tractor

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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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New training programs and initiatives at TAFE’s PTC

Since 1963, TAFE’s Product Training Centre has been playing an integral part in supporting TAFE’s multi-fold growth over the decades by integrating learning and hands-on training modules for the service staff to provide its customers with quality after sales service.
With the needs of customers changing, staying ahead of times is crucial to stay relevant. Over the years, PTC has introduced several programs that facilitate knowledge sharing, ensuring that the technicians and service staff always have access to knowledge.
PTC recently launched a two-day refresher training program for aftermarket private tractor mechanics which aimed at educating the participants about the tractor – its parts like the common and special parts, and the procedure to remove and fit the same. They were also trained on some of the latest changes in the aggregates and adjustments. The training ensures that TAFE customers receive the best service from the technicians and around 338 private tractor mechanics have been trained so far and the training has been well received.
Additionally, TAFE has started training programs for tractor models MF 6028 and MF 2635 at their PTC centers, and also one for the field team dealing with the new IPTO (Independent Power Take Off).
A mechanic skill level competition was organized in Bihar and Jharkhand for PTC trained mechanics where their skill levels were evaluated to encourage them to improve their skills, which was marked by the attendance of about 35 mechanics. The competition comprised of objective-type questions based on repair and maintenance of tractors and the top three scorers were awarded and recognized.
335 dealership technicians from various dealerships across India have successfully completed the basic product training programs and new product training programs; and 593 TAFE personnel from across functions, technical and non-technical teams have successfully completed various training programs at PTC up to March 2018. Apart from this, various electrical models and wiring diagrams have also been introduced in the electrical section for easy understanding of the trainees.
The Product Training Centre is TAFE’s commitment to Cultivating the World and ensuring that customers get the best after sales service. With its expertise, training programs and evolving teaching methods, PTC is paving the way for a one of a kind customer satisfaction 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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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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Taking the tractor to the masses

TAFE has always prided itself in being a learning organization. It has always been at the forefront of fostering learning; be it the ‘Product Training Centre’ – first of its kind in the tractor industry, instituted by Mr. A Sivasailam in 1963, to train all dealer and company employees who deal with TAFE customers, or the TAFE e-University that has revolutionized learning at the work place for all TAFE employees.

Apart from the learning that is imparted within the organization, TAFE regularly works with organizations like SAE India and CII reaching out to the next generation of students. Recently, in a lecture – ‘Trend of Transmission for Tractors’, conducted by SAE Southern Section – Chennai Division, Mr. T R Karthikeyan, Deputy Chief Engineer – R&D addressed a gathering of college students from engineering colleges in and around Chennai at AIEMA, Chennai.

Mr. T R Karthikeyan during his talk spoke about different transmissions like, Manual/Straight Shift, Synchronized Shift, Semi-Automatic, Continuously Variable and Hydrostatic, found in various tractor brands in India. He explained in detail how each system worked with the aid of videos. It was a deeply insightful interaction that helped the participants understand the in-depth workings of a tractor transmission.

In another SAEISS event, Mr. S Sriraman, Senior Vice President – R&D, TAFE and Chairman of SAEISS spoke to the participants of the Fifth Lecture Meeting jointly-organized by SAEISS Erode Division and Collegiate Club on ‘Tractors for Modern Farming’. Held at Vellalar College of Engineering and Technology, Erode, Mr. Sriraman enlightened the delegates with a broad outlook on the trends in the Indian agriculture sector and its various developments. He spoke of TAFE’s active role in improving farming practices.

We congratulate the R&D team and wish them the very best for their future endeavors.

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TAFE Madurai encourages a learning culture among rural students
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TAFE Madurai to impart skill development training for students

Cultivating the world has always been TAFE’s philosophy and every step the company takes is to achieve this goal. Learning has always been a part of TAFE’s DNA and it encourages knowledge seekers to enrich themselves in areas of their interest. TAFE believes in sharing its knowledge and has collaborated with several educational institutions to create customised syllabus and courseware in agriculture and manufacturing. Ànd now, TAFE’s Madurai operation has entered into an agreement with the Gandhigram Rural Institute (GRI) wherein the final year students of Bachelor of Vocation (B. Voc.) – Farm Equipment Operation and Maintenance will be trained in tractor assembly, quality inspection and materials inward. A step towards sharing with the society it is entrenched in; TAFE Madurai’s collaboration with GRI will expose students to the functioning of a world-class facility with a flexi-line that produces hundreds of Massey Ferguson and TAFE tractor models that cater to customers worldwide.

The three-month training program will commence for the academic year 2017-2018, with four batches every year. This initiative will benefit 50 students and hopes to attract more rural students to the course. This training program will give students the unique experience of witnessing the manufacturing of a tractor and also learning from the experienced personnel at TAFE Madurai. Unlike other programs, this training program will also provide an excellent opportunity for girls to work in core departments like Quality and Materials, giving them the necessary exposure and making them industry-ready.

TAFE has been at the forefront of farm mechanization, helping farmers achieve higher farm productivity and yields to meet the increasing food demands. It continuously strives to bring agriculture to the forefront and is engaged in making information and facilities more accessible to stakeholders.

With this collaboration, TAFE has now opened the doors of knowledge to students and strengthening the cause of farming. We wish the TAFE Madurai team the very best in this thoughtful endeavour!

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Tractors line up at the Tractor Fest
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A festival celebrating tractors

Invented in 1892, the tractor turns 125 this year. Synonymous with farming, the tractor is specifically designed to deliver high torque at slow speeds, and slowly but surely over the years, it has changed the agricultural landscape all over the world. Its impact has been such that seldom will one ever imagine a farm without a tractor.

In this world where Cars and Motorbikes are revered, there’s a relatively unknown festival in the U.K. that celebrates the tractor – Tractor Fest, UK’s largest tractor vintage show. A tractor aficionados dream, it mainly showcases vintage tractors, their engines and other commercial cars and motorcycles found around UK and Europe. The Newby Hall tractor fest initially started as the Vintage Tractor Gathering in 2006 and has grown rapidly since then. The first Tractor Fest took place in 2011, as a two day festival organised by Yorkshire Vintage Association.

The Tractor Fest attracts thousands of visitors each year including tractor owners, collector, enthusiasts and even families for a great day out. It also conducts various awards for the tractor exhibitors and provides them a platform to showcase their tractors’ capabilities. The Tractor Fest is inaugurated with a tractor march starting from Ripon Centre and ends at the Yorkshire Market Square.

This year the Tractor Fest will be held on June 10 and 11 at the Newby Hall. The fest organisers have anticipated an estimate of 1500 vintage tractors to be exhibited; including the rare Sharp Tractors from 1907, making it one of the biggest tractor fest in the world. Here is a compilation of images from Tractor Fest for your viewing pleasure.

Source courtesy:
tractors.wikia.com
cheffins.co.uk
skiddle.com
farminguk.com
newbyhall.com
en.wikipedia.org

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TAFE's MF Service Camp in Umred Maharashtra
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Cultivating the World always, made possible by TAFE service

When customers purchase a product from TAFE, they gain a companion for life. Relationships at TAFE – be it with a customer, dealer or supplier, are treasured and nurtured for the long run; steadfast through changing and dynamic times.

With a robust network of over 1000 dealers, supported by over 2000 sales outlets, customers are empowered. The distribution and sale of its tractors is facilitated by the company’s own fully trained sales staff of over 450 people, and close to 3000 dealer sales staff. With such a strong focus on sales, it is paramount that TAFE customers receive a stronger after-sales support. All dealer service personnel, both domestic and international, are trained at TAFE’s Product Training Centre near Chennai on usage, servicing and trouble shooting of products through extensive and structured training programs that use a judicious mix of class room training, on the field and in work shop training as well as through the aid of digital media. TAFE has an exclusive service team distributed among its various area offices to provide additional service support to dealers as when needed.

TAFE extends its expertise towards servicing and maintenance of tractors and equipment, with the aim of reducing downtime and ensuring extended and reliable product performance. They can not only avail after-sales support and spare-part requirements, but get it at their desired location, including remote clusters pan-India. An example of this positive outreach is exemplified by our authorized dealer in Umred, Maharashtra, who regularly organizes customer interaction programs, right at their doorstep or by service camps at the dealership.

These photos offer a glimpse of this superior service provided by the dealer. We congratulate the team for ‘Cultivating the World’ with their ‘service’.

Photo courtesy: Sonu Verma

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Indian Minister Nitin Gadkari visits TAFE dealership
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Indian Minister Nitin Gadkari visits TAFE dealership

The Indian Minister of Road Transport & Highways and the Minister of Shipping, Mr. Nitin Gadkari recently visited TAFE’s tractor dealership in Latur, Maharashtra, India.

An agriculturist with interests in fruit exports, he is a firm believer in the power of farm mechanization. On his visit, he sought to understand the features and capabilities of the globally acknowledged Massey Ferguson tractors by TAFE.

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TAFE at SAE's Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress
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TAFE R&D showcases its findings at SAE COMVEC

Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited’s (TAFE) journey over five decades has been one that has always been focussed on the customer. It caters to the diverse needs of the customer from all around the world by providing relevant solutions. With a farm-to-lab approach, TAFE keeps stride with the dynamic needs of the customer with a proactive and keen interest in R&D.

This understanding was on show at SAE’s latest edition of the Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress (COMVEC) when TAFE’s Mahendra Mohan PR – Senior Member (Transmission), R&D, presented a paper titled “Minimizing Tooth Mesh Misalignment in Heavy Duty Tractor Transmission”. With the theme of ‘connectivity’, the gathering is a global assembly of both on and off-road professionals. It’s a great platform facilitating valuable interaction amongst the community of engineers, supply managers and executives.

Tooth Mesh Misalignments originate primarily from its torque transmitting components such as spline connections, gears, shafts, bearings and housing. Mahendra Mohan’s paper is a case study of two factors influencing mesh misalignment: (1) bearing offset and (2) gear hub, as an initiative to minimize the amount of tooth mesh misalignment on gear pair. Advanced driveline analysis tools were used to analyze and calculate the amount of misalignment on the gear tooth mesh. The optimized gear pair showed more than 40% reduction in tooth mesh misalignment and more than 10% reduction in peak contact stress during initial design stage.

The paper was well received by the delegates. We wish Mahendra Mohan all the very best for all his future endeavours and congratulate TAFE R&D for consistently facilitating such papers – a sign of a learning organization!

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