An Alabama-Made Tractor Could Revolutionize Farming Around The Globe

Al.com ^ | 1-23-2017 | William Thornton

[blam]

William Thonton
January 23, 2017

The Oggun tractor, which will be manufactured in Fyffe, was developed for farmers domestically and in the developing world as a low-cost alternative to heavy farm equipment. (William Thornton / wthornton@al.com)

In a new factory off Main Street in Fyffe, a business this week began marketing a product it says could revolutionize agricultural for the small farmer all over the world.

CleBer LLC hosted the opening of its plant which will manufacture the Oggun Iron Horse, a tractor designed for small-scale domestic and international farmers.

The tractor, which can sport a 19 horsepower Honda gas or Kohler diesel engine, weighs 1,500 pounds and uses hydraulic steering and brakes. It is built to sell at $10,000 in the gas model, and $13,000 in diesel.

The Oggun was designed so that all of its components are non-proprietary, so it can be fixed and maintained without having to order expensive, model specific parts - usually patent protected - that might be hard to acquire in the developing world.

The Oggun factory, which adjoins Liberty Steel Manufacturing, could produce up to 10,000 tractors a year. But first will come marketing, said Horace Clemons, one of the founders of CleBer.

"This is where the real work begins," Clemons said.

Clemons and his business partner, Saul Berenthal, have a background in personal computers and software. But Berenthal, a native of Cuba, believed a tractor like the Oggun could be a boon to the small farmers of his homeland.

(snip)

[Mr. Lucky]

A typical Ford 8n will sell for a couple of thousand bucks in the rural mid-west.

[M Kehoe]

Hi blam.

I’ve picked cotton, oranges, strawberries and other assorted vegetation when I was growing up in FL.

Even though I look back fondly upon those days, they convinced me to get an education.

5.56mm

[T-Bone Texan]

wow, that’s a scary story!

My wife’s uncle was killed by his own tractor, crushed under the wheels. It was horrible.

The aunt’s 1st inkling that something was awry was the driverless tractor driving up to their house, crashing through a fence, and going into their swimming pool.

[T-Bone Texan]

After hearing all about my wife’s family picking cotton (even the children), I say “Thank you God for putting me in this cubicle!”