Leading agricultural equipment manufacturer Agrifac Machinery has chosen Volvo Penta to supply engines for its six-row sugar beet harvesters.
Volvo Penta has signed a deal with Dutch OEM Agrifac to provide D13 and D16 engines for four of its six-row sugar beet harvester models — marking an expansion of Volvo Penta’s business in the agriculture market.
Agrifac, owned by Exel Industries, received the engines this summer for installation in its Exxact LightTraxx, Exxact OptiTraxx, Exxact SixxTraxx and Exxact HexxTraxx beet harvesters. The first machines bearing Volvo Penta engines were delivered to customers in September.
“We are very happy with how well these engines are performing in our machines,” Doeko Blaauw, R&D director at Agrifac, says.
“The fuel consumption has been even lower than we expected.”
The compact 19-ton LightTraxx and 21-ton OptiTraxx are both six-row harvesters with a 12-ton bunker capacity. The 30-ton six-row SixxTraxx, meanwhile, has a 28-ton bunker, as does the 28-ton 12-row HexxTraxx.
Volvo Penta’s TAD1363VE engines are being used in the LightTraxx and OptiTraxx, providing a maximum of 345kW (469hp) of power at 1,900rpm, while the TAD1661VE, which are being installed in the SixxTraxx and HexxTraxx, provide 450kW (612hp) at 1,900rpm.
The agricultural segment is of increasing importance in the company’s push to grow its industrial versatile engine business. Partnering with Agrifac marks an important step in Volvo Penta’s growth in that segment.
“With our easy installation, an after-treatment system that doesn’t require a diesel particulate filter and a global availability of parts, our engines are well suited to certain products in the agricultural segment — like beet harvesters and sprayers,” Rogier Morang, key account manager of industrial engines in BeNeLux, says.
“We see a lot of opportunities to grow in this sector, as well as with Agrifac.”
This year, for the first time, Volvo Penta will also exhibit at the agricultural exhibition Agritechnica in Hanover, Germany, where it will show off its range of Stage IV/Tier 4 Final engines.