74 | AutoPartsAsia | FEBRUARY 2018OFF ROAD
Greaves Cotton Revamps Farm
Focus With ’Bahubali’
APA Bureau
G
reaves Cotton Limited, a
leading Indian engineering
company with core
competencies in diesel and
petrol engines, farm equipment,
gensets and construction business,
has renewed its focus on the farm
sector. The Rs 1,800-crore company,
under its Farm Equipment Division, has
launched a locally-manufactured power
tiller named ‘Bahubali’, a new addition
to its portfolio of farming equipmentand power tillers. Greaves will support
the growing farm sector in India by
directing its attention to R&D, plant, and
people.
With huge potential to increase farm
productivity in India, the company
aims to boost farm mechanisation and
reduce dependency on farm labour.
Bahubali,with a 14hp engine, is meant
for heavy duty performance, enhanced
ploughing, and deeper tilling. It is more
fuel efficient, and its powder-coated
body is more rugged and long-lasting.Bahubali has been in development
since 2014. Its prototype was ready in
a year. The engine was fired in January
2016 and the company completed
the homologation process during the
next year. Greaves Cotton launched
Bhahubali after validating it for more
than 2,000 hours in the field. As more
than 80 percent of the application
of power tillers is in wet land the
company has created an extensive test
schedule including torture test. One
of the significant technologies in the
tiller is water pump, which is in-built in
the engine block itself. The company
has applied for patent for the cooling
system.Other than the 5Cs, cylinder head,
cylinder block, crank shaft, connecting
rod and cam shaft, the company
outsources all other items includingsheet metal parts,
fabrication, rubber and
frames. It has 63 suppliers
for the plant in Ranipet.
The localization level of
Bhahubali is about 85
percent.
Nagesh Basavanhalli, MD
and CEO, Greaves Cotton
Limited, said, “As part of our
strategy, we have invested in
building capability, people,
facility and technology. This
will help us strengthen our position
in the agri-sector, as a wide range of
our products and services are to help
farmers from ploughing to harvesting.
With the Indian economy evolving
rapidly efficient use of farm machinery
is necessary to improve land
productivity. Greaves is working closely
with farmers to understand their needs
and create solutions that promise
more yield per acre because of the
decreasing landholdings, increasing
population and shortage of farm labour
in India.”
Mohanan, President-Farm Equipment
Business, Greaves Cotton Limited,
said, “As a full range player in the
farm equipment space, Greaves Agri
continues to develop equipment to
support the farmers in each step of the
crop cycle. We will continue to build
on the ‘Make for India’ vision and willintroduce superior quality and more
reliable products in the market.”Having grown from a small equipment
player to a large farm solutions and
services company, Greaves Agri
has products for each stage of the
crop cycle covering a wide variety
of functionality for the sector. It has
a dedicated R&D facility. The tate-of-
the-art large farm equipment factory in
Ranipet manufactures a wide range of
products and engages with customers
across the country.
Greaves Cotton provides high quality
products for all stages of agriculture
operations: irrigation, soil preparation,
planting, plant protection, harvesting
and post-harvest cycle. The company
has sold more than three million pump-
sets across India and neighboring
countries.