Turkey has only recently appeared on the west’s radar as a serious tractor manufacturing entity.
In Ireland, we are familiar with brands such as Hattat, Tumosan and Armatrac; all three are recognised as manufacturers of less-sophisticated machines.
However, there is now another company – namely Basak Tractor – which is expanding into western Europe and may well appear over here at some point.
Ford and Steyr legacy
The company has been involved in making tractors since the early 1960s – originally producing them under a Ford licensing agreement.
Later it moved on to building Steyr-branded models in the mid-to-late 1970s, before starting to manufacture its own machines in 1996.
The factory was privatised in 2003 and is now owned by Sanko Holdings – also of Turkey. Both garden and field-type tractors are produced.
Later models
None of the machines in the existing line-up meet current EU emissions standards, but that is about to change – following the unveiling at EIMA 2018 of the Basak 5120 ‘concept’ tractor (see main/featured picture).
This will be the flagship model in the proposed ‘5000’ range. It appears to be more sophisticated than previous offerings, thus potentially moving Basak into new markets.
Power comes from Deutz engines – units that will enable the tractors to be sold within the EU and also lend a certain degree of market credibility. The transmissions are ZF 24F 24R units; there’s also a power-shuttle in the mix.
Basak is hoping to have these new machines ready for sale at next spring’s SIMA show in Paris.