A 'Trac' of All Trades

New product ideas come about in any number of ways.  Sometimes they are the product of creative thinking, or are happened upon purely by coincidence.  Often, however, a product idea is the result of an individual who needs or wants something, but cannot find it.  Such is the case with Power Trac tractors.  Power Trac, inc. located in Tazewell, VA, is a 20-year old manufacturer of mining equipment.  When it's owner bought a new home, he wanted a four-wheel-drive tractor with a belly-mower that he could use for yard work.  After shopping around, he could not find anything that could perform multiple tasks at a reasonable price.  So he had his company build one for him-- The Power Trac tractor.

Jeff Sparks, service manager for CLA, said the owner realized that the machines his company built for the mining industry were not that different from the more expensive tractor models.  "he felt that we could build a tractor with the technology we developed in the mining industry that could do a lot more than just mow the lawn, and yet be comparably priced," said Sparks.  Sparks was a member of the team that designed the original Power Trac back in 1985.  The Power Trac line now features eight different tractors, ranging from 18 to 56 horsepower.  At the heart of one of the newer Power Trac models, the PT-1425, is the Kohler Command 25 engine.  "With the PT-1425, we were limited by how much space we had for the engine, so we needed one that could offer superior reliability and more horsepower in a compact design, the hydraulic filter and the smart spark ignition were also factors in selecting the Command 25."

The Command 25 is not the first Kohler engine to put the power in a Power Trac tractor.  Sparks said part of their motivation in choosing the Command was based on the experience they had with Kohler engines in the past.  "We used the 18, 20 and 23 horsepower Magnums in some of the older Power Tracs and great success with them," he said.  The PT-1425 is a four-wheel drive articulated tractor that is unlike any other on the market.  The key advantage of the PT-1425, explained Sparks, is its ability to perform a number of tasks.  "There are other companies that make articulated tractors.  But none of them that I know of have the versatility of the PT-1425, in terms of how many different jobs you can do."

The PT-1425's versatility comes in the form of more than 30 readily changeable tool attachments that allow this one tractor to do several things.  Some of these attachments include a post-hole digger, snow blade and mowing deck.  The tractor's versatility also provides a cost benefit.  City parks departments, professional landscapers and farmers are often concerned with the expense of property development and maintenance because of the equipment required.  The Power Trac's versatility, said Sparks, keeps these costs down.  "With the PT-1425, they only have to buy one machine and the attachments instead of buying five or six machines to do those same jobs."  The PT-1425 is an extremely durable and problem-free machine.  Much of this can be attributed to a unique design in which the tractor's operations are run exclusively by hydraulics.  "The hydraulic design isolates all the systems in the tractor, which results in increased efficiency and better troubleshooting capability if problem does arise," said Sparks.

When the Command 25 engines experienced some minor problems, Kohler central distributor Chesapeake Engine sent a team of service technicians to Power Trac.  The team set up a work area in the Power Trac plant and repaired or updated every Command 25 in stock.  "They went through a lot of trouble to take care of the problem and make sure everything was working right on the engines," said Sparks.  "Now the engines are running super."  Power Trac currently uses a Briggs & Stratton engine in it's line of smaller, homeowner tractors.  (1996)   Sparks said his company is seriously looking at switching to a Kohler engine.  Why is Power Trac considering this?  "One reason is the added reliability,"  Sparks explained.  "Another is that we have a lot of customers who would rather have Kohler engines.  They want the added features of the overhead valve design, the electronic ignition and the pressure lube system.  We do not have this with the Briggs engine."  Just another example of the Kohler team doing what it takes and rising above the competition.