To Georgia or Italy

It's early morning in Franklin County, Georgia, and a large forklift named after a hen's traditional enemy effortlessly loads cages of broilers onto a semi trailer. Five thousand miles away, on a hillside vineyard near Asti, Italy, a compact tractor carrying the name of the company's founder works in the afternoon sun between neat rows of grapes.

It would appear the two machines have nothing in common. The Fox forklift — the only fox you want around your henhouse, its builder says — is specially built for the chicken industry by Master Craft in Tifton, GA. A hydrostatic drive moves its 18,000 lbs of steel around the poultry operation. A rear-steering axle helps position the two-wheel-drive Fox and its 144 in. mast.

The vineyard tractor, a hot red Italian number with the name of Antonio Carraro SN 6500, weighs just over 3,500 lbs. It steers through articulation and oscillates over undulating terrain. Power goes to the four wheels via a 24-speed (12 forward, 12 reverse) gearbox. The SN 6500, part of the company's Tigrone tractor series, is built in Campodarsego, north of Padua (Padova), in northeastern Italy.

Worlds apart they may be, but the two machines do have a few things in common. With one built in a part of the world where a lunch of pork barbecue and sweet tea are guaranteed, the other in a region where grappa accompanies fresh tortellini: both look to Perkins for their diesel engines.

The tractor and forklift are also both built by family-owned companies — something that seems to become more rare everyday. Antonio Carraro himself met us at the new-tractor demonstration in Italy, while Jackie Haswell, grandson of Master Craft's founder, helped give the factory tour in Tifton.

For Perkins Engine Co. Ltd., a company based in Peterborough, England, and owned by Caterpillar Inc., in Peoria, IL, keeping and winning customers around the world has meant making the distances shorter while working within the cultures of the regions where they are doing business.

Italy: tractor people

Antonio Carraro's selection of Perkins engines is a new development, and indicative of the fact that the tractor company is seriously interested in expanding its brand beyond Italy. It will be using Perkins' new Tier 3-certified 400D in its TN 6500 and SN 6500 V models of tractors and two of its unique tractor-based transporters, the Tigrecar 5500 and 6500.

"We have chosen this engine over many other brands," says Liliana Carraro, advertising director and Antonio's daughter. "The 400 Series is the right choice for our customers. Most of our operators are farmers who need engines with low vibration, noise, low fuel consumption."

The Antonio Carraro Tigrone tractor line is multifunctional, and in Italy can be found working steep mountainsides. They are marketed not only for agricultural applications, but in the civil sector, as well, where they maintain swimming beaches and golf courses. In 2005 it sold 5,700 tractors, which represents 25% of the Italian tractor market and 15% of the European.

"The tractors are employed in many different jobs," says Carraro. "That is one reason why we looked close at the assembly of the engine. The way it is assembled permits the operator to maintain the engine in as little time as possible."

Working from the Motori Perkins S.p.A. office in Italy, Stefano Meneghini helped put Perkins engines and Antonio Carraro tractors together. He could draw upon 15 years of experience on the application side, and as a representative based in Italy, he was closer to the customer and familiar with the culture.

Keeping lines of communication open helped keep surprises to a minimum. "I don't want to visit a customer and have them tell me something I am not aware of — that's not good," says Meneghini, sales manager. "I was there for every meeting. On the technical aspects we worked together closely. I was there with an engineer from Perkins, but could facilitate because of my background."