ET Edge Insights had the great fortune of conversing with Narinder Mittal, Country Manager & Managing Director, CNH Industrial about “CNH’s presence in India including their business of agriculture machinery, case construction equipment technology centre, and financial services”. CNH has established a significant presence in India over the past 25 years, featuring iconic brands such as Case and New Holland. With a century-old global legacy, CNH maintains technological superiority and thriving operations in Italy, Europe, and the US. The company boasts three manufacturing facilities in India, producing tractors, engines, sugarcane harvesters, bailers, combine harvesters, and construction equipment. The Greater Noida plant supplies components globally, while the Pune facility manufactures diverse agricultural machinery. The Pitampura site stands as CNH’s sole world producer of vibratory compactors.
Additionally, CNH Capital, launched in 2018, supports both wholesale and retail sales, having facilitated over 50,000 loans to farmers and providing backing to dealers. The India Technology Center (ITC), initiated two years ago, contributes innovative solutions globally, further solidifying CNH’s substantial footprint in India. “Through the ITC, we leverage India’s strengths in the IT sector to develop technologically advanced and cost-effective solutions, such as a low-cost auto guidance system for sugarcane harvesters, demonstrating a reverse innovation model from India to the Western world,” Mittal said.
Agriculture, the backbone of India, has witnessed improving mechanisation with significant government encouragement. “For example, while the overall industry volume is quite good, it is expected to touch 1 million from 900K in a couple of years. It is however not the entire mechanisation in the agricultural area,” he said. While the tractor industry thrived, focus expanded to manufacturing sugar cane harvesters, particularly in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra, and Tamil Nadu. Recognising potential in Uttar Pradesh, government requests sought support for enhanced mechanisation. State-of-the-art combine harvesters and balers, addressing stubble burning concerns, gained substantial demand, notably in Punjab and Haryana. Government policies fuelled the adoption of balers, contributing to environmental sustainability. The company’s advanced solutions positioned them favourably to aid India’s agricultural progress and farmers’ needs.
The company is actively focusing on productivity improvement, employing drone mapping for sugar cane fields to identify stressed areas and enable targeted local treatments for enhanced yields. They are now progressing towards localising the production of emissions engines in India, aligning with the government’s ethanol blending initiative, aiming for 20% ethanol in fuel, and contributing to sustainable solutions for increased sugar cane production.
In conclusion, the company’s commitment to manufacturing 100% in India aims to benefit farmers with competitive pricing, enhance the supply base’s competitiveness, and contribute to technological advancement. Localisation efforts are the way forward, believes CNH, to support the country and society in various ways.