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TAFE provides exceptional service to customer in Odisha
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TAFE goes the distance with its service

TAFE’s customers are empowered to avail after-sales support and spare-part requirements at their desired location, pan-India notwithstanding any of the remote clusters. Through TAFE’s extensive service network, we extend our expertise towards servicing and maintenance of tractors and equipment, with the aim of providing extended and reliable performance. This is the mark of a company that has for over five decades strived to transform the lives of the farming community, with its products as well as its service.

Here’s one such story that delivers on this promise and more…

Kamal Ekka, a proud owner of an MF 9500 purchased from Jashpur, Odisha recently migrated to Sambalpur, Odisha approximately 260 km away for work. He largely used the Post Hole Digger implement with his MF 9500 tractor. Sometime last month, Kamal faced an issue with his tractor as it was due for service. Unfortunately for him, Sambalpur doesn’t have an authorized TAFE dealer.

Having tried other avenues unsuccessfully to sort out his predicament, Kamal approaches the local TAFE Customer Support representative for help. Without any delay, the very next day, a TAFE mechanic is deputed from Sarapali around 140 km from Sambalpur, to service Kamal’s tractor.

Not only was Kamal Ekka fully satisfied with the service, but so overwhelmed was he with the timely and crucial intervention by TAFE’s representatives that he has promised that his next tractor would most definitely be a Massey Ferguson tractor by TAFE (click image below).

Congratulations to the Customer Support team in Odisha for ‘Cultivating the World’ with their dedication and going the extra mile to delight the customer.

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TAFE’s Farmers’ Day in Gujarat brings the farmers and agricultural experts together

Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE) continuing its ceaseless efforts to engage and empower farmers, successfully celebrated its 12th successive ‘Farmers’ Day’. An annual event of India’s second largest tractor manufacturer, the Farmer’s Day was held in Ankleshwar, Gujarat and saw enthusiastic participation from 350 farmers across the state.

TAFE’s ‘Farmers’ Day’ is a platform for farmers to interact with renowned agricultural scientists from leading universities and agri-research institutes. Dr. K Srinivasan – Chief Scientist, Agricultural Research (JFarm – Chennai), welcomed the esteemed gathering and Mr. S Ramakrishnan – TAFE CITO (Chief Information & Technology Officer) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Champion delved into the history and intent behind TAFE Farmers’ Day while also talking about the various CSR initiatives of TAFE. The chief guest Dr. Kantilal Giridharbhai Patel – Principal, College of Agriculture in Bharuch spoke about the significance of such events by discerning corporates and also the need to adopt new techniques and technologies in agriculture.

The speakers at the event also included Dr. Anil Chinchmalatpure – Head, Regional Station, CSSRI, Bharuch; Dr. S R Patel and Dr. J G Patel – College of Agriculture, Bharuch; Dr. P K Gupta – JFarm, Rajasthan and Dr. B G Solanki – Main Cotton Research, Surat. They shared best practices in methods of improvement of salinity problems in black soil, advances in the crop production technology of banana and cotton and production technologies to increase yield of pulses, while also discussing the way forward for agriculture.

At the event, TAFE also distributed free Mango saplings to all the farmers attending the ‘Farmers’ Day’ for planting in their fields and residences. These much sought after saplings are suited for the weather and soil conditions of the region. The event also witnessed field activities organized for the farmers such as hitching and unhitching, trailer reversing, finding the missing components and quizzes that focused on seeking active participation from farmers. A special ceremony was organized where progressive farmers were honoured for their contribution and excellence in agriculture.

TAFE has been consistently organizing Farmers’ day every year since 2005 in different states such as Madurai, Tanjore, Alwarkuruchi, Hosur and Kovilpatti in Tamil Nadu, Doddaballapur in Karnataka, Rudrapur in Uttarakhand, Ongole in Andhra Pradhesh, Jodhpur in Rajasthan and Patna in Bihar. The heartfelt appreciation from the farmers year after year has been the inspiration that has powered TAFE Farmers’ Day consecutively for 12 years.

The people involved in organizing the Farmers’ Day event included people from across TAFE, led by the CSR team. Scientists from TAFE’s JFarm – an adaptive agriculture research centre, also play a significant role in organizing and conducting the Farmer’s Day event.

We congratulate all the organizers for having conducted yet another successful Farmers’ Day!

Click the images below to get a glimpse of the 12th Farmers’ Day in Ankleshwar.

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The participating school students at the Tractor Design Competition
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TAFE’s R&D – Cultivating the World beyond

Research and Development (R&D) departments are in essence dynamic, constantly looking out for new, advanced, and efficient ways to do things. This holds true especially for the people at Tractors and Farm Equipment’s (TAFE) R&D department who are not only responsible for engineering excellence into TAFE’s products, but are ‘Cultivating the World’ with their knowledge and expertise.

Beyond their work at TAFE, some members of the R&D department actively engage with the engineering community at large. Mr. S. Sriraman – Senior Vice President, R&D and Mr. A. Armstrong – Functional Head, Engine Team, R&D part of the management committee SAEISS were part of the official launch of AWIM (A World in Motion) 2016 at B. S. Abdur Rahman University, Chennai. Mr. Cuneyt L. Oge, SAE International President, was present at the launch of this Jet Toy competition.

AWIM as a Jet Toy competition was envisioned with a view to inculcate design thinking among the students. The enthusiastic participation of the university students and faculty made the program a grand success. In another SAEISS event at Veltech University, Mr. S. Sriraman and Mr. A. Armstrong along with Mr. Cuneyt L. Oge launched a Tractor Design Competition.

In yet another event, Mr. G. Senthilkumar – Principal Member, R&D, inaugurated the Association of Automobile Engineers along with Mr. Rathish Mallar at S. V. College of Engineering, Sriperumbadur. During the event, Mr. G. Senthilkumar also made a presentation titled “Field to table – Green Revolution” to a discerning audience.

Kudos to the TAFE R&D team for truly ‘Cultivating the World’.

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 Read | Milestones

The Sunday Standard honors Ms. Mallika Srinivasan at Devi Awards

The third edition of The Sunday Standard Devi Awards was recently held in New Delhi. 12 women achievers from India were felicitated for displaying dynamism and innovation in their line of work. TAFE Chairman & CEO, Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, crowned by many as the ‘Tractor Queen’ was one among the 12 women who was recognized. She received the award from Smt. Smriti Z Irani – Union Textile Minister of India.

The ‘Devis’ are selected by a jury on the basis of their contribution to their chosen line of work, as well as society in general. They aren’t your usual suspects. They are the unsung heroes who silently and relentlessly work towards making our world a better place.

The Sunday Standard in a write-up titled “For putting farmers first” pays tribute to Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, her work at TAFE and beyond:

“Attired in her trademark salwar-kameez-dupatta and a string of pearls, Mallika Srinivasan sits with ease behind the wheel of a giant tractor, justifying the epithet ‘Tractor Queen of India’.

And why not? Farming in India has long been a male dominated activity. But Srinivasan—a Wharton graduate—has defied all odds to make her company the world’s third-largest tractor manufacturer.

As Chairman and CEO of the Chennai-based tractor major, she has developed relevant technology to suit evolving needs of the farmers, optimised costs, and tapped global markets to establish TAFE as a quality mass manufacturer of tractors and a lean, resilient organisation that can weather the cyclicality of the business.

Under her aegis, the company has become a INR 93 billion company that sees annual sales of over 150,000 tractors and has a presence in over 100 countries. Srinivasan is also a well-known philanthropist with an abiding interest in education and healthcare.

She supports Sankara Nethralaya and the Cancer Hospital in Chennai, as well as a number of educational and healthcare facilities in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. She is also involved in the promotion of of Indian culture, classical music and traditional art forms through the Indira Sivasailam Foundation. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Padma Shri for her contribution to trade and industry in 2014.”

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TAFE's Suresh Rao from R&D conferred the INAE Young Engineers Award 2016
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TAFE’s Suresh Rao conferred the INAE Young Engineers Award

Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited’s (TAFE) Suresh Rao from the Research and Development (R&D) department was conferred the 2016 INAE Young Engineer National Award by the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE). Suresh’s dedicated contribution to the field of Engineering earned him this award. At the award function held at the Space Application Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad, he was awarded a Certificate and prize money of INR One Lakh. The gathering included prominent personalities from the field of Engineering.

A part of TAFE – R&D since 2004, Suresh Rao is a B. E. graduate from Sairam Engineering College and holds an M. Tech from IIT Madras. His B.E. project was awarded the ISTE Engineering Design National Award, and his M. Tech project fetched him the IIT Madras best project award. He has also excelled academically scoring the highest CGPA in both years at IIT Madras, winning the Academic Excellence Award.

Congratulations to Suresh Rao for such an admirable achievement. We wish him the very best for the future and hope he scales higher summits and reaches greater heights.

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TAFE inaugurates ‘JFarm Rajasthan’ in collaboration with Rajasthan Government

Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman and CEO of India’s second largest tractor manufacturer, TAFE – Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, announced the setting up of a Centre of Excellence – ‘JFarm Rajasthan’ with the co-operation and support of the Rajasthan Government at the Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM) 2016.

JFarm in Rajasthan is an advanced model of TAFE’s successful adaptive agri-research centre in Chennai which focuses on sustainable agriculture, adapting existing technologies in farming for local farming conditions and sharing this knowledge with farmers. Spread over 50 acres of land, JFarm Rajasthan will host an adaptive research farm, farm skills development centre, agricultural extension service and a hi-tech technology demonstration and customer experience centre at Bhawanimandi, Jhalawar.

Speaking at the inauguration, Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman & CEO, TAFE said, “This center will showcase the latest and best in agronomy and farm practices, latest trends in production, protection and processing of crops, and also the world’s best in terms of showcasing farm mechanization trends and their applicability to India. The center initiates a transformational effort in Rajasthan’s agriculture with participation from the farmers of Rajasthan towards a new tomorrow. TAFE has a special bond with the farmers of Rajasthan as their loyalty has enriched TAFE’s business growth over the last five decades. For us at TAFE, JFarm Rajasthan is a way of giving back to the farmers of Rajasthan who have placed their valuable trust in TAFE and its products. It has been TAFE’s corporate philosophy not to limit ourselves to mere sale of our products but to go beyond and add value to our customers by empowering them to become a vibrant, self-sustaining, and prosperous agri-community”.

She added, “The two initiatives of the Custom Hiring Centres and the Centre of Excellence in the form of JFarm Rajasthan will result in a five year period of an estimated total outlay of Rs. 970 crores in the agri sector of Rajasthan. Through the MoU with the Rajasthan Government, we hope to partner with 900 farmer entrepreneurs, create 4000 jobs, and touch lives of 500,000 farmers positively. ”

JFarm was first established in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in 1964 with an objective of improving the wellbeing of farmers by empowering them with advanced farm technologies to increase farm productivity and meet India’s growing food needs. Over the years, JFarm has worked through several challenging situations from limited water availability, to inputs costs to shortage of labour, and has developed a viable and sustainable model that contributes to improved farm productivity and livelihood opportunities.

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Mr. Sriraman presents memento to SAEISS Cochin Division Secretary
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TAFE’s Sr. VP R&D, S. Sriraman inaugurates SAEISS – Cochin Division

As Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) India’s, Southern Section Chairman, Mr. S. Sriraman, Vice President of TAFE Research and Development (R&D) leads a team consisting of automotive professionals from academia and various companies/ institutes in South India. In an event held recently, SAE India Southern Section (SAEISS) inaugurated its sixth division – the Cochin Division.

During the inauguration, Mr. Sriraman, stressed the importance of networking and collaboration amongst the automotive professionals while reinforcing SAEISS’s focus on the Mobility Industry and Institutions in the Service of Humanity. Other dignitaries who addressed the event included, Dr. E. Rajasekar – Professor at IRTT, Erode and Secretary SAEISS, who spoke on automotive sensors and their applications, and Mr. S. Krishnan – Vice President, Engine Development, Ashok Leyland, Chennai, who spoke on automotive engines ‘Modern perspectives through technology’.

Other office-bearers of SAEISS include, Mr. V. Srinivasan, Senior Associate Vice President – TAFE Madurai Operations – Chair of Madurai Division, SAEISS and Mr. A. Armstrong, Functional Head, Engine Team, TAFE R&D – part of the management committee.

TAFE wishes the team at SAEISS the very best!

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Massey Ferguson tractors from a bygone era still lead the way

When considering the history of tractors and mechanization in farming, the name Massey Ferguson (MF) is synonymous with innovation and quality. Be it the three-point linkage system or its tractors or implements, Massey Ferguson has undeniably left an indelible mark in farming history. If one were to look at the world’s best tractors through the years, there will invariably be a few MF tractor models on the list.

Consider models like the MF 135 and 165, though production stopped in the 70’s and they can be assigned a proud and cozy place in Massey Ferguson and tractor history; they aren’t really ready to be history yet. Case in point is the monthly second-hand farming machinery auction held in Cambridgeshire, England – one of the biggest auctions of its kind. Picture a field, the size of 40 football grounds and rows of tractors lined up in it. Over 35,000 registered bidders from more than 100 countries attend these sales where about 2,000 lots are auctioned each sale. Though the buyers are from all over the world, there seems to be special interest among buyers from developing nations. Buyers especially from Africa are inclined towards the MF 135 or 165. The successor to the iconic MF 35 and the first tractor in the MF 100 series, the MF 135 was popular in its time. The MF 135 and 165 are basic, incredibly reliable “mechanical donkeys” that keep going on and on. Its popularity can also be attributed to the easy availability of parts and ease of fixing them, as these models are purely mechanical involving no electrics.

Attending the sale from Kenya are Barnabas Sawe and Gideon Okungu who swear by these tractors, “A good tractor can transform a village, it transforms a society – it transforms a community,” Sawe says. Another visitor is Abdi Mohammed from Somalia – a first timer, who is hoping to transform farming back home. He recalls people using Massey Ferguson tractors before the country plunged into civil war. With things having finally almost stabilized, Abdi wants to herald the new era in Somalia with these MF tractors.

In a way, it’s poetic how these old warriors who were once part of bringing about prosperity, in another land, in another era, are now going to be catalysts of growth and progress in fledgling economies.

With inputs from bbc.com

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Free falling 123 feet above Chennai

On a hot Saturday afternoon, the first ever “Festival of Speed” was organized in India by Bajaj Pulsar at the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) in Irrungattukotai. True to its name, 36 of the best riders from across the country were brought in to race. The bike of choice was the Pulsar RS200.

It was an ambitious title to live up to and the festival did not disappoint. The visitors were treated to, an awe inspiring performance of bike stunts by India’s best stunt team – Ghost Riders, a concert by Benny Dayal, who fused beats from Northern and Southern India for a lively mashup and adrenaline junkies got an opportunity to try something rarely seen in this part of the country, Bungee Jumping!

The Bungee Jumping – Falling freely platform was setup at a whooping 123 feet above ground, giving the participant a birds-eye view of the area and riders racing on the track. Mohit Thakur, part of the PD&E team from TAFE R&D, took this opportunity to register for the jump. His excitement engulfed his initial nervousness when the bucket was raised to its maximum height with the help of a crane.

At maximum height with a breath taking view of the sky, the ground and the tiny bikes racing across the track, Mohit felt a sense of calm. And when the moment came he raised his hands, and took the leap. The ground rushing towards him, falling head first with nothing to hold onto, it was a moment he would cherish for long; his first free fall. It was half way through the fall that he felt the chord grip and he regained his composure as he bounced a couple of times before it ended.

An adrenaline fuelled moment, a memory for life; a small leap of courage, a big jump in Mohit’s happiness.

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TAFEites at the helm of SAE India Southern Section

In a development of great pride, Mr. S. Sriraman, Vice President of TAFE Research and Development (R&D) has been designated as the new Chairman of Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) India Southern Section. SAE India Southern Section consists of five division and has more than 26000 members. He will be leading a team consisting of automotive professionals from academia and various companies/ institutes in south India. The focus of SAE India Southern Section is on Mobility Industry and Institutions in the Service of Humanity.

Additionally, Mr. V. Srinivasan, Senior Associate Vice President – TAFE Madurai Operations will be the new Chair of Madurai Division for SAE India, Southern Section and Mr. A. Armstrong, Functional Head, Engine Team, TAFE R&D has also been nominated as one of the management committee members. Armstrong previously held the position of Treasurer at SAE India, Southern Section.

TAFE is proud of Mr. Sriraman, Mr. Srinivasan and Mr. Armstrong and wish them all the very best in carrying out these additional responsibilities.

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