CNH Industrial has released its latest sugar cane harvester model with the launch of the Austoft 9000.
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The Case IH Austoft 9000 has undergone extensive testing locally over the past 18 months to ensure it’s a good fit for Australian cane harvesting conditions
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With a more powerful 420 horsepower engine and intelligent hydraulic system, CNH says the 9000 model will help cane growers tackle the global cane market more effectively.
The Austoft 9000 is available for purchase now with the first machines set to arrive in Australia from Brazil early next year.
Several technologies have been added to the 9000 model to boost performance in the field, including the AFS Auto guidance system and new 4G-compatable telematics system – the first Austoft model to offer the feature.
The Austoft 9000’s redesigned hydraulics system provides operators with a ten per cent higher harvesting capacity, 10 per cent lower fuel consumption and 50 per cent longer engine life.
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Case IH Australian product manager for sugarcane harvesters Lawrence Polga says customer feedback has been critical in the design of the new model.
“The 9000 represents more than 30,000 hours of field and bench testing, further improving the reliability of the Austoft and delivering major reductions in the total cost of ownership for customers,” he says.
“The contribution of the Australian field testing and feedback can’t be overstated. Case IH has always taken a lot of pride in the input of customers because we want to offer them machines that meet the needs for their operation, do it in the most efficient and effective way, while adding value to their business and offering the reliability and performance our customers deserve.”
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The new Case IH Austoft 9000 includes a more powerful engine and redesigned hydraulics system
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“We refer to the Austoft as the ‘King of the Cane, and this latest 9000 Series not only reinforces that reputation but redefines the expectations when to comes to harvesting efficiency and performance, machine reliability and ease of operation,” Polga says.
Other features of the Austoft 9000 Series include auto crop feed, which provides for the automatic adjustment of harvesting functions in accordance with operating conditions.
Operator comfort has also been addressed with the cab redesigned to improve visibility and layout of commands.
“All the features that have made the Austoft and its predecessors such pioneers remain, but the 9000 supports a raft of enhancements and technology advances that put it in a class of its own and present sugar producers with so many opportunities when it comes to the operation and potential of their business,” Polga says.
“We’ve given customers the horsepower they’ve been asking for, on-demand hydraulics in line with other Case-IH machine ranges, better serviceability and improved reliability to minimise downtime at critical times of the season.
“And, there’s the data systems that can provide agronomic and machinery information to guide decision-making and allow for the sharing of this information with approved third-parties such as the local dealership or agronomists.
“The Austoft 9000 is something very different, representing a new generation of cane harvester for Case IH and creating a lot of anticipation for its launch into its market.”