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Title: Blue steel: bringing New Holland tractors to life
Following a recent visit to New Holland's factory in Basildon, Essex, Michael Collins reports on what goes into making a New Holland or CASE IH tractor come to life.
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Following a recent visit to New Holland's factory in Basildon, Essex, Michael Collins reports on what goes into making a New Holland or CASE IH tractor come to life.
New Holland’s facility in Basildon, Essex, is one of the few remaining tractor factories in the UK. The plant, owned by the CNH group, has been building tractors since 15 May 1964. Both Case IH and New Holland tractors are assembled here. Before this, the tractors were built in Dagenham, east London.
When Basildon first started producing tractors, it became the world’s first fully integrated facility, with all components, including engines, designed and built on site. The factory evolved into a global manufacturing hub, with 70% of production exported. This represented 1% of the UK’s entire export income. Some of the instantly recognisable models produced at the plant included the Ford 4000, 5000 and 7000 series and the still-esteemed Ford 7810.
In 1991, Fiat Geotech acquired Ford New Holland. Up to 1994, the plant produced the distinctive blue Ford New Holland tractors, after which the Ford was dropped in favour of just New Holland. Interestingly, up to 1996, the terracotta FiatAgri tractors were also assembled in Basildon. In 1999, following the acquisition of Case Corporation by Fiat Group, New Holland and Case were merged to create CNH Global. This meant the plant continued producing New Holland tractors but also now produced Case IH tractors for markets outside of Europe, such as the US or China.
Now Basildon produces tractors in the 120hp to 315hp range. These are exported to more than 120 countries around the globe in many different build types. Some tractors are fitted with engine heaters to stop the engine oil freezing in the depths of winter and some are fitted with 2WD where land is flat and 4WD is deemed unnecessary. Whatever the requirement, the plant seems to be able to meet it. The T6, T7 and T7 heavy duty range of New Holland tractors are manufactured here. Today, more than 90% of tractors are exported.
Every day a number of tractors are selected at random from the production line for further examination before leaving the factory.
Every day a number of tractors are selected at random from the production line for further examination before leaving the factory.
How it’s made
The Basildon plant is a super-efficient assembly line running along the principles of world class manufacturing (WCM). Engines, axle housings, transmissions and cabs are no longer made here but instead come from Italy, Belgium and France. Before the plant ceased production of engines, 3,040,117 were produced in Basildon in 44 years.
All tractors begin life on the 2.5km assembly line as a drivetrain. The plant produces 14 different tractor ranges consisting of 133 models with 16,000 possible machine configurations.
All tractors begin with the rear linkage arms, rear axle, transmission and engine bolted together to form the drivetrain. They then follow the 2.5km of production line which snakes around the factory both on a suspended rail and smart guided vehicles that follow a magnetic strip in the floor. Depending on the specification of the tractor and the country it is destined for, there can be a huge variation between tractor models.
Both Case IH and New Holland tractors are produced at Basildon for 120 markets around the globe.
The plant produces 14 different tractor ranges consisting of 133 models with 16,000 possible machine configurations. Something now fitted to all tractors for the Irish market such as the AdBlue system may not be required in a country such as South Africa.
Every day a number of tractors are selected at random from the production line for further examination before leaving the factory.
As the drive train moves along the line, the various components that make up the tractor are bolted in place. Wiring harnesses and hoses are supplied to assembly staff in moveable shelves that are replaced with the correct part at the exact time the part is needed. It’s all a highly choreographed operation that requires the exact part in the right place at the precise time. Larger parts such as the cab are all lowered on to the drivetrain using overhead cranes with effortless precision. Watching the tractor coming together is like watching it grow from a number of pieces into the finished product.
Every day a number of tractors are selected at random from the production line for further examination before leaving the factory.
Once fully assembled, all oils and fluids such as brake fluid and coolant are added, and the tractor is tested in the rolling-road test cell. This replicates a road test which can reveal any issues before the tractor leaves the factory. Aside from this test, a number of tractors per day are picked at random from the production line for further quality checks.
Methane power
As part of the factory visit, we got to test-drive a methane-powered tractor. Initially launched in 2013, the concept tractor with distinctively futuristic designs as seen at numerous global launches was not available to drive.
Apart from the vertical methane-storage tanks on the rear of the cab, externally there was little difference to the methane powered NewHolland
Instead, a current production T6.180 with methane powered engine was. From the outside, the tractor looked almost identical to a normal New Holland except for large vertical methane storage tanks at the rear of the cab.
From the brief time behind the wheel on the oval shaped track towing an empty trailer, transport performance was similar to the diesel-powered equivalent which was also available to drive.
If anything, the tractor sounded quieter but without an implement such as a plough, we could not tell what performance was like in a field.
Apart from the vertical methane storage tanks on the rear of the cab, externally there was little difference to the methane-powered NewHolland
When asked about availability, Mark Howell, New Holland’s global product manager for alternative fuels, said the company expects to have the tractor available within three years.
He went on to say they are drawing on the expertise already available from FPT (Fiat Powertrain Technologies) who are part of the CNH group that builds methane-powered engines.
So far, there are 22,000 Iveco buses and trucks using these engines around the globe so they are not starting from scratch in developing the concept.
New Holland’s facility in Basildon, Essex, is one of the few remaining tractor factories in the UK. The plant, owned by the CNH group, has been building tractors since 15 May 1964. Both Case IH and New Holland tractors are assembled here. Before this, the tractors were built in Dagenham, east London.
When Basildon first started producing tractors, it became the world’s first fully integrated facility, with all components, including engines, designed and built on site. The factory evolved into a global manufacturing hub, with 70% of production exported. This represented 1% of the UK’s entire export income. Some of the instantly recognisable models produced at the plant included the Ford 4000, 5000 and 7000 series and the still-esteemed Ford 7810.
In 1991, Fiat Geotech acquired Ford New Holland. Up to 1994, the plant produced the distinctive blue Ford New Holland tractors, after which the Ford was dropped in favour of just New Holland. Interestingly, up to 1996, the terracotta FiatAgri tractors were also assembled in Basildon. In 1999, following the acquisition of Case Corporation by Fiat Group, New Holland and Case were merged to create CNH Global. This meant the plant continued producing New Holland tractors but also now produced Case IH tractors for markets outside of Europe, such as the US or China.
Now Basildon produces tractors in the 120hp to 315hp range. These are exported to more than 120 countries around the globe in many different build types. Some tractors are fitted with engine heaters to stop the engine oil freezing in the depths of winter and some are fitted with 2WD where land is flat and 4WD is deemed unnecessary. Whatever the requirement, the plant seems to be able to meet it. The T6, T7 and T7 heavy duty range of New Holland tractors are manufactured here. Today, more than 90% of tractors are exported.
Every day a number of tractors are selected at random from the production line for further examination before leaving the factory.
Every day a number of tractors are selected at random from the production line for further examination before leaving the factory.
How it’s made
The Basildon plant is a super-efficient assembly line running along the principles of world class manufacturing (WCM). Engines, axle housings, transmissions and cabs are no longer made here but instead come from Italy, Belgium and France. Before the plant ceased production of engines, 3,040,117 were produced in Basildon in 44 years.
All tractors begin life on the 2.5km assembly line as a drivetrain. The plant produces 14 different tractor ranges consisting of 133 models with 16,000 possible machine configurations.
All tractors begin with the rear linkage arms, rear axle, transmission and engine bolted together to form the drivetrain. They then follow the 2.5km of production line which snakes around the factory both on a suspended rail and smart guided vehicles that follow a magnetic strip in the floor. Depending on the specification of the tractor and the country it is destined for, there can be a huge variation between tractor models.
Both Case IH and New Holland tractors are produced at Basildon for 120 markets around the globe.
The plant produces 14 different tractor ranges consisting of 133 models with 16,000 possible machine configurations. Something now fitted to all tractors for the Irish market such as the AdBlue system may not be required in a country such as South Africa.
Every day a number of tractors are selected at random from the production line for further examination before leaving the factory.
As the drive train moves along the line, the various components that make up the tractor are bolted in place. Wiring harnesses and hoses are supplied to assembly staff in moveable shelves that are replaced with the correct part at the exact time the part is needed. It’s all a highly choreographed operation that requires the exact part in the right place at the precise time. Larger parts such as the cab are all lowered on to the drivetrain using overhead cranes with effortless precision. Watching the tractor coming together is like watching it grow from a number of pieces into the finished product.
Every day a number of tractors are selected at random from the production line for further examination before leaving the factory.
Once fully assembled, all oils and fluids such as brake fluid and coolant are added, and the tractor is tested in the rolling-road test cell. This replicates a road test which can reveal any issues before the tractor leaves the factory. Aside from this test, a number of tractors per day are picked at random from the production line for further quality checks.
Methane power
As part of the factory visit, we got to test-drive a methane-powered tractor. Initially launched in 2013, the concept tractor with distinctively futuristic designs as seen at numerous global launches was not available to drive.
Apart from the vertical methane-storage tanks on the rear of the cab, externally there was little difference to the methane powered NewHolland
Instead, a current production T6.180 with methane powered engine was. From the outside, the tractor looked almost identical to a normal New Holland except for large vertical methane storage tanks at the rear of the cab.
From the brief time behind the wheel on the oval shaped track towing an empty trailer, transport performance was similar to the diesel-powered equivalent which was also available to drive.
If anything, the tractor sounded quieter but without an implement such as a plough, we could not tell what performance was like in a field.
Apart from the vertical methane storage tanks on the rear of the cab, externally there was little difference to the methane-powered NewHolland
When asked about availability, Mark Howell, New Holland’s global product manager for alternative fuels, said the company expects to have the tractor available within three years.
He went on to say they are drawing on the expertise already available from FPT (Fiat Powertrain Technologies) who are part of the CNH group that builds methane-powered engines.
So far, there are 22,000 Iveco buses and trucks using these engines around the globe so they are not starting from scratch in developing the concept.
Kverneland Group Ireland has announced the appointment of Walmsley Tractors, Kesh, Co Fermanagh to its dealer network for its full implement portfolio.
Policy proposals developed by the Department are to be assessed against a climate metric developed by Oxford scientists.
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