Author: Jesse Straeter

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New Holland Agriculture Debuts World’s First LNG Tractor

The importance of energy is at a historic peak. New and efficient ways of generating, using, and storing energy are required to address this global issue.

CNH Industrial keeps its customers moving forward with smart and sustainable equipment and services. Always advancing and evolving to deliver future-proof solutions for farmers, the Company’s long-term R&D investment in alternative fuels is part of what makes us the industry leader in agriculture.

Our global New Holland Agriculture brand has long championed alternative fuels as the future of farming, establishing its Clean Energy Leader Strategy in 2006. Since then, the brand has accumulated vast experience and expertise in this area, developing concepts, prototypes and ultimately the first ever commercialized natural gas tractor: the New Holland T6 Methane Power.

Today, the brand unveils the next step in its Clean Energy journey with the T7 Methane Power LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) pre-production prototype tractor.

T7 LNG: the right blend of autonomy, power, comfort and opportunity

A farm’s carbon footprint is a major factor in determining its sustainability. And farmers still need powerful tractors that can run around the clock. Natural gas, and especially biomethane, are presently the ideal solutions to guarantee higher horsepower machine performance, while also lowering emissions and reducing operating costs.

The T7 Methane Power LNG will more than double the autonomy compared to a CNG design whilst boosting overall farm sustainability. In comparison to the T6 Methane Power CNG, this is a fourfold increase in fuel capacity. LNG is also a key facilitator for the expansion of CNH Industrial’s broader future natural gas portfolio, particularly towards larger and heavier agricultural equipment, as well as construction equipment.

The T7 Methane Power LNG pre-production prototype offers unparalleled performance for an alternative fuel tractor. With its 270hp, it delivers the same power and torque as a diesel tractor while delivering autonomy without the need for any extra tanks. It is also more sustainable, being better than carbon neutral when powered by Liquefied Biomethane sourced from livestock manure/slurry.

Bennamann: a winning partnership and scalable solution for all farms

CNH Industrial values alliances with innovative and disruptive industry players to accelerate time to market for new technologies. To spearhead this latest development, we partnered with Bennamann, a UK-based expert in solutions to capture and repurpose fugitive methane emissions for energy use. Our work together began in March 2021, when we acquired a minority stake in Bennamann Ltd., its research, development, engineering and manufacturing arm. We became their exclusive strategic agricultural technology partner and this cooperation has quickly established concrete future benefits for our customers and the environment.

Bennamann’s multi-patented approach prevents methane from entering the atmosphere (methane is more than 80 times more harmful to global warming than CO2 when measured over 20 years) by ultimately converting it into Liquefied Fugitive Methane (LFM) for use as a ‘better than zero carbon’ biofuel. This solution can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of an average dairy farm by preventing the direct emission of methane from slurry lagoons and tanks, as well as providing a range of additional benefits. These include reducing the use of CO2 intensive chemical fertilizers, the displacement of fossil fuel use in tractors, electricity generation and heat provision, and a reduction in the need for slurry spreading. The CO2 reduction for a 120-cow farm is potentially equivalent to around 100 western households.

How it works:

A tried-and-tested energy independent sustainable farm system sees collected livestock manure transferred to a covered slurry lagoon or tank, where the emitted fugitive methane (alongside other polluting gases) is captured, subsequently being purified and converted into liquefied methane using a processing unit. A liquification unit can simply be bolted on to an existing CNG processing unit for further flexibility – ideal for farms which already produce their own biomethane.

Bennamann’s patented non-venting cryogenic storage tanks keep the methane as a liquid at -162°C, producing a new source of clean power for the T7 Methane Power LNG tractor. Furthermore, this technology enables LNG to be transported, similar to diesel, to wherever it is required, meaning farms which do not have the ability to produce LNG on-site can still benefit from its advantages, as well as enabling flexible in-field refueling during intense operational windows.

When this prototype tractor is integrated within Bennamann’s on-farm liquid fugitive biomethane production process, it is possible for an operation’s overall carbon footprint to be ‘better than zero.’ The tractor’s surrounding environment also benefits from a significant reduction in drive-by noise levels, making it perfect for tasks near livestock or in urban areas.

As a result, the combined expertise and resources of CNH Industrial and Bennamann enable farmers everywhere to fully integrate this scalable and affordable Energy Independent system on their farms. It also provides new opportunities and revenue streams to monetize or repurpose their waste. These include: fuel production at a stable cost; sale of excess biomethane on the open market; generation of 100% natural fertilizer; and conversion of excess methane into electricity for export to a grid or local use. The opportunity for electricity generation is key – this can be used to run electric vehicles (future agricultural machines alongside existing cars and vans) as well as powering the farm, which in remote rural areas, with restricted electric power, could unlock future expansion.

T7 Methane Power LNG: ingenious design, productivity and tech

The T7 Methane Power LNG pre-production prototype is the latest demonstration of CNH Industrial Breaking New Ground by developing a world first that will better enable farmers to be more sustainable, energy independent and productive, all while improving their bottom lines.

Beyond its energy efficiency and notable environmental credentials, this machine is equipped with bold and functional future-facing enhancements to marry ‘Great Iron’ with ‘Great Tech’.

An inspired aesthetic from CNH Industrial’s in-house Design Team presents a tractor that is ahead of its time, with a new ‘Clean Blue’ color accenting sustainable alternative fuels. The all-new exterior features fit with the Brand’s new signature design style, which can be seen in the reimagined bonnet with the illuminated New Holland iconic leaf. The exterior is completed by powerful LED taillights with incorporated signature leaf, a C-Pillar illuminated leaf and gloss black wheels with custom Clean Blue accents. The cab incorporates a full length skydome roof for enhanced visibility and greater sense of space. The innovative SideWinderTM Ultra armrest, new larger IntelliViewTM 12 touchscreen and the CentreViewTM fixed hub steering wheel mounted display makes work intuitive – while the ergonomically shaped seats in leather and Alcantara with contrasting stripe and embroidered logo, look sporty as well as being comfortable.

The patented active temperature-controlled fuel system developed for this pre-production prototype incorporates a stainless-steel cryogenic tank that is expertly molded to match its diesel counterparts, maximizing space and effectively storing LNG within a working tractor. The system has a self-supporting vacuum space that insulates the fuel within and reduces the tank’s thickness. Refueling is as easy as that of a diesel tractor. Once out in the field, the tanks’ active temperature control ensures that the engine runs smoothly.

Equipped with New Holland’s latest precision technology – PLM Intelligence – this prototype, just like New Holland’s full production fleet, enables the farmer to easily command cutting-edge guidance programs, analyze all field data and stay wirelessly connected with both the field below and key locations across the farm. These important features result in a further boost to productivity and sustainability, allowing our customers total control over their operations and the power to make data-driven decisions.

All of the new technology present in the T7 Methane Power LNG has been put through its paces on a variety of farms across many different applications. This premiere is the first step towards serial production and commercialization of the world’s first LNG tractor, complementing New Holland’s existing T6 Methane Power and CNH Industrial’s wider alternative power portfolio.

This story originally appeared on Farm-Equipment.com

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Gorgias User Guide

Gorgias is the system currently being used by our company to keep track of phone calls, text messages, online chat messages, and some emails through the Gorgias ticketing system. Here is a guide on using various features on the system:

Gorgias is a central customer communication hub, which allows a company such as ours to manage incoming customer inquiries through different "channels" such as phone calls, text messages, website chats, etc. Here is what that looks like visually for us:

By using a central communication hub such as Gorgias, it allows all of the staff to communicate and keep notes of conversations with customers in a collaborative manner. You will see the benefits of this as you learn how to use it, but from a high-level perspective, you can think of Gorgias as one big shared notebook for keeping customer notes on across the company, which allows everyone to work on customer inquiries in a more coherent way than if you were to just keep track of your own conversations and notes individually. Here is what that looks like visually:

The rest of these sections in this training page will walk through how Gorgias works so you can learn how to use it in an effective manner to keep track of your tasks with customers quicker and easier for yourself and everyone else.

Whenever there is an incoming phone call, text message, website chat, or emails to specific inboxes, a ticket is created in Gorgias to view it:

Within the ticket, you can communicate with the customer, or leave internal notes to communicate with other team members or for your own reference. All of these features are discussed within this guide.

Navigate to https://newhollandrochester.gorgias.com and login to the website using your credentials.

Note: It is important to be logged into Gorgias throughout the day as it is a requirement in order for phone calls to ring to you.

With many tickets being created daily, the left-hand menu bar is useful by grouping tickets to help quickly find tickets relevant to you. By default, when you log in, you will be taken to the My Open ticket menu, which displays all open tickets assigned to you:

The menu is grouped by primarily by location, with subgroups based on what type of communication channel was used for the ticket (i.e. phone call, non-phone call), and what the status of the tickets are (open or closed). For instance, if I want to look at phone calls that are open at the Greentown store, I can do that by click on the Open Phone subgroup under the Greentown:

Tickets can have one of two Status options, Open or Closed. The status of a ticket is used to help determine whether or not there is still any active communication needed for what that topic is regarding.

There are two ways to close a ticket, the first being from within the ticket itself:

The other method is allows you to close single or multiple tickets from any menu page:

You can similarly open back up any closed ticket by doing the reverse of each of the two methods to close them. From within the ticket itself:

Or from the menu page:

Closing tickets that no longer need attention helps keep focus on tickets that remain open which do require additional attention. If you close out a ticket after responding to a customer and they happen to respond back, the ticket will be automatically reopened if that happens within a short enough of a time frame (typically a few days). Should they respond to the message and it creates a new ticket for that response, you can simply merge the two tickets together (see the Merging Tickets section for more details).

Tickets can be assigned to individual users and/or teams, or neither (unassigned). By assigning a ticket to a specific user and/or team, it helps with the following:

  • Indicating to all other users who is currently responsible for that ticket
  • Making sure the ticket displays within the appropriate section within the menu

 

There are a couple of ways to assign tickets to users and/or teams:

  • If you are within the ticket, you can click the dropdown menu button for assigning tickets below the ticket title:

  • You can also assign tickets to teams and/or users from any of the main menus by selecting the ticket(s) you want to reassign and clicking either of the appropriate buttons located in the top menu bar, and similarly searching and selecting the user/team you want to assign the selected tickets to:
    This is a great way to reassign multiple tickets quickly.

By default, tickets are given default title names, such as this:

In order to easier identify what the ticket is regarding, it is a good idea to change the title to help better identify what it is about. To do this, open the ticket and change the title to something more appropriate. Clicking out of the box after entering the new title is all that is needed in order to save it:

Similarly, this helps when viewing any customer's ticket history in order to better help identify which ticket is which:

Adding notes to tickets is one of the best ways to utilize Gorgias as it is a great way to keep track of previous conversations with customers:

Using the Internal note option from the message box will never be sent to the customer itself, whereas the other options like Send Email or Send SMS will, so you want to make sure that you have the Internal Note option selected when entering a message not intended for the customer. This option turns the message box yellow in order to help indicate that, whereas the other options appear in white.

If you have two tickets that are about the same topic for the same customer, you can merge them together so that all the content about that topic stays grouped together within that ticket. Here is the process on how to do that:

When a new ticket is created for a customer whose name has not been updated in the customer profile, it will assign it a generic customer name by default:

To edit this, click into the ticket and click on the Customer # in the top-right hand side of the ticket window. Then click the Edit Customer button, and update the customer name (and any other details as necessary) from this screen:

You can also add "notes" to the customer profile from within the ticket itself. Most typically, the customer address is best stored here if you have it:

If you need to add a new customer, you can do so by switching to the Customers section, clicking the Add Customer button, and adding the appropriate details as follows:

If you identify two customer profiles that are really the same, you can merge them together, similar to merging tickets. Gorgias will help identify duplicate customer profiles when duplicate information is found (i.e. the same customer name) and suggest merging them. When merging the two profiles together, all the tickets that exist for each customer will be combined into one profile:

You want to be sure that the two profiles are in fact the same person prior to merging them. Just because two customers have the same name, does not automatically mean that they are the same person. Here is another example showing when you may come across duplicate customers when updating customer information and how to go about merging the two:

In order to send text messages / pictures to a customer, that customer needs to have a phone number in their profile that is textable (i.e. cell phone #). Once they do, you can select the Send SMS option from the message box menu, choose which number to send from, and send any message / picture preferred from there. You can only send one picture at a time.

Here is an example of how a conversation may typically go for a customer calling in looking for a part and you want to be certain that you are getting them the right one:

Sending emails to customers in Gorgias is done through the same message box as sending texts and adding Internal Notes:

Gorgias is able to integrate with eBay, allowing us to communicate with customers through eBay directly within Gorgias. There are a couple of items to keep in mind when communicating this way:

  • Links do not transfer through to eBay, so you want to be sure to insert the URL address to allow the user to be able to visit any pages such as product pages you want them to visit.
  • You do not want to send links to our website through eBay as this is against eBay's policies.
  • When sending images, you need to add them as an attachment in Gorgias. If you try to paste them into the message directly, it will not transfer through to eBay.

Here is a video demonstrating these items using an example message in Gorgias:

If you are finished with a ticket for now but want to be reminded to follow up on it at a later time, you can accomplish this in Gorgias by "Snoozing" the ticket. This acts as an alarm clock for the ticket, and is a great way to be reminded to do something at a later, more appropriate time, without having to worry about it until then.

Gorgias and IntelliDealer are now linked through an integration that has been setup. This page explains how the integration works.

The Integration in Action

When creating a new ticket, updating a current ticket, or adding a new message to an existing ticket in Gorgias, Gorgias will search for a customer match in IntelliDealer. If a match is found, you will see the customer profile(s) associated with it in the IntelliDealer integration widget on the right-hand side:

The Integration Purpose

This IntelliDealer integration widget will help identify information about the customer using data from IntelliDealer while in Gorgias. For instance, when a phone call comes in, you can open up the new ticket created for that phone call and quickly see at a glance much information about who the customer is, where they are from, and how much dollars worth of business they have done the past few years.

The Integration Data Overview

Much of the values are coming from the Customer Profile screen in Intellidealer as shown here:

You will notice at times that the data showing in the customer profile screen in Intellidealer does not match the data showing on the Gorgias integration. This may occur when there are multiple customer numbers being combined into the Gorgias integration, as shown in the sample screenshot above. When this happens, the integration uses what is considered to be the "max value" of them. So for instance, if one customer # has a Salesperson of QAC and another customer # has a Saleperson of DWS assigned to it, the integration will consider QAC to be the max value of the two and display that in the Gorgias integration.

Some other noteworthy points on what is displaying in the Gorgias integration fields that may not be immediately clear at first:

Cust # All Divs: This will list all of the customer numbers that a customer has in Intellidealer. It is listed as the store division # followed by the customer # for that store, as shown here:

Each store's division # can be found in IntelliDealer at the top right-hand part of the screen:

Sales fields: These year-to-date (YTD), last-year (LY), and 2-years-ago (2YA) sales figures for each field are based on the customer profile(s) being used. When there are multiple customer #s being combined, as in the case of the above example, the sales figures for each customer number are all added together.

Div Most Spent: This is looking at the location where the customer has spent the most amount of money combined across all departments based on the YTD, LY, and 2YA numbers. The purpose of this is field is simply to help identify which location is the primary location that the customer does business if they have multiple customer numbers being shown in the integration. This may not necessarily always represent where the customer prefers to do business, but can be a helpful indicator nonetheless.

Gorgias ID: This is a unique ID number in Gorgias to identify the customer and is what is used in the customer profile in Intellidealer to link an Intellidealer Customer ID to the Corgias customer ID:

Linking a Customer ID in IntelliDealer to Gorgias Integration

The easiest way to determine this Gorgias ID number for each customer is to first click on the customer name inside of a ticket:

This will pull up the Gorgias customer history screen. You can then see their ID number located in the URL address here:

To link this Gorgias Customer ID to the Intellidealer Customer ID, you need to enter this Gorgias Customer ID # into the Business Fax Number field in their IntelliDealer Customer Profile:

The Gorgias Customer ID and Intellidealer Customer ID are now linked together. You will not immediately see the Intellidealer Customer ID information appear in the Gorgias integration widget, as the Gorgias Intellidealer integration data is only synced on a daily basis.

Training demonstration video overview of Gorgias:

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Parts Lookup Resources

Here is a compiled list of resources on locating parts availability:

Source Name Brand(s) Offered Specialty Notes
wdt_ID Source Name Brand(s) Offered Specialty Notes Details
1 Parts Depot (open site) All Makes Obsolete OEM parts Dealers sell their obsolete parts to this company for pennies on the dollar, who turn around and resale them back to those who need it. So they have many hard to find parts from all brands. To view their products:
1. Navigate to https://www.depotparts.com/.
2. Search for the part # needed in the search box (example).
3. A new tab will open showing you the search results. For any results displayed, double check that the part # and brand is the same as what you need (example).
4. For any results for which they have on hand, you can contact the appropriate depot location to order, as shown at the top of the page (example).
2 Vintage Parts (open site) All Makes Obsolete OEM parts Vintage Parts is a company that buys obsolete parts from manufacturers, so they offer many hard-to-find parts. To find parts on their site:
1. Navigate to https://www.vpartsinc.com/.
2. Use the search box at the top right to search for the part number you are hoping to locate (example).
3. If results are found, they will be shown and you can view the product page from there.
4. Check to see if they have the part on hand. If so, you can call them (877-846-8243) or login to the site to order. The price that is displayed on the product page is the list price for the customer, and we will get a discount on that for our profit (for instance, in this example, the $92.61 shown is what price to offer to the customer).
3 Sparex (open site) All Makes Aftermarket & obsolete OEM parts Sparex is a company that offers a variety of aftermarket parts for all brands. You can visit their site to at https://us.sparex.com/ and use the search box to try and find what is needed.
Each location has their own login information that can be used to login and order the parts from.
4 Parts Express (open site) All Makes Aftermarket OEM parts Parts Express is a company that manufacturers aftermarket parts for many brands. You can use their site to search by part number or by make/model. Each store has their own account login information that can be used to order the parts from. Visit their site at https://parts-exp.com/
5 Weaver's Compact Tractor (open site) All Makes Used compact tractor/skid steer parts Weaver's Compact Tractor company focuses on sourcing and supplying compact tractor parts for all brands. Visit their site at https://www.compactractorparts.com/ to view their product offering, or give them a call at 717-477-9332 with the part number that you are looking to get and they will see if they can locate it or not.
If they do have it, you will need to take the pricing that they offer us and mark it up 30% to offer to the end customer. Don't forget to account for the freight also.
6 Breizelec (open site) All Makes Reman/repairing electrical parts Breizelec is a company focused mostly on hard-to-find electrical based parts. They repair/remanufacture many electrical parts for all makes. Visit their site at https://www.breizelec.fr/en and search the site for the part numbers needed.
They are based primarily out of Canada, and so it is usually around $50 to ship parts to/from there. If they do not have the part on hand, they may be able to repair the broken component the customer is needing depending on the state of the part. You can send them the pictures for the to try and evaluate it ahead of time. You will need to get our cost for everything from them, and then ideally mark it up 30% to the end customer from there.
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Company Organizational Chart

Here is a visual overview of the company-wide organizational chart that covers the entire complex of locations:

The Segment Service Manager (SSM), created in 2022, group organizational chart will be composed into the following organizational structure:

These visuals can be downloaded into a Word document in case changes need to be made by clicking here.

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Join us for our New Holland Field Day 2022

When: Thursday, August 18th 9am – 4pm with lunch 11am-1pm

Where: 450 S Old US Hwy 31 Rochester, IN 46975

Details: We will have field units on demo, equipment on display, and several company reps to answer questions.

Field Demo Units:

  • Degelman Pro-Till
  • Kuhn Krause Excelerator
  • Kuhn Krause Ripper
  • 2023 New Holland Sprayer

Static Display Units:

  • Kinze 4905 24 Row Planter
  • New MacDon Draper Head
  • Kinze 1521 Grain Cart
  • Unverferth Applicator
  • Special Edition New Holland Roll-Belt 560 Baler
  • New Holland E37C Mini-Excavator
  • Kubota Tractor
  • New Holland C332 Compact Track Loader
  • New Holland L328 Wheeled Skid Loader
  • New Holland B75D Backhoe
  • New Holland CR8.90 Combine
  • New Holland 210 Discbine
  • … and more!

Call or text us at 574-216-3243 for more information!

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How to View Scan History Time in Intellidealer

This article describes how to view the Scan History time in Intellidealer, which is what is the time used for payroll purposes. This screen can also be used as a useful tool to look up who was scanned on what work order at any given time.

1. In Intellidealer, go to Product Support -> Service -> Supervisor:

2. Click on the Scan History tab:

3. On this screen, you will see a bunch of various filters at the top of the page that can be used to search for the appropriate person and date range that you are looking for:

4. As an example, let’s put in a date range for a specific day, and then click the Go button to see the results:

5. For results that are more useful, check the Subtotal and Summarize box, which will subtotal each person by day, and also display a total at the bottom:

Common Use-Case Example: Let’s say we want to see the results for one person, Larry Green, over the course of a week’s time to verify his hours for the week for payroll purposes:

1. To view this, start by clicking the magnifying glass on the Select Technician filter and click on Larry Green’s name, which will enter his tech # (504) into the search box (you could also just type the technician # into the box if you know it):

2. We will then switch the date range to the week we want to look at, and then click go to see the results:

So in this example, we can see that Larry worked a total of 48.60 hours for the week, with day by day subtotals to verify for accuracy.

Common Use-Case Example: Let’s say we want to see how many hours were spent on a work order along with details of who worked when:

Use the filters at the top and put in the work order number in question:

Notice that I also checked off the Subtotal and Summarize boxes so that the subtotal and total hours would be displayed. Also, I put in a Date Range from 3/31/2021 (a year ago from today) and left the To date blank. This displays a year-long range from 3/31/21 to now (3/31/22) and ensures that I will see all the time scans on this work order without any being cut off due to the date (assuming no labor was done on this work order prior to 3/31/21, which is not likely).

Looking at the results there, I can see that 3 people have worked on this job for a total of 24.03 hours, all on the same day 3/21/22.