there was a sales exhibition. This year we have reduced the size of the stand, and we are here to present our company and we have had quite a big feedback, which will help us establish cooperation with visitors to our stand.

Petr Macháč, GreenMech  
This expo has reopened after several years and there are plenty of customers and visitors. After evaluating all the contacts, we will see if it will be beneficial for us. However, I assume that it will be. I am satisfied with the services provided. 

Ludovít Kameník, LKT
The atmosphere was good and there was certainly interest in our products. I believe that visitors will come back to us as customers and place an order.

Josef Ševčík, Pilana
The atmosphere was pleasant. We presented our company here, we are celebrating our 90th anniversary, we had a lot of customers and interested people visiting us. The attendance was fine, and I see the whole expo as a success.

Petr Sládek, forestry equipment dealer, Strojírna Novotný
We participate in every edition of the fair. We are satisfied with the attendance, there are a lot of forestry professionals here. The Silva Regina fair is very important for us. We are a Czech company; we have been on the forestry equipment market for more than 20 years and we place most of our products on the Czech market. SILVA REGINA is an absolutely crucial fair for us.

SITTRANS s.r.o., EQUUS 
Ing. Ondrej Šumichrast, sales representative of the company
We are very satisfied, we had many interested people coming in, existing customers as well as new ones. We knew what we were getting into, we have been here several times. For us, everything was absolutely fine. We also had a genuinely nice location.

David Mátl, Product Manager, Malcom CZ
We evaluate the expo positively; I think there were quite a lot of visitors and customers despite the bad weather on Wednesday. We were visited by clients who have machines from us, but also many new ones who were interested in us. We got new requests, and we are happy about that.  We didn't experience any major setbacks, so we rate the expo positively for us. 

Puškařství Haluza, Milan Čelovský
We have absolutely no objections, the number of visitors was good, and the approach of the exhibition centre was good as well.

David Egner, STV Arms
The exhibition was quite good, there could always be more visitors. Some people even purchased things, so everything worked, and we are happy with the expo.

Zdeněk Hlavačka, Swarovski Optik Vertriebs GmbH
The expo lived up to expectations, both with the large turnout on Sunday, and trade visitors, especially on weekdays. Trade visitors are particularly important to us. In our opinion, the optimum opening hours would be until 5 pm. Overall, everything was fine.

Zdeněk Hendrich, company technician, ATMOS Jaroslav Cankař and son
On behalf of ATMOS, we are satisfied with the participation at this year's fair and hope that there will be as many visitors as possible next year. There were quite a lot of end customers here, as the first of September is approaching, and many have to decide on a new boiler.

Jiří Koukol, Biomac
We attend this expo regularly; I feel this year's atmosphere is excellent and the interest in our products is huge as always.