GOMEL, 15 March (BelTA) – Gomel-based mechanical engineering company Gomselmash has successfully tested its cotton harvesters in Cameroon, Director of Gomselmash Regional Sales Department Yuri Rafeev told BelTA.
According to him, the matter is about a pilot batch of cotton harvesters HMP-1,8 that were delivered to Cameroon in early 2017. A group of company's specialists went there in February to adjust the cotton-pickers and test their functions. “Based on the test results, we and our business partners have drawn up a protocol and a report which give a high appraisal given to the Belarusian harvesters.
Currently the equipment is used in Cameroon without our presence,” Yuri Rafeev said.
The parties held a special workshop to demonstrate the machine's capabilities to potential customers from West Africa. There are big cotton plantations in several countries of the region, in particular Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo and Benin.
The successful test gave the opportunity to carry out negotiations on the launch of supplies of cotton pickers to Cameroon on a long-term basis.
“Preliminary agreements show that Gomselmash can ramp up business in this region,” Yuri Rafeev noted.
The Belarusian mechanical engineering company completed the design of its own cotton-harvesting machine aggregated with tractor MTZ-80X in late 2014. The machine has already been tested in Central Asian countries. It is equipped with stalk crowders, which provide the best cut of cotton bush and introduce them into cotton picking device where cotton separates from bushes. Then, with the help of airflow, cotton moves to bunker. HMP-1,8 is fully adapted for working in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The industrial group Gomselmash was founded on the basis of the Gomselmash factory established in 1930. Gomselmash is one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural machines in the CIS and Europe. The company offers self-propelled and towed forage harvesters, mower balers, grain harvesters, mounted mower shredders, potato harvesters and beet harvesters.
