NEW HOLLAND AND PININFARINA JOIN FORCES FOR INNOVATION
Our AG brand New Holland and the world-famous Italian vehicle styling house, Pininfarina, have partnered to give us a glimpse into the future with the innovative Straddle Tractor Concept, specifically designed to meet the demanding requirements of the narrow vineyards typical of the premium wine growing regions such as Champagne, Médoc and Burgundy.
These operations produce high-quality, high-value wines from grapes grown in rows less than one and a half meter wide, often on steep slopes and on small vineyards. In these high value vineyards, grapes are picked by hand and most of the vine maintenance work is done by means of a tractor travelling overhead the rows.
The project started in September 2021 and was completed in time to unveil the concept tractor at SITEVI the world’s largest wine and fruit growing fair held in Montpellier, France.
A mixed team of Pininfarina designers and New Holland engineers visited the vineyards in France where the straddle tractors will operate and spoke with the growers to fully understand their needs and expectations.
“We understood immediately that their primary need is visibility” said Alfredo Palma, project design manager, Pininfarina. “This aspect has guided our designers when creating the shape of the cabin, which is inspired by a champagne flute. We also wanted to create something unusual for this type of vehicle, a vehicle of a certain elegance and capable of being iconic.”
This futuristic concept has received praise from specialized press all over the world and will be a source of inspiration for our New Holland engineers at the plant, to re-use some parts, some ideas and inputs, to prepare the next New Holland straddle tractor.
Carlo Lambro, New Holland Brand President, said: “Our ground-breaking Straddle Tractor Concept is the result of New Holland’s long history of excellence in vineyards across the world, combined with the inspired innovation of legendary design house Pininfarina. It is testament to New Holland’s constant striving to develop new solutions to meet the most specialized needs of our customers”.
We kicked off this project with the desire to make our customers dream, designing something completely innovative, without straying too far from technical reality. Eventually we got involved in the game and ended up dreaming ourselves.
Hélène Bariod, New Holland Grape and Olive Brand Communication
You can watch the Straddle Tractor Concept video below
SAMPIERANA IS NOW PART OF THE CNH INDUSTRIAL FAMILY
Paolo Ferro General Manager, Sampierana
The Italian based company that manufactures earth moving machines has joined the CNH Industrial business and we ask Paolo Ferro, General Manager, Sampierana for his insights on this strategic acquisition.
What does the acquisition of Sampierana bring to CNH Industrial?
This acquisition is strategic for the future of CNH Industrial’s Construction Equipment business. First of all, it brings the extensive and versatile range of mini and midi excavators, which is very competitive and will complete and strengthen our product offering. It also extends our portfolio with a solid presence in the production and sale of undercarriages and spare parts.
On top of this, we now benefit from having in-house Sampierana excellent R&D capabilities in electric powertrains. This will give a boost to the development of our electric offering, which we started with the E-TLB. In fact, the first electric mini excavators will be available to our customers at the end of 2022.
What are Sampierana’s strengths?
Sampierana stands out for its highly developed entrepreneurial spirit and great agility. It excels at understanding the real needs of customers and quickly translating them into effective solutions with a remarkable capacity for customisation. Their passion for the CE business and enthusiasm are great assets that we want to foster as we go forward.
Sampierana stands out for its highly developed entrepreneurial spirit and great agility
In the past two years, we have completed a successful and sustainable turnaround.
How will the integration work?
The integration is based on 4 key pillars covering the various aspects of the business. The first one, Sales and Marketing Planning, looks at how to best position our dealer network to better serve our customer needs. The second pillar, Manufacturing and Product Development, focuses on increasing production capacity to support the sales growth, and coordinate product development activities. The third pillar, Operations Set-up, is about the integration of processes and systems, ensuring that Sampierana’s best practices are maintained. The fourth pillar looks at the longer term and will be focused on introducing initiatives to ensure the continued future development of the Sampierana business at global level and inside the CE segment.
Does this mean that the Construction Equipment business is growing within CNH Industrial?
This acquisition is a significant investment that clearly demonstrates CNH Industrial’s belief in our CE business. In the past two years, we have completed a successful and sustainable turnaround. We have built a strong foundation, and the technology and strengths that Sampierana has brought us will give an important contribution to our future of profitable growth.
