Harvesting success Linamar Corporation

HARVESTING SUCCESS

The Canadian Linamar Corporation moved into Hungary 25 years ago. Today Linamar Hungary Zrt is not only the largest agricultural machinery producer in the Alföld region but is also well known for its increasingly important automotive division. Edina Beale reports.

Leading precision product manufacturing group the Canadian Linamar Corporation established a presence in Hungary in 1992 when it set up Linamar Hungary Zrt in the small town of Orosháza in Békés county. For many years now the company has been the largest employer in the region, providing jobs for over 2200 people in addition to its significant supplier background and important research and development activities. While still specialising in general machine production at the Orosháza site, the company has diversified to maintain competitiveness and has been operating two other production sites to serve the automotive industry.

machine specialist

The production unit in Orosháza has over 45 years’ experience in the production of agricultural machines. The Oros Division develops, manufactures and sells agricultural machines, machine parts, harvesting adapters and assembly machines for the construction industry. Its core products are different types of harvesting adapters, with the best sellers being the corn and sunflower adapters developed by the company itself. These universal adapters can be fitted to all type of harvesters. Customers can choose from six rows up to 16 rows, or whether they want the product to be fixed or foldable. The portfolio includes good quality but lower price adapters as well as meeting demands for premium category products. Although some products are distributed in the domestic market, its export activities are also very significant. The main markets include eastern and western Europe, North Africa and North America.

New generations of harvesting headers

From the start, continuous product development has been the key to success for the Oros Division. The innovative Oros Sun hydrostatic sunflower adapter is implemented with a stalk crushing facility whilst operating with reduced energy and minimal seed dropping. The aim was to develop an adapter that reduces harvesting waste to a minimum: the adapter is fitted with a row of trays that collect the falling sunflower heads and seeds.

Their simple construction and minimal maintenance needs make these products highly attractive to clients. The distance between the stalk crushing unit and the adapter is adjustable from the driver’s cabin, therefore the optimal height for stalk ends is easy to maintain even at different harvesting heights. When harvesting stock is bent forward or at different heights, the stalk-chopping knife is no longer able to cut the stalk before the adapter’s turning knife chops the sunflower head from the stalk.

The original generation of the Oros HSA has gone through several changes since its first market launch. The most distinctive difference is its outward appearance: in accordance with new market requirements the orange coloured frame of the machine has been replaced with a new black colour. Trends today show that the external look of the adapters are increasingly important; clients want to select matching colours for their covers to go with their harvesters, and therefore the black colour is more suitable as a base frame.

The newly developed Oros3 HSA is the third generation of the traditional Oros HAS, with the most significant update being a renewed side drive and chopper unit. The Oros3 HSA adapter is equipped with snapping rolls with knives, making it more time- and energy-efficient. Thanks to its universal frame structure the Oros corn harvester headers can be fitted to all types of harvesters.

Precision parts for the automotive sector

The group’s first automotive component part manufacturing division, Linamar Products Division, was established in 1993 in the Orosháza site. A new production hall was then built to assemble vacuum pumps for clients in the automotive sector. Its main production portfolio today still consists of precision metal machining and component parts, including gearbox components, high pressure petrol feeding pump housings, steering wheel components, assembled turbocharger housings, assembled vacuum pumps and assembled differentials.

The Precision Part Manufacturing unit in Békéscsaba began its operations in 1999. This factory was established to carry out machining for large precision component parts in high volume. Its first products included spindles for inductive generators and their different types of milled cast components, but the portfolio has been extended over the years to meet market demands. Today it manufactures petrol feeding system components for cars, car bearing housings, units for lifts, compressor component parts, spindles for industrial equipment and wind turbine parts.

Increased prospects

In 2015 Linamar invested 5.5 billion HUF in the Orosháza site, which increased the company’s annual sales by €250 million. The company’s turnover in 2014 reached 45 billion HUF.

In recent years Linamar Hungary Zrt has strengthened its relationships with Europe’s largest car manufacturing company, the Volkswagen group, while also investigating new markets in the surrounding countries such as Romania, Slovakia, Poland, western Europe and North America. By 2020 the company is planning to employ 500 extra staff as well as continuing to make new investments.