Irum and Perkins: allies in performance
Romania’s leading forestry and agricultural machinery firm, Irum, celebrates 65 years of production this year. For the past 16 years, it has been collaborating closely with Perkins. With two powerful brands working together, Irum’s machines are more productive than ever, allowing the company to reach into new markets with confidence.
For 65 years, Romanian manufacturer Irum has been building forestry and agricultural equipment at its home in Reghin. Today, the company employs more than 500 people at its 195,000 square metre factory and dominates its domestic sector with more than 85 percent market share. Irum also enjoys an increasingly strong presence overseas in territories such as Bulgaria, France, Spain, Belgium, Poland, South Africa and South America.
The company, which was originally state-owned, traditionally depended on Romanian engine manufacturer UTB to supply its engines. However, after moving into private ownership in 1999, Irum was determined to improve the technical prowess of its machines and engines.
Irum’s engineers were keen to identify a new engine supplier that could deliver the improved performance and robust reliability that customers were increasingly demanding. The company’s search led it to open discussions with Maviprod, Perkins appointed distributor in the country.
“Our relationship with Perkins, through Maviprod, was a huge milestone for Irum,” said business manager Manuela Litiu. “Perkins is an extremely powerful brand with more than 85 years of knowhow and expertise, so we immediately benefited from that experience.
“In those early days, one of the most important things was that we had 100 percent support from Perkins – and they made sure that the transition from our old engine to Perkins technology was very smooth.
“We quickly learned the importance of putting an emphasis on innovation and Perkins continues to share its expertise, both technically and commercially.”
Reduction in fuel consumption
Perkins quickly added value for Irum, working closely with the company to find the right engine solutions for its machines. Irum’s first Perkins-powered machine launched in 2005, a skidder equipped with a new 1000 Series engine. Fuel consumption on the new machine was almost eight litres per hour less than the engines the company previously used.
Since those first seeds of collaboration, Irum’s relationship with Perkins has flourished and grown.
“When two powerful brands come together, success is virtually guaranteed,” said Mircea Oltean, Irum CEO. “Besides the extra brand awareness we get from running Perkins engines, our connection allows us to provide a comprehensive package of valued solutions.
“So customers get great engines, easy access to spare parts, service excellence and outstanding warranties worldwide, which is a huge selling point. The excellent aftecare support provided by Perkins means our customers experience very little downtime, so they’re not losing money.”
Together for the long term
Irum puts huge stock in its long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship with Perkins.
“We have a strong, successful, open and honest history with Perkins,” said Manuela. “We’ll continue using Perkins engines to power our machines, because we’re confident with the quality of its engines, its technical solutions and its strategy for the future. After 16 years of collaboration, we see Perkins team as an extension of ours.”
As Irum looks forward to the next 65 years, it does so with confidence.
“Our first objective is to develop our product range so we can expand worldwide and grow our position in the global forestry market. Secondly, on the agricultural side, we’re determined to be an important player across Eastern Europe,” concluded Andrei Oltean, Irum CBDO.
