THE FUNDAMENTAL TOOL of agricultural mechanisation is of course the tractor, arguably the most versatile vehicle on earth, ploughing, seeding, fertilising, harvesting, transporting, pumping water, generating power are all functions a tractor is fundamentally designed to do. Much has been written about the need to increase the tractor population in Africa, and of course this is very true, however much less is said about the need for cost-effective repair and maintenance of the existing tractor fleet.The majority of the African tractor population is made up of rugged, reliable mechanical tractors, machines that have been in Africa since new together with used machines imported from Europe and beyond. Whilst the major manufacturers have worked hard tobuild up a professional sales and service network, many machines operate below the radar of manufacturer's representatives and are maintained by independent mechanics using a host of aftermarket parts often of dubious quality. It is estimated that of atotal tractor population in Africa of over half a million machines, around 70 per cent are more than 10 years old and many are either under-performing due to poor maintenance and wear, or not functioning at all following a failure of some kind.Recognising this need is UK-based Sparex, a leading provider of quality tractor parts, accessories and implement wearing parts. Sparex has used it's team of engineers at a new technical centre in Exeter, UK, to develop a range of parts suitable for the maintenanceand overhaul of all popular tractor models found in Africa. The full Sparex tractor parts range extends to more than 22,000 parts, details of which, along with a comprehensive application guide giving cross references to the original equipment manufacturers part numbers, are included in a new two volume catalogue and also on the website www.sparex.com. In addition, the website includes details of more than 20,000 accessories and complimentary parts; this range covers hydraulic hose and fittings, PTO drive shafts, bearings, belts, vehicle lighting and electrical parts along with workshop tools and equipment. The third category in the Sparex range is machinery wearing parts for ploughs, cultivators, seed drills mowing machines and much more.
展开▼
