Essar Machinery’s harvesting equipment may be designed to get mucky, but when it comes to choosing quality parts, the company does not muck around.
“We’ve been using the Schaeffler INA bearings on our Case beaters – a part of the beater assembly that strikes the chaff on the way out of header – for ages now. They are a better-quality bearing than most and perform well in this type of application,” enthuses Essar Machinery owner, Michael Murphy. “We can trust them to perform well in the season, and we’re in for a busy one.”
Essar Machinery is a family-owned and operated business located 38km east of West Wyalong and 17km west of Quandialla in the Riverina region of New South Wales. Originally their business focused on contract harvesting work, but they diverged into machinery supply about 7 years ago to meet local farming demand.
“We used to the have 14 headers that we did contract harvesting with, but that business died down, and we decided to wreck headers instead,” explains Michael. “We started our header wrecking yard in about 2014. Now we buy and sell machinery and stock a range of rebuild units, header fronts and other components.”
Besides supplying machinery, Michael says Essar ensures it is fit for purpose.
“We provide a variety of mechanical services to people in the area which predominantly comprises pre-harvest header work and checks,” he expands. “We buy new headers from all around Australia and specialise in the CNH header range. We have a range of headers available that are serviced and crop-ready.”
Michael’s go-to CBC branch is in Wagga Wagga, about an hour and a half away. He relies on CBC for the supply of parts such as the Schaeffler INA bearings.
“The aftermarket parts they have for Case headers are quite affordable, more cost effective for me and my clients,” he says. “We’re getting headers ready for the season right now, and it’s important to have security when it comes to the supply of parts.”
Mitch Chaffer, NSW Agriculture Business Development Manager at the Wagga Wagga branch, is in regular communication with Michael. Often Michael consults with Mitch for advice.
“The service I get from CBC has been unreal. The parts come to me overnight. Mitch also picks up the phone 90 per cent of the time I call, and if he doesn’t, he’ll call me back pretty quickly,” says Michael. “A recent example is when I bought a very big ticket item and it got damaged. I rang Mitch and it was no problem, he replaced it right away with no questions asked. CBC always provide a quick turnaround.”
According to Mitch, the Schaeffler INA bearings are a good choice for the Essar Machinery beaters because the X-life factor ensures longevity.
“The bearings can withstand the very dirty and heavy conditions that the Case beater mechanisms undergo. They’re designed for this application,” Mitch elaborates. “CBC is the key supplier of these bearings so that gives us a unique advantage on the agricultural market.”
Moreover, Michael has come to rely on Mitch’s recommendations when it comes to diagnostics and maintenance of headers.
“Through Mitch we have access to the diagnostic data on the later model headers, which can save on a lot of downtime,” explains Michael. “Basically, the header has a port for an ECU where we can collect data on how the injector, engine and other parts in the header are performing. Having this information available so easily makes a huge difference. This is the way of the future.”