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The production of palm oil begins on vast plantations requiring miles of roadway to access routes to processing centers and international markets.
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Deeply rutted roads require continual maintenance for farm wagons to deliver their loads quickly without damaging the harvest of palm fruit.
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Champion’s C70 Graders combine power to cut through heavy ruts with a compact size to minimize the footprint of roadways on the plantation.
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From river crossings to intense heat, the sturdy C70 thrives in the many challenges of work in the rainforest.
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Bryan Abernathy with a group from Sime Darby and Tractors Malaysia.
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Charlotte, NC – Over half a million workers in Malaysia rely on the palm oil trade for their livelihood. To help their industry compete on the world stage, the nation’s largest plantation owner has been building up a large fleet of Champion Compact Motor Graders.
Bryan Abernathy, Executive Vice President of Champion Motor Graders, has visited the Malaysian palm plantations several times to help his customer to ensure efficient movement of the palm crop from the field to the market. “They are working vast acreages here, and maintaining vehicle access is a major challenge in these rainforest conditions. After trying various types of other equipment, they have really come to recognize the unique qualities of our C70 C Series Graders.”
A staple for food and fuel
Palm nuts are to south Asia what corn is to America. Oil is extracted from both the pulp of the nut and from its kernel. The oil serves a host of uses, from cooking and food products to nutritional supplements, to soaps and cosmetics to the production of biofuels. Champion’s customer, Sime Darby Plantation Sdn Bhd, is a vertically integrated palm producer involved in every aspect of palm oil production from seed stock to research & development. A leader in establishing new standards to protect the region’s rainforest, Sime Darby is also the world’s largest producer of certified sustainable palm oil, with more than 800,000 acres under cultivation.
The challenge for Champion and the plantation managers is to maximize the productivity of every acre. Abernathy explains that, “There is no automated technology for the actual palm harvest; it’s very labor intensive. Where we can help is by maintaining better roads to transport the nuts off the plantation with a minimal footprint.”
The right tool for the job
Clusters of watermelon-sized palm nuts are hand cut from the trees, up to 25 ft. tall, with a long-handled sickle. The nuts are then separated from the clusters and loaded into tractor-drawn wagons in loads of up to 10 tons each. However, the pathways used by the tractors require continuous maintenance. Heavy rain turns the roads to mud, bogging down the heavily laden wagons. Then the intense heat of the tropical sun bakes the road into deep hardened ruts. A rough ride in the wagons can take a costly toll in bruising and damage to the palm harvest.
“In the past, palm plantations have tried to maintain their roads by attaching belly blades to the tractors or by pulling a box blade. But the road conditions are very tough for equipment that isn’t designed for the job. Regardless of the location, our graders are engineered for earthmoving applications, with the power and geometry to push and cut heavy loads.”
Sime Darby ran extensive studies to compare the performance of its various existing equipment to the Champion Grader. The analysis required weeks of field testing to justify investment in the Champion Grader. Justification for the grader was hard because they already had other equipment such as tractors that were dual purpose. “It was a hard sale,” Abernathy admits, “because the grader would only have this single purpose on the plantation. But the need was evident: they were into a routine of ‘pull the wagon today; grade the road tomorrow.’ After a few weeks, they had the documentation to verify that our motor grader would pay for itself.”
Improving productivity
The Champion C70 C Graders purchased in Malaysia are hydrostatically driven tandem-axle machines weighing 13,000 lbs. and powered by a 110 HP Cummins engine. The plantation operators discovered Champion through the heavy equipment division of the Sime Darby Group, Tractors Malaysia. Tractors Malaysia is the Champion master distributor for Southeast Asia, and also the sole Caterpillar dealer throughout much of the region.
“The C70 C really is the right choice for their application,” says Abernathy. “It’s our most basic machine, with ample power yet simple to maintain. As a compact grader, it cuts a narrower path than a full size unit and it turns in a tighter radius, so it takes less of the acreage out of production. That means the plantation gets a higher yield per acre, and less rainforest is diverted to meet market demand.”
To maintain the rutted roads, the C70 C Graders are also fitted with ripper attachments. The graders first pass over with the ripper to break up the baked mud and rocks. Then, with the second pass, they use the 10 ft. moldboard to grade and finish. Ripping quickly prepares the road for a smooth finish and also saves wear and tear on the cutting edges of the moldboards. Although the procedure requires two passes, the Champion Graders have proven to be more efficient and more versatile than previous methods. More than a dozen C70 C machines in service now and more are planned for additional palm plantations. Sime Darby alone manages almost 150 palm estates and each one requires road maintenance equipment.
Champion builds the C70 C units in its facility in Charlotte, NC, then ships them knocked-down for final assembly in Malaysia. Abernathy and his engineering team have been working closely with Tractors Malaysia to oversee the project, as well as providing operator and maintenance training for plantation staff, while engineers from Tractors Malaysia have been to Charlotte to see first-hand what it takes to build and assemble a Champion Grader. Jeff McKee, Champion’s Vice President of Engineering, also went to Malaysia to work directly with TMA’s engineers, fabricators, and assemblers in their factory. McKee was impressed by what TMA accomplished. “The Malaysians recognize the quality in a Champion Grader and have done everything possible to duplicate our quality there,” he reports. “We had the chance to inspect their first assembled grader. We found that their attention to detail and pride in the product was everything we could ask for. It’s all just talk until you roll the first unit off of the line, but they exceeded my expectations. They do understand that it takes a team to build a Champion.”
“These plantation roads really are punishing on equipment,” Abernathy continues. “We’re glad we and Tractors Malaysia have been able to provide a simple and strong solution for a vital role in Malaysia’s local economy.”
About Champion
One of the oldest names in the equipment industry, Champion Motor Graders has specialized in the development of motor graders and attachments for 30 years. Champion engineering and manufacturing, based in Charlotte, NC, are dedicated to the production of Compact and Production Class Motor Graders that assure customers of the same performance, productivity and quality standards they expect from the best in full-size construction machinery. The Champion line-up now includes seven basic models with operating weights from 12,000 to 24,000 lbs., featuring the full range of single-axle, tandem and all-wheel 4x4 and 6x6 drive systems. Champion continues to develop a growing range of specialized equipment for the road maintenance and paving industry as well as providing road grading solutions for underground mining applications.
For more information on Champion Motor Graders, contact:
Bryan Abernathy, Executive Vice President
Champion Motor Graders
8844 Mount Holly Road
Charlotte, North Carolina 28214
Telephone: 704-392-1038
Fax: 704-394-0802
www.championmotorgraders.us
