No-nonsense image for reborn orchard tractor
No-nonsense image for reborn orchard tractor
By Peter Hill
A NEW tractor manufacturing business has started in Worcestershire, producing a simple, no-nonsense machine based on Massey Ferguson TE20 and MF35 mechanicals.
The Smallholder Tractor Company, run by Giles Hirst, bought the plans and designs for the Mini-Trak previously made by Sutcliffe Tractors. That business went into receivership last year, but Mr Hirst is confident his venture will not go the same way.
"We had a great reaction to the tractor when my associate company, Hirst Livestock, started distributing the tractor in Scotland," he says. "The opportunity to take over the project was too good to miss."
Smallholder Tractor Co and Hirst Livestock are now based at Badsey, near Evesham, Worcs, and the plan is to produce up to two Smallholder tractors a week.
New seals
There is a ready supply of TE20/MF35 transmission units, which, for the Smallholder, are reconditioned with new seals and bearings where needed. New Lister-Petter engines are used to make the most of modern diesel motor design, performance and economy.
MF enthusiasts will be pleased to note that the tractors are also being turned out in a familiar red colour scheme complete with one year warranty.
The Smallholder ST20 uses a TE20 transmission and back-end, giving four forward and one reverse speed, hydraulics, pto and three-point linkage. The Lister-Petter diesel engine develops 30hp. Basic price is £5800.
The ST35 model has the MF35 transmission – six forward, two reverse – and a choice of 30hp or 41hp Lister-Petter engines. Basic prices are £6300 and £6750.
Options for all three models include a safety roll bar, sling drawbar, tipper pipe, lights, weights and weather cab.
A range of implements is being assembled to go with the tractors, including the 1m to 1.8m (3ft-6ft) toppers already produced by Hirst Livestock.
Giles Hirst states: "I really do think this simple, low-cost tractor has potential and the fact that we are already getting orders for use by game-keepers, for work around stables and for grounds maintenance is very encouraging."
But the Smallholder tractor faces competition now that IMT tractors are available in Britain once more. Supplies came to a halt when trade sanctions stopped exports from Serbia, one of the former Yugoslavian states involved in the Balkan war.
Now that sanctions are no longer in place, the diminutive IMT 539 is available here.
"The tractor was first built in the early 1960s under an agreement with Massey Ferguson and, really, very little has changed," says importer Martin Richards. "There have been some improvements over the MF35X, on which it is based, including hydrostatic power steering, an alternator in place of a dynamo, a sprung seat and an optional safety cab."
Ideal in yards
Mr Richards, of IMT Tractors, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, says the 37hp three-cylinder engined tractor, with its simple six forward, three reverse speed gearbox, makes an ideal yard tractor for dairy farmers or for use in vegetable production, horticulture and fruit growing.
"Some people might be sceptical about build quality," he accepts. "But it is a simple, proven design and past examples have been very reliable."
The IMT will be sold direct rather than through dealers with an initial spares kit – filters for the first service mainly – included in the £6800 purchase price.
"We plan to have demonstration tractors in strategic locations, as well as service agents, and can provide a next-day parts delivery service," says Mr Richards.
The IMT tractor is available in Britain again; this is the 37hp IMT 539.