MENSCHEN INTERNATIONAL
MENSCHEN INTERNATIONAL Farm contractor Hallereau (F) GROWING UP WI Farmer’s son François Hallereau learned to love agricultural machinery quasi in the cradle. More unexpected was his career beginning: at only 18 years old he took out a loan to start contracting with a baler. Nowadays, with six full-time employees he specialises in straw harvesting – in a region where straw is comparatively scarce. 14
TH STRAW functioned”, he proudly recalls. To this day, the Hallereau business has continually developed, describing itself as straw specialist. Tackle includes 12 different balers and baler-wrappers from five manufacturers including three HDP 120/90 large square balers from Krone. This means any customer wish can be carried out. Annual bales produced peak at 70,000. François Hallereau grew up on a farm. In 1981 the farmer‘s son founded his contracting business in Torfou, southwest from Nantes in the French département Maine et Loire. His machinery sheds are modern and generously laid out. Every machine has its place. “The present firm really includes three businesses: 20 years ago I added another contractor firm that had become insolvent. Recently, I was able to buy another because no heir was forthcoming. Five of my staff come from these firms”, says François Hallereau. 150 KM TO JOB LOCATION “In our region the average farm business has around 50 cows and 50 ha grassland”, he explains. Straw is therefore in short supply. Because of this, he decided at 18 years old to buy his first baler. “With that, I baled straw at La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast some 150 km from here. I shipped it back here to sell it. Because I didn’t have any money at the time, I took out credit at 23% interest. Despite this, the business This contractor doesn’t trade with straw himself, offering simply a harvesting service. In his region he puts the price of straw in the swath at 10 – 15 Euro/t. He says the versatile machinery fleet mirrors the French mentality: never commit yourself, stay spontaneous and flexible. This is also a marketing strategy: the more machinery dealerships that know about the contractor, the greater the mouth-tomouth propaganda. “This is more efficient than a Facebook page”, he reckons. GOOD SERVICE IMPORTANT For the straw season, his staff and necessary machinery head over to La Rochelle in département Charente-Maritime where contractor Hallereau owns so-called relais accommodation: a machinery hall with living space for staff members. For this businessman, it is important to offer a good service on-location during the stress-filled season. “Here we have very good machinery repair colleagues from the region’s dealerships.” To keep repair costs as low as possible, François Hallereau makes sure that his workers follow manufacturers‘ operating instructions and take seriously the proper care of their respective machines. “Mainly, we do the machinery servicing 15
