25-02-2013, 12:29 PM
Marketing Department of Escorts Ltd
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Indian tractor market is through a very crucial period. Being the largest tractor market in the world in unit terms; it is going to witness tremendous competition it has not seen till now. The key concern for Escorts in this war of competition, are:
Adverse Govt. policies.
Economic slowdown.
High competition.
Recession in global economy.
Fluctuations in exchange rates.
Low farm mechanization practices.
Inadequate credit practices being promoted.
Farm income getting stabilized.
These factors have to be overcome to push the tractor sales. The other players competing with Escorts are M&M, PTL, EICHER, SONALIKA, NEW HOLLAND STANDARD etc. M&M which is one of the toughest competitors to ESCORTS have gained much higher popularity and market share. The reason behind is that farmers in India prefer low fuel consuming tractor.
HISTORY OF TRACTORS
The invention of tractors drastically transformed the agricultural industry. They altered the way farming had been done for countless years, during which only minor improvement had been made. The new machinery enabled the production of vast amounts of food that lead to great technical progress of the twentieth century. The first engine powered farm tractor used steam engine and was introduced in 1868. Built as small road locomotives, these engines were operated by one man, provided the engine was less than 5 tons in weight. They were used for general road haulage and in particular for timber trade.
The most popular steam tractor was the Garret 4 CD. In 1907, the first experiment gas powered tractor produced by Henry Ford under the direction of chief engineer Joseph Galamb. However this machine was referred to as an “Automobile plow” and not a “tractor” .Gas powered tractors began to be used extensively in farming since 1910.
INDUSTRY PROFILE
AGRI MACHINERY
The Indian tractor industry is dominated by low priced, rugged, versatile and low to medium powered tractors. The main reason being the inability of Indian farmer to invest heavily in farm mechanization. Tractors are categorized on the basis of horse power of engine. In India the popular range of tractors is 20-40 hp as compared to 60 hp in Europe and 90 hp in USA. Though large tractors are economically unviable in India but more recently high power tractors are also being sold in states like Punjab. Tractors available in India are of one fourth hp as compared to developed countries. Availability of the credit is the most crucial factor impacting tractors demand. In India 90% of the tractors are financed by bank credit at concessional rate. Increased use of irrigation facilities, shift towards high investment in agriculture are responsible for higher tractor demand in India.India is the world’s largest tractor market since 1996.
Escorts have played a pivotal role in the agricultural growth of India for over five decades. It is one of the leading tractor manufacturers of the country. Escorts produces tractors in the 30-40 HP and above range and has already sold over 6 lac tractors. Its tractors are marketed under three brand names, viz. Escorts, Powertrac and Framtrac. Escorts brand of tractors are symbolic of reliability and trust and enjoy the confidence of the farming community for the last 40 years. Powertarc brand of tractors are the most fuel-efficient tractors in their respective categories that offer excellent value for money and have helped the farmers improve their respective categories that offer excellent value for money and have helped the farmers improve their quality of life. Framtrac brand are the most powerful premium range of tractors that give maximum productivity to the farmers. Spanning these three brands, the company has a full range of tractors to cater to the domestic as well as overseas markets.
COMPANY PROFILE
Escorts is one of the country`s biggest tractor makers. The company manufactures farm equipment, automotive components, railway ancillaries, construction machinery, shock absorbers and telecom equipment. It has a joint venture with Long Manufacturing of North Carolina for the manufacture, assembly and sale of tractors.
THE ESCORTS SYMBOL
The ESCORTS symbol means more than what could be seen by the eyes. It has been prepared with certain objective and is symbolic in more than one way.
The philosophy behind ESCORTS and the “E” in the ESCORTS is “ENTERPRISE” the hexagon is a symbol of craftsmanship and productivity. The work and people in escorts are represented by the spanner superimposed on the hexagons which form a letter “E”.
Escorts the single world company describes the character philosophy & success of the company which grew leaps and bounds for five decades Escorts has been in the core sectors like agriculture, transportation & resource for engineering change, through optimum product performance.