It was a big day for Torben Andersen when he met Queen Margrethe of Denmark.

Torben had just retired after 40 years’ association with Massey Ferguson and he was invited to the Royal Palace in Copenhagen to thank the Queen for the medal that Denmark bestows for long service.

“It was a great honour to receive the medal and meet the Queen. Of course, I spoke to her about tractors!” he says. “She told me that she has many good memories of when she was young and spent time on a farm where she also got the chance to drive a tractor.”

Intrigued by this, after the meeting Torben did some investigation and discovered that the Queen received the farm in question as a gift on her 18th birthday in 1958 from the Danish Farming Society. The farm was called Nordgaarden where she spent her summers for around 12 years.

Torben’s career with the MF Brand started in 1974 when he joined the Service Department at Nordisk Diesel, at that time the national Distributor for Massey Ferguson in Denmark. When Massey Ferguson took over the distribution of its farm machinery in the country, Torben was taken on to continue his key role. During his 40 years, he was involved in the service support of MF tractors, in particular the provision of training for Dealer service personnel.

“I conducted my first training course in 1975 on the MF 1135 and MF 1155 models which were built in North America and very high-tech for the time,” he explains. “Down the years, I worked on over 30 different Massey Ferguson tractor ranges. My last assignment was the launch of the MF 7700.”

“It’s always been a pleasure to work closely with Massey Ferguson Dealer staff in their workshops. I’ve had a very good relationship with them. They make the difference. First-class Dealer back-up means Massey Ferguson can deliver excellent service to customers.”

“I still feel close to Massey Ferguson and think about what my former colleagues are doing,” he says. “My replacement, Jacob Dichmann keeps in touch and drops by from time to time. I’m pleased to be able to offer my advice when it’s needed.”

Torben admits to having a long ‘To Do’ list for his retirement. He is helping to rebuild an old house and is looking forward to spending more time gardening with his wife, Mie. He says he is as busy as ever helping to look after the grandchildren and his parents. We wish Torben all the very best for a happy retirement.