Tractors in India

Current Manufacturers of Tractors in India

Balwan Tractors, Force Motors Ltd

Formerly known as Bajaj Tempo Ltd. till 2005 Force Motors Ltd. makers of India's ubiquitous 3-wheeler Tempos since 1957 in a collaboration with Vidal & Sohn Tempo Werke, Germany, in 1999 began production of Ox and Ox 45 Brand Tractors both which incorporated transmission technology from the German manufacturer ZF. Additional line Balwan was introduced in 2004 and between the lines Force Motors offers a line of two-wheel and four-wheel tractors in a horsepower range from 10 - 50 HP. [1]

Captain Tractors Pvt. Ltd

Founded in May 1994 and located in Rajkot, India, Captain Tractors manufactures mini-tractors under the Captain brand.[2]

Crossword Agro Industries

Located in Rajkot, India, Crossword manufactures small tractors under the Nissan, Atmak and Captain brand names.[3]

Eicher

In 1949, Eicher Good Earth, was set up in India with technical collaboration with Gebr. Eicher a of Germany, imported and sold about 1500 tractors in India. In Apr. 24, 1959 Eicher came out with the first locally assembled tractor from its Faridabad factory and in a period from 1965-74 became the first fully manufactured (100% indigenization)tractor in India. In December, 1987 Eicher Tractors went public and in June, 2005 Eicher Motors Limited sold Eicher Tractors & Engines to a subsidiary of TAFE called TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited.
Eicher also produces tractors under the Euro Power and Eicher Valtra brands under license from [Valtra], an [AGCO] brand.[4]

Escorts (Escort, Powertrac and Farmtrac)

Escorts Ltd began local manufacture of Ford tractors in 1971 in collaboration with Ford, UK and total production climbed steadily to 33000 in 1975 reaching 71000 by 1980. Ford (Ford - New Holland)was sold in 1992 Ford Motor Company proper quit the tractors business but the name was allowed to continue as per agreement till 2000, when Escort relabeled its Ford models under the Escort brand. Escort manufactures produces tractors in the 27-75 HP range and has already sold over 6 lac tractors. Its tractors are marketed under three brand names, Escort, Powertrac and Farmtrac.

Ford Tractors

Ford (formerly Ford Tractor Division) began producing Ford Tractors in India in 1972 with a tie up with Escorts. IN 1986 Ford acquired New Holland and tractor operations was transferred to Ford-New Holland and made into an independent corporation. In 1991, Fiat began an arranged purchase of Ford-New Holland that was completed in 1993 ending Ford Motor Company's long history of tractor production. The deal required that New Holland-FIAT stop using the Ford name. New Holland India Pvt began production of tractors in India in 1998. [5]

HMT Tractors

HMT began manufacturing Agricultural Tractors in 1972 with technology acquired from ZETOR, Czech Republic. It manufactures its tractors in Pinjore, Mohali and Hyderabad with capacity of 20,000 per annum. It produces tractors in a range from 25 HP to 75 HP.

Indo Farm

Founded in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, India in 1999, Indo Farms builds tractors in the 30-50hp ranges. [6]

John Deere

In 2000, John Deere set up production in a joint venture with Larsen and Toubro Ltd in Sanaswadi, in a rural area near Pune, Maharashtra. It was known as L&T John Deere Private Ltd, and manufactured tractors under the L&T - John Deere name for sale in India, and under the John Deere name for worldwide sales. [7][8]

In 2005, Deere & Company acquired nearly all the remaining shares in this joint venture. The new enterprise, is known as John Deere Equipment Private Limited. The factory currently produces tractors in of 35, 40, 42, 47, 50, 55 and 70 Hp capacities for domestic markets and for export to to the USA, Mexico, Turkey, North and South Africa, and South East Asia.

Mahindra Gujarat Tractor Limited

The company was originally incorporated in the state of Gujarat in 1963 with technical collaboration with Motokov-Praha of Czechoslovakia as Gujarat Tractor Corporate Ltd. It was taken over by Mahindra & Mahindra in 1978 (holds 60% equity) and re-christened Mahindra Gujarat Tractor Ltd. The company is engaged in manufacturing of tractors in a range of 30-45hp which are marketed under "Shaktimaan" brand. [9] They were previously marketed under the "Mahindra Gujarat" name, and before that the "Hindustan" name.

Mahindra & Mahindra

M&M's Farm Equipment Sector origins lie in a joint venture in 1963 between the Company, International Harvester Inc., and Voltas Limited, and was named International Tractor Company of India (ITCI). In 1977, ITCI merged with M&M and became its Tractor Division. After M&M's organizational restructuring in 1994, this division was called the Farm Equipment Sector. The Farm Equipment Sector has also ventured into manufacturing of Industrial Engines. M&M Industrial engines are used for various applications like generator sets, industrial, construction, marine, compressors, etc. These engines are manufactured at the Company's engine assembly plants at Kandivli and Nagpur. M&M has two main tractor manufacturing plants located at Mumbai and Nagpur in Maharashtra. Apart from these two main manufacturing units, the Farm Equipment Sector has satellite plants located at Rudrapur in Uttarachal and Jaipur in Rajasthan. The Farm Equipment Sector as reported by the Company has a dealer network of over 450 dealers. This dealer network is managed by 28 area offices, situated in all the major cities and covering all the principal states and M&M tractors has sold more than 12,00,000 tractors since it's inception. M&M's Farm Equipment Sector is perhaps the largest exporter of Indian tractors to the USA and the west. And in a reversal to earlier trends of Indian tractor manufactures with joint ventures with western tractor companies, M&M, in 2004 announced that they had bought majority stake (80 per cent) in Jiangling Tractor Company, and renamed it Mahindra Jiangling Motor Co Group (JMCG). This is the first instance of Indian tractor industries participating in India's reverse FDI. The plant in China reportedly has a production capacity of 12,000 tractors annually.

In March 2007, M&M bought a controlling 43 per cent stake in the Chandigarh-based tractor firm Punjab Tractors (Swaraj) that will reportedly increase M&M's share in the domestic farm equipment market from just over 30% to 40 per cent. The 43 per cent stake includes 29 per cent owned by private equity firm Actis and 14.2 per cent by the Delhi-based Burman family. In July 2007, Mahindra upped its stake to 64.6%.[10]

MARS Farm Equipments Ltd.

Originally established in 1976 the MARS Group is engaged in manufacturing/marketing of dump trucks, loaders, foggers, and agricultural tractors and attachments. Based in Lucknow, U.P., it's began manufacturing two mini-tractor models under the Marshal name in 2005, Captain DI 2600 of 25 HP and Trishul MT DI 625 10 HP. [11]

New Holland

New Holland Ag's entry into India was facilitated by FIAT's acquisition of Ford-New Holland in 1991. By 1998 New Holland Ag. (India) completed the construction of a new plant in Noida, near New Delhi, with a capacity of 5000 tractors in the 35 - 75 hp range. In 1999, New Holland Ag.'s parent company FIAT bought 70% of holdings of Case Corporation and created Case New Holland Global (CNH one of the top three tractor/agricultural/construction machinery manufacturers in the world), the new holding company New Holland Ag. (India). In 2000, the capacity of the Noida plant rose to 12,000 tractors per year and in 2007 the company will be manufacturing 24,000 tractors for the domestic and export markets. New Holland India exports fully-built tractors to 51 countries in Africa, Australia, South-East Asia, West Asia, North America and Latin America. It also exports sub-assemblies and other tractor parts to the facilities of CNH Global, around the world.

Preet Tractors

Preet Agro began manufacturing tractors in 2002 in Punjab, India. They currently manufacture in the 35-70hp range.[12]

Punjab Tractors Ltd (Swaraj Tractors)

In 1965, Government of India research institute Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur, WB initiated design and development of Swaraj Tractor based on indigenous know how. In 1970, Punjab Government acquired the Swaraj tractor's design and established Punjab Tractors Limited (PTL). It was India's first large-scale totally indigenous project. The company exports Tractors to various countries including USA. It manufacturers nine models of tractor and several models of combine harvesters. The manufacturing units are located at SAS Nagar in Ropar, Asron Village of Nawanshahar District and Nabha of Patiala District, Punjab.

Actis, a private equity firm acquired 29 per cent of Punjab Tractors in mid-2003 from the Punjab Government. In March 2007, and currently subject to the receipt of requisite approvals, M&M bought a controlling 43 per cent stake in Punjab Tractors Ltd. that will reportedly increase M&M's share in the domestic tractor market from just over 30 per cent to nearly 40 per cent. The 43 per cent stake in Punjab Tractors includes the 29 per cent owned by Actis and 14.2 per cent by the Delhi-based Burman family. In July 2007, Mahindra upped its share in Punjab to 64.6%.[[13]]

Same Deutz-Fahr Ltd.

With manufacturing in Ranipet, TN Same tractors were produced in a joint venture with the Greaves company of India and built the Same Greaves tractors until 2002 when Same Deutz-Fahr bought out Greaves.

Sonalika (International Tractors Ltd.)

International Tractors Limited was incorporated on October 17, 1995 and began manufacturing tractors designed by Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI). ITL currently is manufactures various Tractors of Sonalika brand between 30 H.P. to 90 H.P, and CERES brand between 60HP to 90HP. ITL went into collaboration with Renault agriculture of France in July 2000. Renault Agriculture is a subsidiary of the Renault Group. Renault Agriculture has recently been bought by CLAAS of Germany.

Standard

Standard Combine began building tractors in 2000 in Chandirah, India. They build tractors in the 35-75hp range. [14].

TAFE

Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE) was established in 1961 to manufacture and market a Massey Ferguson tractors and related farm equipment in India. AGCO, the owner of Massey Ferguson, now owns 24% of TAFE. Tractors are built and sold in India under both the TAFE and Massey Ferguson brands, and exported under both brands as well. In 2005, [TAFE Tafe_tractors] bought the [Eicher] tractor and engine division.[15][16]

In North America, TAFE tractors are available that are built in India, as well as models built by [LS Tractors] in [South Korea].[17]

VST Tillers

VST Tillers was set up in 1965 in [Bangalore], [India]. In collaboration with [Mitsubishi Mitsubishi_Agricultural_Machinery] of [Japan], they manufacture 18hp tractors under various brands, including Mitsubishi-Shakti, Shakti, Eurotrac-VST and Euro-Trac. They have been exported to Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the USA. [18]

Previous Indian Tractor Companies

Tractor companies that did not survive and were not acquired by other companies are:

Asian Tractors Ltd

Began building tractors in 1989 from their own designs.[19]

Kirloskar Tractors

Founded in cooperation with Deutz-Fahr of Germany in 1974.[20] It has since ceased to manufacture tractors. However, the company continues to manufacture engines under license from Deutz.

Harsha Tractors

In 1975, Harsha Tractors Ltd began manufacturing tractors in conjunction with Motoimport of Russia.[21] Tractor production never amounted to much, and has since ceased.

Haryana Tractors Ltd

As a part of Pratap Steel Rolling Mills Ltd., Haryana began building tractors from their own designs in 1983.[22]

Pittie Tractors

The company was set-up by a young and dynamic engineer - Shrikant Pittie and started out as Pittie Tools. The Pittie family are prominent industrialists in Pune and the family set-up the first private industry in Pune - The Raja Bahadur Motilal Poona Mills Ltd. in 1893. Pittie Tractors indigenously dveloped and manufactured tractors and was well set to capture a large share of the market in India. However, due to an unfortunate labor strike at one of its critical vendors, followed by a similar strike at its own plant, the company lost nearly a year of production. As a result, the company fell into financial difficulty and ultimately had to wind-up operations.

United Auto Tractors Ltd.

Began in 1986 in conjunction with Uzina Tractorul of Romania.[23]

References

External links

Manufacturer's Websites

Other Websites

History of Ford Farm Tractors