Gessner Now Manufacturing in Thailand

Over the past 26 years of working in agriculture, I have met some extraordinary farmers in both row cropping and broad acre farming. They have been hard working, resilient and very innovative in their quest to advance efficiency and productivity for their specific sector of cropping. I have now met a farmer who fits this same mould in sugar industry in Thailand. However, there is one additional quality that sets this gentleman apart from most – he wants to “pay forward” the knowledge he has built up over the decades. In particular, he has proven to be a great advocate for the use of our rippers, billet planters and stool splitters. 

Innovative Solutions for Sugarcane Farming: A Farmer’s Journey to date with Gessner Equipment

I had the pleasure to first meet Mr. Pornsak Tantiphoonphon on my first road trip around the western and northern districts of Thailand back in 2019. I was travelling with my only contact at the time, and she has now become our Thailand Sales Manager, Ms. Kanhathai Sapsin. Kanhathai took me for meetings, which included Mitr Phol, Suphan Buri Sugar Mill and Phitsanulok Sugar. But along the way we called into Tawanseethong Farm, Bueng Samakkhi district in the provence of Kamphaeng Phet to visit a farmer she had made contact with a few months earlier. Suffice to say, I credit Kanhathai with the business acumen to find this local farmer who ultimately has become a true champion and voice for Gessner equipment throughout the region. 

When you first arrive at Pornsak’s farm you can gauge this is a farmer who wants to be a leader in his chosen profession. We had a cordial first meeting to discuss his farming operation and the Gessner product range. Very quickly, Pornsak could see the opportunity to utilise the main Gessner sugarcane equipment range and make some significant changes with the improvement of his ground preparation, planting and fertilising programme. 

His 7000+ Rai sugarcane farm is located approx. one hours drive Northwest of Nakhon Sawan and receives rainfall of between 800-1200mm annually. 

Optimal Sugarcane Farming Practices: The importance of Deep Rippers in Ground Preparation and Yield Enhancement

Pornsak mentioned that he visited a number of Australian sugarcane farms several years earlier, so he understands the importance of ground preparation and good drainage. He uses offset discs and Gessner deep rippers for his primary till requirements, as well as Gaspardo power harrows for his secondary tillage programme. He is a big believer in preparing his farm well prior to planting. It not only provides him an excellent cane yield each year, but holds him in good stead to have up to four ratoons for each new sowing season.   

There is an abundance of tractors on his farm ranging from 90hp through to 200hp. However, his tractors of choice are a pair of New Holland 150hp machines. “They are the ideal size tractor for most farming operations” said Pornsak. “In particular, when using the Gessner 2.0 tonne billet planter, 1.5 tonne stool splitters and our mobile sugarcane bins to support the harvest process.” 

Enhancing Sugarcane Planting and Fertilising Practices: Gessner Billet Planters and Stool Splitters

Pornsak has two 2.0 tonne Gessner billet planters that are soon to complete their fourth year of planting. His sowing rate is approx. 1.2-1.5 tonne of seed cane per Rai. Yields on his farm can be anywhere from 13-16 tonne per rai at harvest time. But this is naturally dependant on many factors, none more important than receiving good rainfall at the critical time after planting. The timing of his sowing season really doesn’t change year to year. He is fortunate that he can pre-water his ground prior to sowing, in the event that the weather becomes unfavourable and he receives no rain. If the opposite occurs, and he receives too much rain around sowing time, he has the confidence to get over his farm quickly with his new planters to take advantage of a shorter sowing window.  

The Gessner 2.0 tonne billet planter is ideal for 130-180hp tractors, and has a bunch of features, including fixed front wheels with a manual planting depth control, heavy-duty chain elevator, rear swivel castor wheels, hydraulic controlled gate to regulate the billet flow and stainless steel fertiliser bins. But when Pornsak was pressed to his name his favourite feature, he just smiled and said, “The reliability and quality of the Gessner machine. There has been nothing to fix on the equipment because nothing has broken in the four years I have owned it.” His older, more basic planters still have some purpose each year at sowing time. But the Gessner planters are receiving more and more attention during each year’s sowing season due to their efficiency and consistent billet placement. 

The same can also be said for his 1.5 tonne stool splitters with their 760mm diameter front coulter disc and extremely reliable twin disc applicator and press wheel. The main fertiliser bin and outlets are all fabricated using 316 stainless steel and once again this machine has provided him reliability year in, year out for more than three years. “The stool splitter makes fertilising a very efficient operation each year” said Pornsak, “Each stool splitter allows me to fertilise approx. 75-100 rai per day, with fewer farm hands relied upon to complete this process.” 

Empowering Farmers to adopt better farming practices: The importance of Gessner Demo Days 

My last visit to Pornsak was early March 2024. I must say he looked a little worn out from several weeks of managing a significant cane harvest. He indicated that his harvest and his yield could always be a little better, but there was some satisfaction knowing that the current price for his cane has helped smooth out what has turned out to be a pretty good year. 

Whilst he provided himself a well earned couple of days off to go fishing after his harvest, you cannot help but be inspired by his energy when he gets home and immediately starts the process to educate and spread the good word about his farming operation and the virtues of using his new Gessner implements. For the record, Pornsak has never been paid by Gessner to promote our product through demo days, local grower days, visits to his farm by several sugar mills or even large sugar companies. He has been happy to promote Gessner without any fuss and he paid normal retail prices for all of his Gessner equipment.  

Late March this year saw his latest engagement where he hosted a 30-40 strong contingent of farming managers and executives from a large Thai sugar company. He has declared that he may not do as many speaking engagements in the future, but we love the fact that he is happy to host one more Gessner Demo Day in late May 2024. The timing couldn’t be more ideal with Gessner now set up manufacturing rippers, billet planters and fertiliser equipment from our new facility in the WHA Industrial Estate at Nong Khae, Saraburi. 

Gessner New Manufacturing Facility: 

The new manufacturing facility is located in Nong Khae, Saraburi and has approximately 5000m2 of factory and office space with ample yard area for the storage of completed Gessner equipment. 

In the past twelve months Gessner has taken a bare factory with no power, no office and no equipment into a facility that is quickly transforming into a modern, state-of-the-art steel fabrication facility. “The past few months has been very exciting for this new factory” said General Manager, Michael O’Connor. “We have just received a brand new Okuma CNC machining centre and CNC lathe from Tech NC and a new CNC Hyperthem plasma cutter from local supplier Top Gas. Our new 320 tonne CNC Ermaksan press brake in due to arrive around June 2024.” 

The company has also focused very heavily on obtaining some of the most talented and brightest staff Thailand has in the Saraburi region. “We understand the importance of good people. You can have the best designs, factory and equipment, but without good people to see through the manufacturing and sales process, you will not outperform and stay ahead of the competition” said Mr. O’Connor. He also went on to say, “We are so happy of what we achieved to date. I am proud to say that every permanent position at this time has been filled by a local skilled Thai employee. A fabulous achievement.”  

For further information about the range of agricultural equipment or a visit to their factory please contact Gessner Co Ltd. Also, stay tuned for more information on the Demo Day at Pornsak’s farm by logging onto Gessner Thailand’s Facebook page or contacting Ms. Kanhathai Sapsin on kanny@gessner.co.th