At the beginning of September 2024, ROPA welcomed in Sittelsdorf a delegation of the Cofco Sugar Group from China. The delegation, led by Mr Li Minghua, Chairman of the Cofco Sugar Group, and accompanied by Mr Jinfu Xiao, ROPA's sales and service partner in China, visited the plant in Bavaria.
Cofco Sugar, a leading state-owned company in sugar production, manages eight beet sugar factories in northern China and three cane sugar factories in the south of the country. The delegation came to learn about ROPA's decades of expertise in the manufacture of sugar beet harvesters and to meet the company founder Hermann Paintner in person.
After a warm welcome, Dr Eberhard Krayl, Managing Director of ROPA, spoke about the company's history and main products. The delegation was particularly impressed by the historic sugar beet harvester from 1972, which remains functional to this day. This machine symbolises the pioneering legacy of Hermann Paintner, who started developing self-propelled beet harvesters over 50 years ago.
As part of the factory tour, Matthias Reihl from the Sales team presented the latest machines: the powerful Tiger 6S with 796 hp and the Maus 6, which impressed the members of delegation with its innovative panoramic cab and user-friendly, intuitive controls. All participants of the delegation could experience the latest developments of ROPA machines.
A special highlight of the tour was the visit of the family house of Mr Paintner, where the first sugar beet harvester was constructed. The members of delegation were fascinated by the over 100-year history of the house and the close connection between family tradition and state-of-the-art technology at ROPA.
At the end, the delegation visited the local farmer Thomas Bauer on a tour of his 100-hectare market crop farm, where he grows potatoes and sugar beet. Here, key topics such as planting distances, pest control and harvesting costs were discussed. The exchange of ideas and experiences contributed to the deepening of mutual relations and a better understanding of sugar beet cultivation in Germany.
ROPA warmly thanks the Cofco delegation for this visit and looks forward to further successful co-operation.