18 July 2011, 00:00
A hundred years ago, in 1911, the first farm tractor entirely designed and built in Italy was created: the Pavesi P4 model. To celebrate this important anniversary, which has left its mark on the history of tractors and has let Italy become a benchmark for technological innovation, the Florence-based Accademia dei Georgofili (Academy of Agriculturalists), together with the Merlo Group and the Antique Farm Equipment Association in Arezzo (Tuscany), has organized a conference under the significant title: “The Pavesi P4 tractor: 100 years old but it looks younger”.
Ugo Pavesi is not a well-known name to the general public, but to the experts and connoisseurs of both civil and military mechanics this engineer born on 17 July 1886 in Novara (Piedmont) is one of the greatest machine designers Italy has ever had.
His Pavesi P4 tractor was a revolutionary machine: it featured a four-wheel drive and was equipped with an articulated chassis whose front and rear ends could move laterally and vertically almost independently of each other, supported by a single tubular member.
These technical features, which were really on the cutting edge back then and – to a certain extent – are still valid today, allowed the tractor (which had a fairly low weight by the standards of the time), to have an exceptional pulling capacity. This was due to the fact that it was articulated both horizontally and vertically, and it always had the wheels in traction.
The tractor which is now used in farmlands all over the world derives from the American tradition, whose progenitor was the Fordson model created in 1917. It had the great merit of being simple and cheap, two fundamental features to prevail in the agricultural industry of the mid twentieth century.
Materials, dimensions and power outputs have changed over time, while hydraulic and electronic applications have led to an important evolution in terms of both technology and performance. As far as performance is concerned, today’s models are significantly better than the first American ones, but in line with and comparable to the Pavesi P4 model from a hundred years ago.
The ever increasing industrialization of farms requires more and more performing multi-purpose machines. Due to this trend, conventional tractor models are being used parallel to new kinds of machinery, which unlike American models still have a huge potential to be exploited.
A clear example of this trend is the Merlo Multifarmer, the multi-purpose tool holder which combines the performance of both a farm tractor and a telehandler, thus opening up exceptional growth opportunities for the sector.
In addition to the mechanical PTO and the rear three-point linkage this model has really extraordinary features. Its design provides for an even weight distribution, which contributes to increase stability and reduce fuel consumption. The four same-diameter steered wheels, combined with the hydrostatic transmission, ensure optimum manoeuvrability.
The greatest strength of this machine is its telescopic boom, which can be extended to work as high as at nine metres, and can be equipped with a wide range of attachments, thus making it possible to carry out any operation, even those which are usually impossible to perform with a conventional farm tractor.
Not only is the new Multifarmer an innovative design concept, but it also ensures continuity with the Pavesi P4 model built in 1911, in the name of research and innovation, 100% made in Italy.
Source: Merlo Deutschland GmbH