The company is now eyeing the growing market for below 40 HP.
If the market for tractors below 40 HP is set to grow in India, one company that wants to strengthen its focus on this pie is John Deere India (JDI), a subsidiary of Deere & Company. The company has two tractor manufacturing plants in India, one each at Pune in Maharashtra and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, giving it a combined installed capacity of 1.20 lakh units. While it was also affected by the de-growth in the Indian tractor market, (55,000 units were produced last year), the overseas markets gave sales a big boost, accounting for 44 per cent of total sales. Now, the company is chalking out a strategy to develop a stronger channel network in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, which are primarily lower HP markets but where it still does not have a good channel.
“We are working on our markets in the 35-40 HP category and we can provide effective solutions for lower horse power,” Satish Nadiger, Managing Director and CEO of John Deere’s India operations said, pointing out that they were market leaders in the 50+ HP segment and their marketshare in the 41-50 HP segment was between 10-12 per cent. Based on a new product mix and improved reach in regions where the company did not have strong channels, JDI is eyeing an overall marketshare of over 10 per cent in the next three years against 6-7 per cent today.
In addition to local manufacturing, where products sold in the Indian market are localised up to 93 per cent and those for the overseas market have 80-85 per cent localisation on account of different emission norms, JDI has sold $100 million worth of components to its sister concerns globally while its suppliers have independently exported components valued at $150-180 million to Deere companies. Pune, incidentally, has the company’s largest technology centre for research and development and as Nadiger puts it, “There are no Deere products, even in the international markets, that have not been touched by an Indian engineer.”
Amongst the company’s other initiatives is setting up of custom hiring centres across India that would enable small and marginal farmers hire farm equipment. Each centre will cater to 1,000 hectares and around 150 such centres have been or are being set up in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. The biggest foray in this respect is in Karnataka where 116 CHCs are being established over the next two months as part of a government initiative and equipment is available at rental rates that are 15-20 per cent lower than market rates.
Earlier, at the 2015 EIMA Agrimach India exhibition of agricultural machinery held in December 2015, JDI had put up a strong show of its product innovation capabilities, aimed at developing customer convenience and reducing operating costs in farming. “John Deere is committed to Indian farmers. We continue to design and manufacture machines that feature advanced technology and proven product reliability. This is important to modernising Indian agriculture,” Nadiger states. These new technologies include Perma Clutch, Power Reverser and an integrated tractor cab that sets an industry standard. “The introduction of these product features enhances the company’s leadership in bringing new technologies to the Indian market. In the past 15 years, Deere was the first in India to offer tractors with power-steering, wet brakes, dry-type air cleaner and four-wheel drive,” Nadiger elaborates.
The Perma Clutch was introduced keeping in mind the company’s strategy of being “two steps ahead”. Thereby, JDI became the first company in the industry to offer warranty on the clutch for 3,000 hours, an unparalleled offering even in India’s automotive industry. The Power Reverser is specifically aimed at the commercial segment in India. The feature allows the driver of a tractor to shift from forward to reverse with a flick of a switch, without using the clutch pedal. Experts believe that operators will not go back to using a conventional tractor once they have experienced the Power Reverser.
The new cab for farmers offers best-in-class visibility, operator comfort and a clean work environment. “We are also launching JD Link – a Telematics service using mobile phone technology to provide significant information about a farm operation. Customers can monitor, track and capture details on the performance of individual tractors, including usage patterns, service timings, theft alerts, and an acreage meter to calculate the size of an area even it has an irregular field shape or dimensions,” Nadiger informs.
Deere & Company has a long history with the Indian agricultural market, including sales of equipment in India approximately 60 years ago. In more recent times, it created a joint venture in 1997 in India and fully acquired the joint venture in 2005. Since then, Deere has added manufacturing locations, a technology and engineering centre in Pune, and a non-banking finance company to support John Deere’s dealers and customers. “John Deere is becoming a solution provider in India. We work with various companies in the agriculture value chain to bring end-to-end solutions to our farmers. We see a growing trend for customer hiring centres that are proving beneficial to small holder farmers,” says Mukul Varshney, VP Corporate Affairs.
– Huned Contractor
JDI is setting up custom hiring centres across India that would enable small and marginal farmers hire farm equipment.
At Tenneco, we have strong EHS and safety commitment, which reflects in our plants/operations. We have reduced CO2 emissions by 90 per cent.” – Sagar Hemade, Managing Director, Tenneco India.
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