Q&A with Davide Landini, Project Manager, SKF Agri Hub Range

What inspired the new generation of development for T200 and T50? What’s the key difference between them?
In addition to the T100, we have created two new performance levels so that we can widen the capabilities we offer our customers. The T50 and the T200 mean that OEMs can offer tillage machines for different sizes and dimensions of farms that are fitted with the right hubs for their needs. The key difference between these hubs is their performance levels within contaminated environments.

What feedback have you had from customers that helped you improve and extend the range?
Within the SKF Group, we have a large network of experts that go out to several tillage manufacturers that work with many different types of farms. There, they get a better understanding of how our solutions can fulfil farmers daily needs. With that information, our experts can then help improve our products and ranges with farmers in mind, as is the case here with a wider range of hubs for different requirements.

What's the range of applications for bearings like these?
All three of the hubs in the range are designed for independent tillage discs in farming environments where uptime is critical. The seasons of the year and changes in the weather means farmers often have very limited time to till, so they can’t afford to lose some of that time maintaining or replacing a hub. That’s why our hubs are designed for a long service life according to farm size and conditions - so farmers' uptime can be maximised. 

How do you hope farmers feel once they’ve started using their new Hub?
I hope they can say: “I bought a tillage machine in line with my farm operations and conditions. I’ve stopped worrying about downtime during the intense season.” If we can make farmers more productive and reassure them about the reliability of their machines, then that would be very satisfying for us.