Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company (ITMCO) on Thursday launched its first production line of heavy wheel tractor-scraper during a ceremony attended by Minister of Agricultural Jihad, Mahmoud Hojjati, IRNA reported.
The new heavy-duty wheel tractor-scraper, named ITM1500, is capable of deep plowing hard soils. ITMCO officials say it took about two years to design the new tractor, which is expected to meet 5% of demand for the product in domestic markets.
“The product’s foreign counterpart is priced more than 400 billion rials ($12,000 at market exchange rate) in the domestic market while manufacturing the ITM1500 costs us less than half that amount,” said ITMCO managing director, Abolfath Ebrahimi, adding that ITMCO’s new products have saved the country 75 million euros over the past one year.
ITMCO is a tractor manufacturing company headquartered in Tabriz, northeast of the country. The company was established in 1968 following an agreement between Iran and Romania to establish a tractor manufacturing company in Iran. ITMCO started producing small trucks and vans in the 1990s and is currently one of the largest groups of foundries in the Middle East.
According to ITMCO head, the company, with 9 subsidiaries and two production lines in Venezuela and Tajikistan, has created jobs for 400 auto parts manufacturing companies and directly or indirectly employed 200,000 people.
ITMCO produces 23 different types of tractors with single and double differential gearboxes. As of late, the group has been actively involved in the auto sector, producing engine cylinders for Iran’s two major automakers, namely Iran Khodro and Saipa. The ITMCO has also declared that it can manufacture diesel engines for cars in accordance with the latest European emission standards. The industrial group exports its products to 30 different countries.
