Powering up in the paddy fields

Thai craftsmanship is seriously cool as the combine harvesters manufactured by Kaset Phattana clearly show.

The country’s best-known manufacturer of rice and corn harvesters, Kaset Phattana has been in business for more than 40 years and has forged a strong partnership with Cummins Inc. since 2018.

In fact, Cummins engines and the aftersales support provided by joint venture distributor, Cummins DKSH, have added strong impetus to the market success of Kaset Phattana whose machines highlight the custom culture Thailand is renowned for.

Rice is one of the main foods and sources of nutrition for Thai people. In fact, Thailand has around 10.5 million hectares of rice-producing farmland – the fifth-largest amount of land under rice cultivation in the world – and is the world’s largest exporter of rice.

High reliability and durability are at the top of Kaset Phattana’s requirement list, and for good reason. With the vast amount of land under rice cultivation, harvesters are often operating in remote, undulating terrain that is not easily accessible for machinery repair and maintenance. 

To help Kaset Phattana meet its requirements, Cummins DKSH supplies mechanical engines from Dongfeng Cummins Engine Co (DCEC) for its rice and corn combine harvesters, and backs this up with aftersales support that is widely acknowledged as the best in the agricultural business.

Prior to Cummins’ involvement, Kaset Phattana was using second-hand Japanese truck engines to power its harvesters.

“We convinced Kaset Phattana that Cummins product, initially the 240 horsepower 6CTA engine, offered far greater reliability along with reduced fuel consumption and a factory-backed warranty,” says Apiched Bunluenuecharee, assistant general manager of Cummins DKSH Thailand.

“The success of the 6CTA led to the introduction of the 130 horsepower 4BTA and 180 horsepower 6BTA in Kaset Phattana products.”

The acceptance of Cummins power in the paddy fields is shown in the number of engines delivered to Kaset Phattana since 2020 when 32 units were supplied that year. In 2021, deliveries climbed to 186 followed by 280 in 2022, and the upward trajectory is expected to continue.

The introduction of electronic Cummins engines by Kaset Phattana seems not far away.

“Our engineers have carried out an Installation Quality Audit [IQA] with Kaset Phattana on the QSB6.7 engine and a prototype is now operating in a field trial,” says Apiched Bunluenuecharee. “We’re getting very positive feedback about performance and fuel consumption.”

Cummins DKSH Thailand has an excellent reputation for aftersales support, a key reason for the strong partnership with Kaset Phattana and its technicians in the field. “Training is provided to the OEM technicians and our own technicians work closely with end-user customers on product familiarisation whenever the opportunity arises,” says Bunluenuecharee.