Need a tractor?
Need a loader?
Get a Valtra!
In AGCO, we put the farmer first. One of Valtra’s first ideas has been to make farm work more efficient for our customers. That is: farmers and the contractors working for farmers!
Valmet (the company which later developed into Valtra) had worked with several Finnish companies to make its customers' business fly. The “front-end loader” was an essential part of the working machines needed to build the country. Farmers realised in the 1980s that farm work is essentially continuous lifting, loading, and transporting. On this basis, the two major Nordic companies in the industry found each other – and already in the late 1980s, Finnish Valmet could deliver Swedish-made factory-fitted front loaders – as a fully integrated, complete product, assembled in one factory. The loaders immediately became an essential part of our portfolio.
Four-wheel drive is essential for front loader tractors
Valmet had invested a lot into the four-wheel drive (4WD) concept. This essential fundamental made it possible for the front loader idea to work well as it made it easy to move heavy loads at the front. After this, the focus moved to loader efficiency. The lifting capacity was “easy” to implement on the loader side by adding lift cylinder dimension and material strength. However large lift cylinders requested a lot of hydraulic pump capacity. This is what Valmet really started to work on about the same time we changed our name to Valtra. Pump capacities increased step-by-step to the levels we have today – 100 litres per minute can be reached even in the smallest model series. And the integrated concept means the front loader does not affect Valtra’s turning radius.
Power and efficiency in front loader tractors require smooth, precise control
Anyhow, speed is not everything: one also needs to be able to control the power smoothly. Valtra has been a pioneer in the industry by introducing electronic control more than twenty years ago. In recent generations, we have fully integrated CAN bus controlled electric valves, which guarantee the operator has the best efficiency, whether fast movements for gravel loading or millimeter-accuracy for pallet handling are needed. The loading can be accelerated easily. Constant Variable Transmissions (CVTs), as well as most powershift models have Valtra’s patented hydraulic assistant regulating engine speed according to the need, while drive speed is kept stable. No customer should make a purchase decision without first testing Valtra’s electronic armrest-controlled front loaders – even for power ranges from 75 to 305 horsepower!
Higher horsepower tractors as front loaders?
Yes! Even 300+ hp! Many may think that a front loader is essential for tractors up to 150 hp, but this is no longer the case. In the Nordics, where the tractor plus front loader is used in snow ploughing for decades, the way of thinking has been different. Even in dairy farming, if you don’t need to lift to extreme heights, a telehandler is not always the right option because it lacks the bulldozer power of a tractor. So large grass silage farms use high-power front loader tractors with the silo unless the business is so large that it requires an industrial-size wheel loader. Valtra’s multipurpose tractor concept can be a real cost-saving.
Better visibility means better ergonomics
Telehandler salesmen will often speak of visibility, but in most cases, they have not driven a Valtra. Part of our Nordic heritage is ergonomics. And that means you need to see your work and workplace, even on less sunny days! Twenty years back, our customers claimed: “Valmet/Valtra has no roof window”. However, since the fourth generation of Valtra tractors, the upfront visibility has not been an issue! In our range of tractors, we have the largest roof windows in the industry. And let’s not forget the windscreen, neither its size nor its transparency in any weather. Valtra tractors have large wipers, and naturally, our extraordinary cab heating. In many models, you can even select a heated windscreen from the option list!
Finally, if the dairy or beef farmer uses tailored feed for the cattle, Valtra’s Precision Lift and Load option will help to give the right dosing into the mixer. Indeed, there is a very accurate scale integrated, incorporated with many other handy functions. For example, one of Valtra’s Precision Lift and Load's most extraordinary features is the ability to track the place where the front loading took place. So, the farmer can easily track what amount of the very valuable feedstuff is still in storage or has been handled – and where it is now. Data monitored and captured with Precision Lift and Load can be used for reporting and accurate record-keeping.
Factory-fitted and fully integrated, with additional options
As Valtra front loaders are fully integrated and factory-fitted the unit comes under one warranty and can be colour matched 1:1 by Valtra Unlimited. With the X-tilt feature, the loader implement can be tilted by 20 degrees sideways for more flexible loading and unloading. X-Tilt as well as any need for special hydraulics are also available from Valtra Unlimited. Integrated front loaders are available for Valtra A, G, N, T and Q Series tractors. For more information check out our front loader web page and request a demo today.
