Tractors that make sense Farmtrac

TYRES FOR EXTREME

CONDITIONS

Nokian Tyres is a global leader in the development and manufacture of heavy-duty tyres for extreme environments. Philip Yorke talked to Jarkko Puikkonen, the company’s global marketing director, about its latest developments for tyres for the mining and forestry sectors and its move into new markets.

Nokian Tyres was founded in 1988 and was first listed on the Helsinki stock exchange in 1995. However, the company’s roots date back to 1898 when Suomen Gummitehdas Oy, or the Finnish Rubber Factory, was established. Passenger tyre production commenced in 1932 and the company’s first winter tyre was produced in 1934. Nokian’s best known tyre brand, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta, was launched in 1936 and remains a brand leader in its field today.

The company’s key products are studded and non-studded winter tyres and high-speed summer tyres and these two examples represent Nokian Tyres’ fastest growing product segments. Today the company’s most important brands include the Nokian Hakkapeliitta, the Nokian Kaaka and the Nokian Nordman.

In 2012 winter tyres represented over 74 per cent of all Nokian car tyres sales. However, another strong growth market contender is its range of special heavy-duty tyres for the agriculture, forestry, construction and mining sectors. This Nokian Tyre division is responsible for more than 10 per cent of the company’s global sales. In 2012, Nokian Tyres employed over 4000 people worldwide and recorded sales of more than €1.6 billion. Pioneers in challenging environments

Since its earliest days Nokian has been committed to pioneering the development of tyres for harsh conditions, and today it leads the world in this high-tech area. Uncompromising testing and constant product improvements have earned the company a reputation for superior safety and control in arctic weather conditions. The main objective of Nokian Tyres’ R&D programme is to reinforce the company’s status as the manufacturer of the world’s best winter and forestry tyres. Development is based upon the principle of sustainable safety, which translates as ensuring

that the safety properties of a tyre should remain intact, even as the tyre wears.

Mr Puikkonen said, “Our Heavy Duty Tyres Division now incorporates truck tyres and this has boosted our turnover from €100 million to more than €150 million. However, our main market sectors remain those of Forestry, Agriculture, Mining, and Tunnelling as well as Material Handling and Earth Moving. We are the global market leader in these sectors and our clients represent some of the biggest OEMs in the world including Komatsu, AGCO, John Deere and New Holland. We work in close partnership with our customers to develop tyres that meet the extreme challenges that they encounter. For example, this could be forestry tyres that are subjected to rocky terrain and arctic snow conditions or tyres for underground mining environments where huge loads that exceed 1000 kg are placed upon the tyres.

“We are planning to roll out a range of new products at the forthcoming Swedish trade fair and our latest Forestry S2 tyres will be on display there, along with others that are currently in the pipeline. Our export markets are also growing well, especially in Russia where we have an important manufacturing facility and are already well established in the region. However, all our heavy duty tyres are still produced in Finland.

“For our heavy duty tyres we only use the highest quality natural rubber as synthetic alternatives do not offer the same resistance to extreme weather conditions and at the moment they do not provide other important qualities that are vital in operations in extreme environments. We are also seeing consistent growth in our harbour business area where we provide tyres for gantry cranes and material handling equipment. These tyres must be extremely resilient as they are subjected to long hours of duty and operate in very rough, salty conditions. Our focus remains on the premium end of the market where we provide unparalleled customer service and products which are unmatched in terms of both quality and reliability.”

Putting safety and performance first

Tyres represent the most active piece of safety equipment in a car or truck. The control of the vehicle relies on four contact areas about the size of the palm of your hand. The role of tyres in managing the safety of a car is focused on fast-changing conditions. These can vary from roads that are wet, to those covered in snow before turning to ice. Therefore the tyre tread and tyre pressures become vital to the optimal functionality of the tyres.

The extreme climatic conditions in the Nordic regions demand much more from tyres than in more temperate countries. The tyres must maintain their grip on the road surface whatever the conditions. For these reasons, much of the R&D that goes into the development of Nokian’s Heavy duty tyres is focused upon the issue of safety and reliability in hostile environments.

Different market areas require their own customised products and the creation of safe, successful products requires detailed familiarisation with new developments in automotive technology, as well as close cooperation with machine and equipment manufacturers. n

For further details of Nokian Tyres’ innovative products and services visit: www.nokiantyres.com

TRACTORS THAT MAKE SENSE

Well-established Polish tractor manufacturer Farmtrac has a unique offer that it is now bringing to the international agricultural market. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to the CEO, Andrzej Kublik, to learn how this is being achieved.

Tractor manufacturer Farmtrac Tractors has been firmly established on the Polish market for more than 13 years. With all its operations and manufacturing currently located in Poland, the company is in the process of bringing its respected tractors to a wider audience.

As the largest manufacturer of tractors in Poland, Farmtrac Tractors has long been able to draw on a considerable experience to ensure that it is delivering exactly the type of tractors its customers want. It is this clear understanding of the real market demand, and the subsequent manufacture of tractors that perfectly fit the bill, that has characterised the company’s rapid and successful growth.

Real customer understanding

Farmtrac Tractor CEO Andrzej Kublik is clear that meeting customers’ specific needs is crucial to the company’s increased global footprint. He said, “We are famous for our R&D. Our decision to boost our presence on the international agricultural vehicles market has been driven by our passion for R&D and our desire to share our tractors with a wider customer base. As a company that truly offers something different, we are excited about the future.”

That ‘something different’ is Farmtrac Tractors’ easy-to-use, affordable-to-buy range of tractors. Mr Kublik explained how the vast majority of tractor manufacturers are continually looking to increase the features and technical capabilities of their vehicles, whereas Farmtrac sets itself apart by focusing on making its tractors simple but effective. Mr Kublik said, “We are proud to offer simple tractors made by experts. Farmtrac’s promise is a full agricultural tractor with easy-to-understand electronics. We don’t over-engineer our tractors, or make tractors that are too difficult to maintain and repair. Farmtrac Tractors is consistently focused on tractors that are affordable and effective and perfectly suited to small- and mid-sized farmers’ needs.”

The two key market areas where Farmtrac Tractors are positioned are for the one tractor needed by small- to mid-sized farmers and as an auxiliary tractor for big farmers. A third market area where Mr Kublik is working to promote Farmtrac’s products is as a viable alternative to buying a used tractor. He explained, “Our tractors are certainly price competitive when it comes to the used tractor market. We aim to highlight to potential customers that they can buy a brand new Farmtrac tractor for the same price as a used tractor – we know that this is appealing as it means that they can get a simple-to-use yet proven quality tractor that is brand new, rather than buying a second hand tractor that may have features that they won’t even need or use.”

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