How does Agri Star ll perform at a one of the largest agricultural companies in Russia?

February 20, 2023

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Steppe Agroholding is one of the largest agricultural companies in the Southern region of Russia. Its land reserve is 578 thousand hectares in the Rostov Region, Krasnodar and the Stavropol Territories. Agricultural holding companies grow a wide range of crops: wheat, barley, corn, peas, chickpeas, large-fruited and oilseed sunflower, rapeseed, flax, safflower, coriander, sugar beets, and soybeans. In 2022 the gross wheat output was the largest in the history of the company – about 1.1 million tons, exceeding last year’s result by 13%. In total, about 3,000 units of equipment were involved in the harvest campaign this year.

Gashunsky Breeding Plant JSC is a subsidiary of Steppe Agroholding. They are heavily involved in autumn wheat sowing.

The Gashunsky Breeding Plant’s fleet of vehicles includes more than 20 heavy tractors, 62 harvesters, light tractors, and other types of agricultural machinery, as well as trucks and cars. The cultivated land area is more than 63 thousand hectares, located in several districts of Rostov region, where autumn and spring wheat, barley, flax, peas and sunflower are grown.

As noted by the head of the subdivision (separate subdivision) of Gashunsky Breeding Plant JSC (Steppe Agroholding), Nikolai Voronkov,  Alliance tires are widely used with the company’s agricultural machinery.

“Us choosing this tire is influenced by a combination of factors, e.g. the optimal ratio of price and quality. One of the main criteria is the price, but this not always matches the quality. You can save 10 thousand rubles per wheel and buy cheaper tires, but in a year, it will have to be disposed of. It is much more profitable in the medium term to purchase more expensive and high-quality agricultural tires so that they will last several seasons. I would personally recommend tires of the Alliance brand, as they proved to be excellent in these aspects on the equipment of our company – tractors and self-propelled sprayers,” Nikolai sums up.

All subdivisions of Gashunsky Breeding Plant JSC have energy-saturated tractors that place high demands on tires. In example, special high-quality tires will work in a wide pressure range. During sowing, a John Deere 8335 R tractor with Alliance Agri Star II radial tires on two axles was used. The total operating time of the tractor is 14,000 hours. Tires on the front axle were installed two years ago, their operating time is about 3,000 hours. On the rear axle, the tires are used for 1,500 hours. According to the company’s field data, the average mileage of Alliance Agri Star II is 4000-5000 hours.

Vitalii Zakharov, chief engineer of Gashunsky Breeding Plant JSC, said that before they used Alliance tires, tires from another manufacturer had been installed on this tractor. After the breakdown of factory-installed tires, the company’s engineers decided to find an alternative in order to optimize costs and decided on Alliance tires.

“We were impressed with the price-quality-ratio. The product successfully performs all technological operations. An important criteria for our choice was the fact that this tire meets all the requirements of agronomists and engineers for various pressure adjustment ranges, both on coupled and individual wheels. One of the good features of the Alliance Agri Star II tire is more lugs. As a result, we get a larger footprint even with the same inflation pressure, that helps to prevent spinning and reduce fuel consumption by up to 5-10%. As for maintainability, Alliance Agri Star II tires are distinguished by the so-called “golden core”, meaning that they are perfectly amenable to heat vulcanization and the use of any cure means,” he said.

The company will continue to purchase Alliance Agri Star II tires for heavy tractors. The farmers of Rostov region have learned at first hand that the use of products of a lower price category is not the way to to. Low-budget tires are used only 250 hours before putting out of service, had low mileage and, as a result, high annual costs. At the moment, Gashunsky Breeding Plant JSC purchases about 40-50 Alliance tires per year, and will increase the procurement volume.

The comfort of operators who work dozens of hours a week on tractors is also important. Petr Ugrovatov, a machine operator of JSC Gashunsky Breeding Plant JSC, noted the following significant advantages of Alliance Agri Star II tires:

“On the screen of the on-board computer I constantly see that the fuel consumption rate is getting lower in all types of work compared to the time when lower quality tires were used. For me, as a machine operator, they provide more comfort and smooth ride,” the machine operator said.

The Alliance Agri Star II tire is made in India and is rightfully considered to be one of the flagships among the extensive line of agricultural tires manufactured by Yokohama ATG Tires (Y-ATG). Sales volumes of this new model are steadily growing and have become even more dynamic after some foreign manufacturers left the Russian market. To meet the growing demand for agricultural tires, Y-ATG launched a new plant in August in the Indian city of Visakhapatnam. Increased capacity reduces lead time to market for new products and improves customer service.

Agri Star II embodies a long-standing idea of ​​design engineers. The higher lug the sharper angle should be to the rolling plane. When the lug is worn out or initially made with a lower height, then in order to improve traction, it is necessary, on the contrary, to have a flatter angle. The Agri Star II lugs have a variable pattern, as they are made using the Stratified Layer Technology. It allows having a sharp angle at the commissioning stage, but when the lugs wear out by 40%, they have the flatter angle. This allows the tire to run like new one with standard lugs again, with good traction, grip and load carrying capacity. Thus, in fact, the overall service life is extended. The tire can operate in the pressure range from 0.8 atm with coupled wheels and to 1.6 atm when used individually.

Other distinct advantages of the Agri Star II tire include a reinforced bead and a polyester carcass that allows it to keep the shape until it wears out, unlike most tires that use a nylon carcass. This tire is lighter than previous models, as it has a reinforced carcass, less rubber and cord layers. The special rubber compound allows the tire to operate continuously and reliably on harvested fields with little wear.

Fuel efficiency, good behavior on the field and on the road, reliable tire fastening for low pressure operating are also important advantages of the Agri Star II. Its reinforced bead prevents the tire from spinning during low pressure operation. If the tire pressure is correct and there is no spinning, then the overall efficiency will be the best. The opinions of machine operators and managers are an excellent recommendation for those farmers who strive to get high results while saving costs on components, fuel and lubricants.

Check out the result for yourself in this amazing video.