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By Niels Damsgaard Hansen, text and photos
Reprinted with permission from NALEDRYS, Summer 2012
Thirteen years ago the Jutek high clearance light tractors did not exist but today these tractors have a significant market share not only in Denmark but also south of the Danish border - and in the US there seems to be a new market building up for the handmade Danish tractors and their implements
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Finding the answer is easiest achieved by taking your vehicle and driving to Skovsgaarde, just West of Soendersoe on the island of Funen, Denmark. This is the place where Joergen Kaehlershoej has settled with his family and started his company Jutek. It is in the countryside and through the windows in the office you will see a little lake and a small field of Christmas trees.
The barns, once used for husbandry, are now turned into small plant buildings.
“I have approximately 20 employees in the company and the sales of our products are going very well,” he explains.
The impression is also that the word “slowly” is very seldom spoken here - and the naked facts also speak a language of their own about the speed of evolution of Jutek.
Back in the late nineties there was no company named Jutek and therefore no high clearance light tractors bearing this name.
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Joergen Kaehlershoej was in the United States in 2010 and here he gained a broad knowledge on the domestic production of Christmas trees that he could use for his future in the business there.
“This led to our plan to participate in the Michigan Christmas Tree Association’s summer meeting where we will show one of our many models of high clearance light tractors plus implements for them,” he says.
In the US it is a fact that a lot of Christmas trees are made of plastic and can be folded after Christmas and be ready for next year. However there is still an annual harvest of 25 - 30 million real Christmas trees grown in the US. They are all shaped by trimming and are much more compact than the Danish trees. The Christmas tree decorations are hung on the surface of these trees and not between the branches as in Europe.
“The trees are also larger than the Danish trees. They are planted on more spaced rows and in bigger fields than what we are used to,” he explains.
“Furthermore most of the work done in the fields has a lower labor cost because the farmers have access to a cheaper labor force,” he states.
Even though this is a fact right now he will take his chance and try to sell his machines in the four States where the bulk of the Christmas trees are grown: Oregon, Michigan, North Carolina and Washington.
At the National Christmas Tree Association’s homepage www.christmastree.org/facts.cfm readers can find more facts on the production of Christmas trees in the US. A few facts are that there are approximately 15,000 producers growing 550,000 hectares and employing more than 100,000 workers on a full or part time basis.
With a now annual production of approximately 50 tractors - or one per week - Jutek is at the moment busier at other markets than the US market. Over there it is still the sound of the future that is played.
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Managing and running a company like Jutek demands employees that are capable of being able to draw and then construct the prototypes of the machines for testing before they go into production. They have to start the invention of them from rock bottom in this process.
“We listen to the producers and learn from them to fit our products exactly to their individual needs”, says Joergen Kaehlershoej.
The biggest challenge in this process is when input and ideas have to be turned into functional and useable reality.
“We do have a few employees who can use CAD CAM programs to make the drawings from which we build the machines here in Skovsgaarde,” he continues.
Not all components are made in house. But in any case they are purchased or ordered to fit to the exact machines where they will be used.
“When it comes to laser cutting, punching of steel, turned components and others we develop the specifications for our suppliers to deliver.
“They then produce the parts in the quality we need,” he points out.
The diesel engines are made by Kubota, the components for the hydraulics and electric systems are bought from a number of producers.
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A good share of the Danish producers of Christmas trees drive the Jutek high clearance light tractors and use the fitting implements.
“We are pleased about our Danish market share, but Germany is our primary market,” tells Joergen Kaehlershoej.
France and UK are also important markets.
“When one wants to progress in certain countries you need to have knowledge of their native language,” he stresses.
French though is not his strongest language as he is only able to explain when his French speaking bookkeeper will return to office. But once she is in, business can be done also in French.
Leaflets, handouts and other printed materials have to be in the different languages to reach these different markets.
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In Denmark and elsewhere legislation and regulations have a strong influence on Jutek.
One example is that a still higher percentage of the trees have to be used for the intended purpose: a Christmas tree standing inside a home. The waste of trees must be reduced to a low of five percent instead of 35 percent that earlier was acceptable.
The favorable pricing in recent years has the consequence that more and more producers can afford to invest in modern productive machines.
“Keeping weeds away, fertilizing and spraying against lice has to be near to perfect in order to achieve the wanted production results,” he mentions.
To him it is obvious that more of these operations can be done in the same passing and with minor impacts on the environment.
“Using glyphosate with a technique that covers the trees so they are not hit by the spray dose are a way to achieve an excellent and at the same time cheap way to keep weeds out of the field,” he points out.
Chemical spraying can be combined with mechanical cleaning by using a new implement that Jutek has designed specifically for the purpose.
Fertilizing is done close to the trees and spraying against lice can be started and stopped on the go according to the need.
“This is a very efficient, cheap and at the same time an environmentally friendly way to do many operations in one passing,” he stresses.
Another implement can prune the bases on the go and harvesting the trees can also be done on the go with the high clearance light tractors from Jutek without the need to leave the warm, comfortable cab.
The conclusion of the story about a man and his company seen through the eyes of a Christmas tree grower is: it is easier, more efficient, more environmental friendly and more comfortable to be a producer of Christmas trees, when one has such a machine to do the tough jobs.
 Joergen Kaehlershoej in the driver’s seat of a just built, now ready for delivery big version of the Jutek high clearance light tractor. Every week a new tractor is delivered to a customer.
 Photo 2 - coming soon
A tractor is being built by know-how. Busy hands are sometimes even needed to work on weekends in order to make delivery on time.
Photo 3
The frame for a big, high clearance light tractor.
 Photo 4 - coming soon
Joergen Kaehlershoej at his desk from which he has a nice view at a small lake and a small field of Christmas trees.
 Photo 5 - coming soon
A new model of the high clearance light tractor fitted with a 1,200 liter tank water and engine power from 75 up to 100 HP according to the need of the customer.
 Photo 6
A versatile hedge trimmer that can cut on both sides when driving on one side.
 Photo 7 - coming soon
A one row, self-propelled combination model.
 Photo 8 - coming soon
A harvester to be mounted on the tractors.
 Photo 9
A trimmer with gyro hanging.
 Photo 10
Double mulching implement
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