As of 1 January 2025, François Helfter is the new director of PÖTTINGER France. He takes over from Éric Yoder, who is retiring.

Since 1983, Éric Yoder has been a spirited pioneer of PÖTTINGER in France. In particular, Heinz Pöttinger (senior), general manager at the time, recognised the qualities of the young Frenchman from the Territoire-de-Belfort region. At the time when PÖTTINGER machines were imported to France by CASE IH, Éric Yoder was the direct representative of PÖTTINGER in France for 15 years.

First international sales subsidiary

When the partnership between the French importer and PÖTTINGER came to an end in 1998, PÖTTINGER's management appointed Éric Yoder to set up PÖTTINGER's first international sales office. Yoder impressed with his skills, foresight and perseverance. A new era dawned and the French model, which was supported by a handful of pioneers around Éric Yoder, was to set a precedent. Today, PÖTTINGER has 17 international service and sales offices, which are the basis for the company’s international success.

Reliance and loyalty

Since PÖTTINGER France was founded in 1999, turnover has risen from 5.6 to 78.3 million euros. The France team has been grown expanded over time and now consists of 29 employees.

In addition to the quality of the machines, it is PÖTTINGER's strong human values, respect and handshake quality that creates loyalty from both employees and dealers.

New Director François Helfter

François Helfter took over the position of Head of Marketing in May 2020, where he was able to show his commercial and interpersonal skills. He had previously started his career at John Deere.

The young manager takes over the management of a dedicated team that continues to prioritise the needs of dealers and end customers in line with PÖTTINGER's service and quality philosophy.

For 42 years, PÖTTINGER France was inseparably linked to the person of Éric Yoder. The carefully and extensively prepared transition to the new management makes it easy for employees and partners to look to the future with confidence.