Väderstad is in an impressive 24th place in the list of Swedish companies applying for most international patents. According to WIPO, in 2013 Väderstad applied for 11 patents.

The list is topped by the commercial giants Ericsson, SKF and Scania.

“It is impressive that Väderstad, which develops, manufactures and sells agricultural machinery and is a comparatively small company, is no. 24 on the list” said Crister Stark, chairman of the board at Väderstad.

Ola Byström, head of patents at Väderstad, said “We place a high priority on applying for patents for inventions which markedly improve and simplify the daily work of farmers, often through rationalising arable technology and improving its cost-effectiveness.”

“So far during 2014 we have applied for patents for 8 new inventions. The average rate over the past decade has been around 10 per year. However, the number can fluctuate between years, depending mainly on the stage of development of our various projects. The potential for innovation also varies between projects. In addition, in 2014 we were slightly more restrictive owing to the prevailing economic climate”, explained Ola Byström.

“Another aspect I think is encouraging is that our patent portfolio is held by many more inventors than is the case for many of our competitors, which should mean that we have the scope to continue being innovative in the future” said Ola Byström.

The Gilstring Seed Meter

One of Väderstad’s many inventions is the Gilstring Seed Meter, the actual heart of the Tempo precision seed drill. Tempo uses the positive pressure in the seed meter to send the seed a short distance at high speed. This function is called PowerShoot. The fast action decreases the effect of vibrations and sloping land and allows drilling precision to be maintained.