A Lindner surprise from the Austrians

It’s not often that something as new as the Lindner marque arrives on the Irish market. Bypassing Britain, Lindner has arrived through Dublin-based firm Plant Systems Ltd under the stewardship of brothers Darren, Tommy and Shane Plant.

Over the past few decades, many of the smaller independent tractor manufacturers have been assimilated into much larger corporate-like manufacturers. Lindner has managed to maintain its independence as a small, family-owned Austrian business.

At home in Austria, Lindner retains its popularity and market share by producing a quality product while continuing to innovate. At Agritechnica 2013, Lindner launched its Lintrac 90. Conventional looking but with rear-axle steering and cvt transmission, the Lindner 90 did not go unnoticed.

Something similar has happened since the brand arrived in Ireland. While not seen here before, the brand has a bit of a cult following. This is perhaps partly due to the fact that it is ‘‘something different’’ and also due to the impression Austrian tractor brand Steyr has left.

There is an appetite for something different. Badge-engineered, common platform tractors are available from several big names in the tractor manufacturing business. While these are hand-built, are they handcrafted?

Lindner Geotrac 134 EP

The Irish Farmers Journal got its hands on the flagship model from this Austrian manufacturer. We were excited to see if it lived up to its reputation. And, yes, even more excited about playing with one of the rarest marques to ever arrive in Ireland.

The Lindner Geotrac 134 EP weighs in at under 5t (4,850kg) and has a wheelbase of 2.5m. It is certainly not heavy and, with compact dimensions, should be ideally suited to light-duty and heavy-duty operations on medium-sized livestock and tillage farms.

Decent hydraulics, a tight turning circle and a multi-controller joystick should also make the Geotrac 134 EP well suited to loader work. A small glass panel in the roof should give some view of a loader at height, but it is small.

In the flesh, the Lindner Geotrac 134 EP is certainly a modern-looking tractor. Its cab resembles the earlier Deutz-Fahr Agrotron design. It has large opening doors but the cab’s six-pillar design means these are not too large. Curved corner windows can be opened to scoop in fresh air.

The jury is out on the design of the cab’s roof light and nose of the bonnet. Put in isolation, their aesthetics are questionable. In the overall design of the tractor, most found them to be acceptable at least.

Under that hood is a four-cylinder Perkins engine, which produces 133hp and boosts to 144hp in pto and transport mode. With four pots producing this level of power, the Lindner competes well within the useful pocket-rocket sector. The current models conform to Stage 3B emission controls and feature a diesel particulate filter (DPF) under its bonnet to catch and burn soot particles. The engine capacity is 4.4 litres and the maximum torque produced, according to the manufacturer’s figures, is 560Nm at 1,400rpm.

There is no shortage of gears, with a 50kph ZF-Steyr transmission providing 32 forward and 32 reverse speeds. Describing the transmission as a ZF-Steyr unit, Lindner clearly recognises the historic input that fellow Austrian firm Steyr had in the transmission design. This transmission is also used by the SDF group.

Gears on offer are split in half with 16 for field and 16 for road. Four gears are selected by gearstick and a four-speed powershift subdivides to give 16 in each mode. Multi-disc oil-immersed brakes provide the stopping power. A four-speed pto is also standard.

A load-sensing axial piston Bosch-Rexroth hydraulic pump has a capacity of 121 l/min. Oil is drawn from a separate 45-litre tank oil supply. The Geotrac 134 EP comes standard with two electronic spool valves controlled on the firm’s multi-function armrest.

A further two mechanically-operated spool valves were on our test tractors. Both featured mechanically adjusted flow control.

The oil flow of electronic control units is adjusted via the Lindner intelligent on-board computer (IBC).

The rear lift capacity is a respectable 6.6t and the front is quoted at 3.5t.

Options on our test tractor included front linkage and pto, 50kph transmission, Carraro front-axle suspension, air brakes and air-suspended cab. Our test tractor had not yet been equipped with a pickup hitch and still had its European-style hitch in place.

Standard equipment included a heated front windscreen and heated mirrors, which reflects the climate of where the Lindner is built. Also standard is a reversing camera, multi-controller joystick, a lighting package including led and Ellipsoid lights, plus IBC.

Other features included headland management of four-wheel drive and differential lock. The test tractor was fitted with Continental tyres all round, 600/65-R38s on the rear and 540/65-R24s on the front.

The wide door provides ample access to a comfortable air-suspended seat. A passenger seat is comfortable but the cab is a bit small for a large passenger. It is interesting to note that Lindner offers a full child seat in its list of options.

The cab environment is different to anything else on the market. Lindner has put a lot of effort into certain aspects of the trim and finish. Stitched leather-like material covers some panels and even the seat-mounted armrest controller. It all looks well and is comfortable. Front cab pillars are left bare inside the cab and while this tester likes the stripped-back and well-finished design, few others did. Centre dash is the firm’s IBC display, with navigation buttons mounted on the side.

Like many manufacturers’ display units, there is a lot going on in the IBC. Most other manufacturers mount their units on the armrest or front righthand pillar.

We couldn’t fault this unit’s location or the amount of information displayed. Fuel level and engine temperature are displayed in side bars, which are not as easy to read or understand as conventional-style gauges. Whether managing the speed, direction or lift function, Lindner provides no shortage of operational methods. The forward and reverse (f/r) function can be operated by conventional left-hand shuttle lever or buttons on the armrest-mounted multi-controller.

The multi-controller operates two electrohydraulic services in joystick fashion. It also incorporates buttons for f/r, power-shift changes, de-clutch, lift raise/lower, and more.

A further two buttons on the armrest also lift, while the full lift and setup controls are found on the right-hand console. There are three rear lift raise/lower options in total.

A gearstick on the right console allows four mechanical gears to be selected.

A gearstick on the right console allows four mechanical gears to be selected. It also incorporates powershift buttons, a de-clutch button and a range change button.

Management features include headland management of four-wheel drive, differential lock and pto. Automatic power shift (APS) will automatically manage powershift changes for you, if required. A speed matching feature can be set up to change powershift at a maximum engine rpm.

The Lindner at work

There was a lot of rain, which didn’t allow us to do as much with the Lindner Geotrac 134 EP as we would have liked. But we had a good go at it.

On its own over our rough roads, the Geotrac 134 was comfortable, even up at 50kph. The designers at Lindner are unlikely to realise just how hard the tractor’s front-axle, air-cab suspension and air seat work on some of our roads. I think they would be pleased at how effective they are though.

It was disappointing that the Lindner had not yet been equipped with our own Irish-built Dromone hitch. We had to be careful not to overload the continental hitch but still managed to yoke to an 18ft twin-axle grain trailer with a small load.

We have substantial hills, which would test any tractor’s mettle. The Perkins power plant in the Lindner was a little disappointing with this small load behind it. An extra 10hp is available for roadwork but didn’t make much of an impression.

With some field work next, we hitched up to the farm’s fixed-width Kverneland four-furrow reversible plough. There was no issue handling it. The Lindner’s lifting range was excellent and allowed plenty of clearance for plough turnover.

The Lindner 134 EP had no power issues in the field and no shortage of gears. Sixteen field and 16 road speeds are important on tractors such as this. It could typically be asked to perform anything from one-pass drilling to slurry spreading or loader work.

The vast array of control options cater for nearly any operation you could think of.

When ploughing, f/r shuttling, lift raise/lower and plough turnover functions can all be accommodated.

Yes, other manufacturers have similarly-equipped joystick/multi-controller options but not all have two, or even three, control options for functions.

A simple safety feature in the cab is the right-console mounted emergency stop button. This kills lift, hydraulic and pto function, front and rear. It is simple and effective.

Verdict

We like it. You can find fault, but there is no doubt that this small firm from Austria produces a well thought-out and constructed product. It is compact, powerful and would easily find a home on any medium- or large-sized farming operation.

Compact dimensions, fast hydraulics and a multi-controller would make it a capable loader tractor.

Lots of gears and even more control options would make it an excellent performer in any type of in-field scenario. It was lacking a little in power on the road but it is new. Perhaps its first service or more hours on the clock would remedy this.

It is well priced and there is no doubt that it will grow in the marketplace. Lindner tractors are in demand within its traditional markets. Availability may mean it is unlikely to have a huge or immediate effect on the Irish market, not yet at least.

One thing is certain; the Lindner Geotrac 130 EP is more than just a curiosity. Now that it is here, it is a reality.

Likes

v Multi-controller

v Quality finish

v Multiple control options

v Emergency stop button

v 32/32 transmission

Dislikes

X Seemed a bit underpowered on the road

X Bare cab pillars