Branson HST?

[lowellw2]

I stopped by my nearby tractor dealer (Banson/Cub) to get a new middle blade for my finish mower since the old one lost a battle with a rock. I always take the opportunuty to look over the "stock" and while browsing I noted to the salesman that Branson would be a serious consideration for me if they had a smaller model than the 28hp - even a sub with HST. Too my surprise he indicated one was in the works. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif He believed it would be around 24hp with HST. He thought it might materialize by the first of the year. Has anyone else heard any such rumors?

 

[DavesTractor]

I've talked this over at length with the muckety-mucks at Branson/Kukje just this last Thursday. They do plan on making a 2810 (might be a 2910) hydro and a 3510 hydro, plus a series of smaller hst tractors. A realistic time frame is January 2006.

I asked them if they could private label something (like the Mistu/Mahindra) to speed things up. They didn't rule that out, but they really prefer to make their own.

Kukje is rare in that they built there own rigs, even produce their own steel, their own castings and forgings, etc. They design and build their own engines (and Cummins A-series engines as well). They are proud of that and it shows, however it does slow down the development process when they start from scratch instead of assembling a tractor with off the shelf parts from various manufacturers.

 

[lowellw2]

Thaks for the info. 2006 is quite a while to wait. My old Kubota B7100 is a little long in the tooth, but is still productive. I like the Branson's - they look right and seem made right. As long as the 'bota keeps doing what I need I may wait.

 

[Woodbeef]

Home made with in-house engineering is great. But there often comes a time as is happening now where the lead time is too long. If you wait and bring your own out,you tend to loose the market of today,banking on the market of tomorrow being much greater. In today's global economy,not much credence is actually given to the old"we build it all" philosophy. Often times you can buy it cheaper,and better made right now then take the time and tribulations to build your own. Look at Deere with Zetor,Yanmar,Renault,etc.....

Lets face it.....how many daily sales are the Kukje twins loosing with no HST? The other companies have them,so why not Kukje? No matter how good or cheaper the tractor is,if the customers want HST they have to go elsewhere. This equates to how many lost sales?

 

[LMTC]

You're preaching to the choir, Woodbeef. However, dealers have input, but not authority. That's why folks like Dave are now carrying Mahindra as well as Branson, and other Branson dealers are faced with the choice of taking on another line or losing the subcompact and HST sales altogether.