Argo Tractors Engineering Director: “Today’s market requires increasingly high-tech, state-of-the-art tractors. The McCormick brand is ready to take on this challenge”
A cohesive team, a youthful environment, qualified professionals and constant training: this is the ideal mix that allows McCormick to play a leading role in the technological development of its tractors today. For nearly 25 years the brand has been part of the Argo Tractors family, the industrial group based in Fabbrico. The Italian company, a global player in agricultural mechanisation, maintains strong roots in the Emilia Motor Valley, a project to enhance, protect and develop the regional motoring tradition, of which Argo Tractors has formed a part since 2022.
“With its range of tractors at the forefront of this category in terms of technology, power, comfort and safety, and with all the strengths of its American origins, McCormick has positioned itself as the brand of reference for high-performance products, capable of meeting the most advanced global performance expectations”, explains the group’s Engineering Director. McCormick’s growth comes through a constant commitment to renewal, product consolidation and innovation”.
In fact, the Argo Tractors Group constantly invests almost 6% of its annual turnover in Research & Development and today employs around 160 technicians. The continual training of staff, the constant technological renewal of our design, testing and simulation facilities allows us to achieve and maintain the high-quality standard of the final product.
“Today’s tractors”, continues the Engineering Director, “are the result of an articulated process of technologies in various engineering departments. It is not just about mechanics and hydraulics, but vehicle dynamics, software and controls also play a key role, right down to the extreme attention to design and styling details. We live in a world of energy and technical transition, in which we have to compete with a rich, increasingly sophisticated and diversified product range. We can no longer rely on the creativity of individual contributors to achieve all our goals. All product development must increasingly be a team effort”.
“The Research & Development department deals with the study and development of prototypes of new tractors and solutions”, says the Product Validation Manager. A team of specialised engineers is in charge of the test areas, from the hydraulic unit and transmission to engine integration, and carries out the tractor performance tests on the bench and mainly in the field. The team basically carries out the important work of data collection and troubleshooting, contributing to the development of new products”.
The group has more than 30 people, coordinated by 2 team leaders and 10 engineers, involved in product improvement activities, from specialised models to compact and utility tractors, and concluding with the high-power range. “Given the variety of models”, adds the Product Validation Manager, “a methodological approach is required, with dedicated testing and periodic updating of standards, with monitoring criteria guided by remote diagnostics and telematics systems. To manage complexity and overcome technological challenges, we put the people who work with us and their professional growth at the heart of what we do. The new recruits, who often come from university or technical schools, are joined by colleagues with solid skills and plenty of experience”.
“My role”, resumes the Engineering Director, when explaining the work process, “is to enhance and channel the flow of information, so that the project develops in synergetic sections. The team that has been created over the years is extremely cohesive and you can feel the passion that drives us to improve every day. A youthful environment has developed in which many new engineers come directly from the Universities of Bologna, Modena and Reggio Emilia, and beyond”.
From its impressive R&D work, Argo Tractors has in recent years created the McCormick Digital Solutions, a technological system that constantly monitors work, tractors, remote diagnostics, fields, crops and the farm itself. The tractor becomes a technological hub where all the necessary information is collected, channelled and made available to the farm.
An increasingly important role in the technological process is assumed by electronics, as the head of the Electronic Department argues: “In a McCormick tractor there are more than 10 electronic control units, which manage the mechanical and hydraulic elements. Another significant aspect is the HMI technologies, e.g. headland management, which allow the operator to interact easily with the complex work station system. The latest innovations and market challenges include reducing the environmental impact of agricultural operations, increasing productivity and reducing the operating and maintenance costs of tractors. Challenges taken up by Argo Tractors with the launch of numerous projects, from the study of innovative hybrid and electronic propulsion systems to the implementation of Industry 4.0 systems, which allow the vehicle to be monitored remotely”.
“Today’s market”, concludes the Engineering Director, “requires increasingly high-tech, state-of-the-art tractors. The McCormick brand is prepared and ready for this challenge”.