Exclusive: Sonalika Tractors builds world’s largest tractor plant in Punjab

Sonalika Tractors is almost ready with its second plant which, according to company officials, is  going to be the world’s largest tractor manufacturing facility. 

The company plans to commence operations at the all-new manufacturing facility in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, in Q1 FY2016-17.

In an exclusive conversation with Autocar Professional today, DL Rana, director, sales and marketing, Sonalika International Tractors, revealed that the new plant will be officially inaugurated in the coming two to three months and will have a monthly production capacity of close to 15,000 units.

The company’s current production capacity is around 80,000 units per annum, which will be augmented to more than 200,000 units per annum as soon as the manufacturing plant commences operations.

“Our existing production plant is running with 100 percent capacity utilisation. Our capacity expansion plan is a well-planned strategic move to fuel growth in the coming years. The company has made heavy investments in the upcoming plant. Our new manufacturing plant has a single production line to assemble all variants and models. The plant is equipped with robotic painting facility of chassis for both base and top coat, automated guided vehicle for assembly and materials feeding, fully-automatic test rigs for hydraulic lift and transmission testing and many other first-rate facilities,” disclosed Rana.

While Rana refused to speak about the investments made at the upcoming plant, industry analysts peg that the company has made investments of a few hundred crore rupees in its capacity expansion.

Three new tractors launched
The company, which is India’s third largest tractor manufacturer, launched three new tractor models – DI 750 III HDM, Rx 47 in 4-wheel drive and GardenTrac 22 – in Pune earlier today.

While the DI 750 III HDM is a tractor meant for heavy duty jobs in the above-50hp category, the Rx 47 4WD is suitable for agricultural as well as haulage applications. The Gardentrac 22 (also called as GT 22), is a 22hp small tractor meant for applications in vineyards and orchards where grapes, papaya, apple, pomegranate, sugarcane, cotton and groundnut farming is carried out.

Talking about the product launch today, Rana said: “Maharashtra is a crucial market for Sonalika ITL. The company is successfully selling tractors in the 20hp to 60hp range, which includes GT 20, GT26, Rx 35, Rx 42, RX 47, DI 745, RX 750, RX 60 and World Trac 60. Looking at farmers’ requirements in the region, we are going to introduce GT 22, RX 47 4WD version and DI 750 IIIHDM. With our customer-centric approach, we focus on empowering our farmers by providing solutions that will enhance their agricultural productivity. Going forward, we plan to remain robust with our focus in the region.”

According to Rana, Sonalika Tractors currently has a market share of 12 percent in the farm equipment market. “Our market share has grown from 8 percent to 12 percent in the last four years. We have around 850 dealerships and over 2,000 customer touch-points. We plan to increase our customer touch-points to 2,500 by the end of the coming fiscal under our existing dealerships. This will also strengthen their position in their respective regions,” he added.

New 110hp tractor in the pipeline
The company also plans to launch its largest 110hp tractor model in the coming months. “We are still studying the scope for the 110hp tractor model. Although the final project is not yet ready, we had recently displayed the model in North India to gauge customer response. The model is meant for multiple utility applications. We may launch it either by the end of this year or next year,” revealed Rana.

The company has reportedly sold more than 45,000 tractors in Maharashtra so far and has a dealership network of more than 90 in the state. “We have a market share of 25 percent in Maharashtra in the 21hp-30hp tractor category. In the 41hp-50hp segment, we have a market share of 14.5 percent in this state. The 41hp-50hp class is the best-selling category for us across India,” he added.