As a trusted partner to South Africa’s agricultural sector for some 66 years, Bearings International (BI) supplies integrated product and service solutions that ingrain the entire agriculture supply chain. “From soil preparation, fertilizing, ploughing and planting to irrigation, harvesting, processing and packaging – we’ve got it covered,” says Andrew Altree, BI Agriculture Segment Lead. “We essentially have products for all seasons.”

The primary differentiating factors of BI’s agriculture offering are quality of products, competitiveness of pricing, standard of service and expanse of footprint.  BI’s comprehensive agriculture product solutions include bearings, hubs and units, coulter discs, planting and fertilizing coulters, plumber and pillow blocks, sprockets, belts, motors, gearboxes, chain, lubricants, PTO’s, accessories, parts and spares. These products operate on a wide variety of farming machinery, equipment, and irrigation systems as well as in agriculture product processing and packaging environments.

Agriculture is fundamental to cultivating economic growths and food security and, on these grounds, it is one of BI’s primary segments. “In order to meet our objective of optimising our customers’ operations through the provision of customised, quality product and service solutions, it’s imperative that we, first and foremost, have a good understanding of their respective segments, giving rise to our segment approach,” states Christian Chipamaunga, GM End-User Markets at BI. “In line with this strategy, we place a deliberate focus on key industries to gain in-depth knowledge and insights that enable us to deliver on-point solutions to our customers.”

For agriculture, like any industry, sustainability hinges on achieving maximum yields with minimum input costs. Modern farmers must balance the exactness of science with the unpredictability of the weather.  Added to this, they have limited planting and harvesting window periods. Downtime caused by machine and equipment breakdowns in the field can potentially lead to poor yields or even crop failures.  

“With our more than six decades of experience, we are deeply rooted in Southern Africa’s agriculture space. This, combined with the insights that we have garnered in this segment, enable us to tailor our solutions so that we give the farmers exactly what they want, when they want it,” states Chipamaunga. “Our solutions give farmers peace of mind, secure in the knowledge that the products will deliver on performance, efficiency, and reliability. Moreover, farmers reap added rewards by being able to seasonally purchase our competitively priced products.”

Craft is Bearing International’s ‘go-to’ brand for agriculture bearings while the V-belt ranges come from the Endura stable.

I-MAK motors and gearboxes as well as the Motodrive brand of gearboxes cater to applications in pack houses and the processing environment at co-ops. “We also offer centre pivot motors and gearboxes for driving irrigation systems,” adds Altree. Agriculture specific as well as general industry chain from UN Chain, a range of Power take-off (PTO), a range of accessories as well as parts and spares further complement BI’s basket of agriculture solutions. Latest agriculture products introduced by BI include Schaeffler’s auto-lubricators and the monitoring of motors and gearboxes for the early detection of potential failures to allow for preventative maintenance. All products are supported by BI’s strategic 42-channel sales outlets within South Africa as well as key distribution partners in Southern and sub-Saharan Africa.

Altree points out the crucial role of supplier partnerships in driving innovation, efficiency, and sustainability in the agricultural sector. In close collaboration with BI, these globally renowned suppliers provide farmers with access to the latest technologies, inputs and expertise needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry. “We subsequently focus on building intimate relationships with our suppliers to ensure that customers receive a full scope of coordinated and integrated services that embody not only our expertise but also that of our suppliers. Essentially the farmers enjoy support from our strategic channel sales outlets that provide professional insights into what is required and equally important, when.”

Altree further explains that supplier partnerships in agriculture typically involve long-term agreements between farmers, agribusinesses, and suppliers to ensure a consistent supply of quality inputs at competitive prices. These partnerships often include provisions for technical support, training, and product innovation to help farmers optimise their operations and improve yields. “For example, companies specialising in precision agriculture (in motion) products may partner with equipment manufacturers to integrate their mechanical solutions, enabling farmers to optimise their yields.”

“Whether its citrus, fruit, vegetable, or grain farming, our products continue to deliver our value proposition - ‘keeping our farmers in motion’,” concludes Altree.