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Eicher Tractors journey through the ‘Highest Motorable Road’ in the world

The power of Eicher tractors from TMTL was put to test during the first ever tractorthon journeying from Manali all the way till Khardung La Top, at a height of 18380 ft above sea level, in July 2017. This herculean feat of covering 473 kilometers of varied terrain was the first tractorthon and Eicher’s success of completing this task lives up to its promise of providing an “Umeed Se Zyada” experience.

One of the oldest names in the tractor industry, Eicher tractors are well known for being economical, fuel efficient and its unique distinction of being the pioneer in agricultural mechanization and product technology. The Eicher 548 and 557 embarked on one of the toughest journeys and successfully completed the challenging Tractorthon on the World’s Highest Motorable Road.

The Eicher 548 is packed with the air-cooled technology and Eicher 557 with water-cooled technology, and both tractors traversed the rocky terrains with ease as Egon Eicher and his son, from the family of the first founders of Eicher Germany drove through the stunning lands of Leh. This action packed power ride showcased the signature style of Eicher’s ruggedness and reliability to perform even in the most extreme conditions.

The Tractorthon was a show of power and Eicher tractors’ uncompromising promise of durability, reliability and its promise of an Ummeed Se Zyada experience.

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TAFE sponsors SAEISS Tractor Design Competition - 2018
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TAFE and SAEISS inspire young minds to design tractors

Nurturing young minds is an essential part of TAFE’s journey of Cultivating the World. With the significant increase in the tractor industry’s growth, it is evident that farm mechanization is a key factor in the success of our country’s agricultural sector. Encouraging the youth of the country to take more interest in farming and empowering them with knowledge on the industry is essential to accelerate this growth.

SAE INDIA Southern Section (SAEISS) has been organizing a Tractor Design Competition (TDC) since October 2016 for the undergraduate engineering students of India. The competition was launched by SAEISS in the presence of Mr. Cuneyt Oge, SAE International and gives engineering students an opportunity to understand the customer requirements, design, build and test various tractor models, including a 17 hp tractor. The engineering students have to design, manufacture, assemble, and prove their tractors before a team of technical experts.

This year, the SAEISS Tractor Design Competition was sponsored by TAFE, and Simpsons, and engineers from both TAFE and Simpsons conducted three workshops on the various aspects of tractor design. Each team submitted their design report which was evaluated by the chief judges Mr. C. Varadarajan and Mr. S. Nakkeran. The judges visited the colleges of the 22 registered teams in March 2018 for a preliminary inspection and gave feedback which significantly helped the teams enhance their tractor designs.

The finals of the competition was hosted by SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) at their Kattangulatur campus, Chennai from 21st to 23rd June, 2018. The competition included design report presentation, and technical inspection of the tractor for both safety and performance. Out of the 22 registered teams, 16 teams demonstrated their tractors in maneuverability and durability tracks. The team from Government College of Technology, Coimbatore was the overall champion and SAEISS TDC – 2019 was launched during the valedictory function.

This tractor design competition is a first of its kind in Asia with a primary objective to encourage interest in the design of tractor and to improve students’ employability. In addition to building technical competencies, student engineers learn to prepare business cases for the project, behavioral competencies like communication, team work and leadership skills.

Tractor Design Competition 2018 was inaugurated by Mr. S. Sriraman, Chairman, SAEISS and Senior Vice President (R&D), TAFE on June 21, 2018. He appreciated the hard work put in by students and their faculty advisors to reach the finals and told students to make use of the opportunity to discuss various aspects of design with the Industry experts during the course of this event. Dr. D. Kingsly Jeba Singh, Dean, School of Mechanical Engineering., SRMIST, and Mr. P. S. Rajamani, Whole Time Director, Simpsons, Chennai also attended the event as guests.

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The TAFE team at HAU's Agri-EPI Centre
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TAFE and HAU collaborate to develop sustainable agriculture solutions

Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited – TAFE has entered into a new international collaboration with UK based Harper Adams University (HAU) to develop advanced technological, agronomic and educational solutions for the delivery of sustainable food production around the world.

HAU is an agriculture university established in 1901 in the United Kingdom. HAU’s Agriculture Engineering Precision and Innovation – Agri-EPI Centre is one of the four national Centres for Agricultural Innovation created as part of the £17.7m UK government investment from UK’s Strategy for Agricultural Technologies to help provide engineering and precision agriculture solutions for the agri-food industry.

The collaboration with HAU’s Agri-EPI Centre will include joint research projects and programmes, joint publications and staff exchanges. The areas of research will focus on agriculture, engineering and technology development programmes on autonomous farming and energy efficient implements, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems and sensor technologies, and the Hands free hectare project to be implemented at JFarm India – TAFE’s adaptive agriculture research centre.

TAFE President & COO – Mr. T R Kesavan said, “TAFE’s collaboration with Harper Adams – Agri-EPI Centre is a reaffirmation of TAFE’s commitment to its vision of ‘Cultivating the World’ as it aims to combine integrated farming techniques with precision agriculture and engineering to develop sustainable farming models that work for both marginal and large farms. This collaboration will provide opportunities for developing a range of advanced training skills, learning and the promotion of international technology transfer and exchange.”

Engineers from TAFE have moved into the new Agri-EPI Centre on the Harper Adams University campus to work on the centre’s first major research and development project. On the team’s arrival, Harper Adams University engineering lecturer, Kit Franklin said, “We at Harper Adams have been building contacts with TAFE for the last 18 months. It’s great to now have this young and enthusiastic team of engineers from TAFE’s Centre of Excellence here in the UK where we’re about to start our first collaborative engineering project. Along with the completion of the project, I hope the team will get a flavour of British agriculture, helping them to return with fresh new ideas.”

Welcoming them to the Agri-EPI Centre, Lee Williams – Newport Centre Hub Manager said, “We’re extremely excited about the first major R&D project coming into the centre, but even more so as it’s a large global tractor manufacturer that’s working in collaboration with Harper Adams.”

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TAFE acquires IMT brand of tractors
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TAFE successfully acquires iconic IMT tractor brand

Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited – TAFE, the world’s third largest tractor manufacturer by volume, successfully acquired the renowned Serbian tractor and agriculture equipment brand IMT – Industrija Masinai Traktora.

TAFE’s has had a long association with IMT spanning many decades through business cooperation that involved the supply of components, aggregates and technical support. TAFE will support its local partner with supply of components and aggregates for the rollout of IMT tractors in Serbia and allied markets.

Ms. Mallika Srinivasan – Chairman & CEO, TAFE, speaking on this recent acquisition said, “TAFE and IMT have shared a long mutually beneficial cooperation. This acquisition will play a key role in TAFE’s strategic and growth plans for the future.”

Through this acquisition TAFE acquires the right to use the Brand and Intellectual Property Rights, including the Designs, Trademarks and Copyright (IPR) of IMT.

IMT, an iconic tractor brand is a pioneer in farm mechanization and tractor technology with a wide range of implements and tractors suitable for cultivating agricultural land, vineyards and orchards and infrastructure applications. The implements range includes ploughs, trailers, maize planters, seed drills, cultivators and loader forklifts.

Well known for its indigenous R&D, IMT produced a range of tractors between 35 hp and 220 hp and is a popular tractor brand in Eastern Europe, Northern Africa and the Balkans.

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TAFE collaborator AGCO uses Google Glass on shop floor
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Gadgets helping us Cultivate the World

We are living in an age where computers are tiny, fast and frugal, making them so common that literally everyone carries one in their pocket (or is holding it in their hand if you’re reading this on your phone).

Despite its immense popularity, or some might even say – necessity of gadgets in our lives, we are living in a society where, hardbound text books and newspapers still exist; not everything is on a screen. But when it comes to an organization, the question of ‘cost vs benefits’ is evaluated while adopting a new technology for conventional activities.

Tendencies to continue with existing conventions will always be high, as most employees will look at the experience from an individual’s perspective and would have to reconfigure their current method of working, which is hard wired into the brain. But when an organization decides to go mainstream, employees have to swim with the tide, which will obviously be good for them over time. And of course there are those of us who would love for changes to take place.

This preface is for the news where AGCO has adopted Google Glass for workers in its Engine assembly cell in one of their production plants in Atlanta.

You can read more about it @ goo.gl/kvm4wh

Similarly, I’m sure most of us at TAFE would also be interested in knowing how other divisions in the organizations have made a switch in technology from older conventions, as we evolve in our journey of #CultivatingTheWorld.

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