Following a series of stoppages since May due to industrial disputes at the New Holland Basildon plant in Essex, an agreement has been reached between the staff and owners CNH. This settlement coincides with the company's celebration of its two millionth tractor milestone.

A CNH spokesperson announced: “CNH has been notified by the Unite Union that on July 2, 2024, its members at the Basildon Plant accepted the proposed pay deal.

“We are pleased to have a fair, equitable pay deal in place, which not only benefits our workforce but also fortifies our commitment to customer excellence and competitive presence in the global marketplace.”

The milestone tractor is a 225hp T7.225, a model New Holland highlights as one of the more popular T7 series produced at the Basildon facility.

To mark this achievement, the tractor features ‘candy blue’ body panels, New Holland silver and black graphics with the Union Jack flag, and a ‘2,000,000 Basildon Tractors’ logo. Additionally, it boasts a New Holland leaf bonnet top and black wheel rims with candy blue edges.

New Holland brand president, Carlo Lambro stated: “This is a major milestone in the life of our Basildon plant, and a mark of both the dedication of our skilled employees here and the loyalty of our customers worldwide, to whom we are extremely grateful”

Carlo also emphasised the evolution from the tractors of 1964 to today's models by Ford and New Holland, highlighting advancements in capability, capacity, and technology that enable more efficient farming.

Currently, the Basildon plant focuses on assembling tractors, with components manufactured at other facilities.

The two millionth tractor is set to make special appearances at upcoming events in the UK before being displayed at the customer centre in Basildon.

The Basildon factory was originally built to produce the new Ford 6X tractor series, which replaced the Fordson Majors and Dextas. Although the new series marked a clean break from vintage designs, continuity was maintained by transferring names in a secondary position, such as the Ford 4000 indicating the equivalent of the old Fordson Major.

The evolution of Ford tractors can be traced from the Super Dexta to the 6X series, which eventually led to the Ford Force tractors of 1968. This series marked the retirement of long-serving names and the ‘shark gills’ bonnet styling.

In 1969, the 250,000th tractor was produced. By 1984, the 500,000th tractor rolled out, part of the Q-cabbed Series 10 range launched three years earlier.

In 1989, Basildon produced its 1,000,000th tractor, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the plant. This was celebrated with the release of special edition Silver Jubilee 7810 tractors. After Fiat purchased the Ford Tractor division in 1991, the 1,500,000th tractor was a New Holland 40 series, completed in 1995.

The latest celebration of the two millionth tractor from Basildon underscores another landmark achievement for New Holland, which has been manufacturing tractors at this plant for five years longer than Ford did. Over 60 years of tractor production at the New Holland Basildon plant has culminated in the production of two million units.