New sugar cane harvester for Brazil - Brief Article

Diesel Progress North American Edition, June, 1999

Scania Brazil has entered into an agreement to supply engines for two new sugar cane harvesters which have been designed to improve productivity and cut pollution in Brazil. The two units are being produced by Brastoft, a joint venture between Austoft, a leading harvester manufacturer, and Eneagro, part of the Ometto Group, one of the world's biggest sugar growers.

Both the wheeled model A7000 and the crawler-tracked unit A7700, will use Scania DS11 engines rated 330 hp at 2100 rpm. In each case, the turbocharged, six-cylinder inline, 11 L engine drives both the harvester and variable-speed, bidirectional hydraulic motors that power the machine's functions. A variable-height top cutter - adjustable to 12 ft. - removes the leaves from the cane. A twin-spiral conical-screw divider system separates the rows of cane, diverting them to the base cutter that comprises two five-bladed discs. The cane is then fed via a rotary chop and swinging knife roller system to the elevator and deposited in a trailer travelling alongside the machine.

It would appear that there is a huge potential market for sugar cane harvesting machines in Brazil, one of the world's largest sugar cane producers. Currently only around 15 percent of the harvesting is mechanized, according to Scania Industrial & Marine Engines, and these machines only harvest burnt cane. This compares with 100 percent in Australia, another major producer.

With the pending introduction of new environmental regulations, the annual burning of sugar cane fields is to be prohibited in Brazil, since firing the crop normally creates heavy smoke and pollution. This will make it virtually impossible to harvest by hand, note industry sources.

The choice of Scania diesel engines for the new machines was determined by the low operating costs, thanks to the low oil and fuel consumption in Brastoft's opinion, says Otavio Barros, from Scania Industrial and Marine Engine Sales. Under the agreement, Scania will provide full support for the machine owners through its nationwide network.

A further incentive for cane growers to mechanize is the increasing demand for alcohol-based or additive fuel for motor vehicles. With limited access to oil, Brazil has been encouraging the growing motor industry to develop and produce vehicles that run on alcohol, which is largely produced from sugar cane pulp.