Since its inception in 1997, when its product range consisted solely of rotary tillers, Shaktiman has helped improve mechanization amongst India’s 90 million farmers. The company supplies a portfolio of accessible machinery that today covers the entire crop cycle, from seedbed preparation to crop residue.
Shaktiman now seeks to bring its product offering to new customers in many more countries, after launching 107 new products in the last five years, and a product development pipeline featuring new balers, self-propelled sprayers, forage harvester and sugarcane harvesters.
“Shaktiman was the first Indian company to develop customized farming solutions for the Indian farmer,” says Mr. Ashwin Gohil, the company’s chairman, “and it’s those solutions that have helped propel Shaktiman to secure a wide domestic market share.
“We believe every farmer needs someone who understands his needs and can deliver efficient, viable, and sustainable solutions to preserve soil, water, and natural resources” Mr. Gohil continues, “We know how important it is to have solutions that fit everyone’s needs because we are farmers first. It is also crucial for us to empower farmers, their families, and all rural communities by training them regarding important topics of farm mechanization technology and sustainable agriculture.”
That human-centric approach has been instrumental to Shaktiman success with Indian farmers, and it’s the same approach that has seen the company offer its wide range of products to farmers across the globe.
Machinery manufacturers have a responsibility to not only help develop a more vibrant agricultural economy but also a more sustainable one, believes Shaktiman. Sustainability is one of its core values, and it is tangible in all the different aspects of the brand.
Recognizing the challenges modern farmers face, Shaktiman delivers on those objectives while supplying farmers with agricultural machinery and equipment that deliver confidence through reliability, quality, and customer support.
According to Shaktiman, this is possible thanks to a strong R&D department at its headquarters in Rajkot, Gujarat. A team of 100 engineers operate manufacturing plants covering 27.5 and 16 acres, where prototypes and new machines are put through their paces.
The combination allows steady development and expansion of the company’s portfolio: over 25 new products are typically added to the range every year, and the company holds nearly 90 patents worldwide.
The measure of its technical expertise and manufacturing capabilities was confirmed in 2019, when it entered a joint venture with Germany’s GRIMME. The collaboration focuses on the design and development of a full line of high-tech solutions for potatoes and other root crops.
“Although Shaktiman already enjoys a presence in 100+ countries, the new expansion plan commits the company to reaching more than 4 million farmer customers by 2030,” explains Mr. Hasmukh Gohil, Managing Director at Shaktiman. “Shaktiman’s intense focus on customer service – already it has 1,000+ dealers – is crucial for the expansion of its global footprint.”
“We’ve got a strong and established customer service strategy in which the dealer plays a major role,” Mr. Ashwin Gohil points out. “To maintain that same level of service – which starts with our ‘designed for service’ philosophy, but also includes customer onboarding and dealer maintenance contracts – we need partners who share our same objectives: empowering farmers.”
