1000th Cummins Engine
Twenty-eight years ago, in 1996, Cummins Inc. began working with all-Australian spray equipment manufacturer, Goldacres, during development of its first self-propelled crop sprayer.
The first Crop Cruiser sprayer went into production in 1999, sporting a 5.9-liter Cummins 6BTA engine producing 177 hp.
One thousand Cummins engines later, in 2024, another chapter has been added to the amazing Goldacres story – a Victorian family company beating the imports and helping farmers do their job more efficiently with reliable and innovative products.
Goldacres’ enduring relationship with Cummins has been built on trust, engineering and technical support.
“Cummins showed a willingness to work with us from day one and the relationship has gone from strength to strength,” says Goldacres general manager Roger Richards.
“We haven’t had a bad experience with Cummins or the Cummins product.”
“The support we get from Cummins is second to none, and the Cummins engine brand is very well accepted in the farming community.”
PICK OF THE CROP
Goldacres was set up in central Victoria in the country town of St Arnaud by machinery trader John Richards in the late 1970s and although he is now retired, his two sons Roger and Stephen continue to drive the company as one of Australia’s leading agricultural spray equipment suppliers.
Now Ballarat-based with close to 200 employees, Goldacres markets an incredible range of spray equipment from 2.0-liter ‘pump up’ hand-held sprayers for the home and garden through to broadacre agricultural sprayers such as its 8000-liter self-propelled Super Cruiser – all via an Australia-wide dealer network.
Goldacres has introduced various new models since the first incarnation in 1999, and every one of them has boasted a Cummins powerplant. The Crop Cruisers have found favour in regions as diverse as the Western Australian wheat belt to Queensland’s cotton croppers.
Last year was a record for Goldacres which had its manufacturing line at full throttle, building 12 to 13 self-propelled sprayers a month.
AT THE HEART
Cummins’ B-series engines – displacing 4.5 and 6.7-liters – are installed in the company’s Crop Cruiser and Super Cruiser line-up.
The G4 Crop Cruiser (4000-litres capacity) is equipped with the B4.5 rated at 200 hp while the G6 Crop Cruiser (6000-liters capacity) and G8 Super Cruiser (8000-liters capacity) are propelled by the QSB6.7 rated at 225 and 260 hp respectively. All are emissions certified to Tier 3.
Roger Richards points out the company has already engineered a prototype Cummins installation that meets Stage V emissions regulations – the most stringent off-road emissions regulations in the world – in preparedness for possible introduction in Australia as well as for export potential.
Exhaust emissions for off-road equipment are still unregulated in Australia although the Federal Government is currently considering regulation.
Goldacres’ self-propelled sprayers are mechanical drive – as opposed to most competitors’ hydrostatic drivetrains – which presents a compelling case to buyers in terms of fuel efficiency. The company points out that with mechanical drive, which is more efficient in putting power to the ground, its machines can operate at relatively low revs even in full spray mode. Along with the inherent efficiency of the Cummins B-series engines, this contributes to fuel consumption that is up to two-thirds less than a comparable hydrostatic machine.