Due to increasing requirements for field hygiene and more attention to ground water conservation, shallow soil tillage is becoming increasingly important. Weed seeds and volunteer grains need to be kept near the soil surface, whilst germinated plants are completely cut off at the root. Full-surface, light soil movement not only fights weeds, but also disrupts negative water capillary action near the surface. This allows valuable ground water to be preserved for the subsequent crop.

New soil tillage tools are constantly being developed to meet this need. When it comes to cultivators, the most suitable tool for shallow, full-surface soil tillage is the duckfoot share. Compared with a wing share, the duckfoot achieves significantly shallower working. For cultivators in the Cenio and Cenius product ranges, AMAZONE offers the C-Mix duckfoot share with a width of 320 mm. With a maximum tine spacing of 30 cm, there is a 2-cm overlap between the shares. This ensures uniform, full-surface movement, whatever the conditions. In addition, the C-Mix duckfoot share is extremely flat along its entire width, so that it remains parallel to the ground surface and ensures a uniform, shallow cut. Germinated weeds and volunteers are cleanly cut, so they can dry out.

For optimal results, the wear condition of the share is extremely important. For a longer lifespan, AMAZONE now offers the duckfoot share in a highly wear-resistant HD variant. This features additional hard metal plates that are soldered into place and continually self-sharpen during the soil tillage process. This extends the service life of the share considerably and ensures consistent, clean results.

Source: Amazone

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“In the second quarter of 2020, Nikola met predetermined milestones on our journey toward becoming the zero-emissions transportation leader in the global heavy truck market,”

commented Mark Russell, Nikola’s Chief Executive Officer.

Steps towards achieving this goal include completing a reverse merger with VectoIQ and a related PIPE offering, providing an additional $616.7 million of cash on the balance sheet to support Nikola’s further product development, and the buildout of manufacturing infrastructure.

Product development is on track to meet the established timeline for the start of production of the Nikola Tre in Q4 2021.  Initial units will be produced at the Ulm, Germany facility, where modifications are currently underway.  Once complete, this facility will be capable of producing up to 10,000 units per year.

In addition to the buildout of Nikola’s production capacity in Ulm, Germany, on July 23, 2020, Nikola broke ground on its greenfield manufacturing facility in Coolidge, Arizona.  Once completed, the Coolidge manufacturing facility will be capable of producing up to 35,000 trucks per year at full capacity on two shifts. Phase one of this construction is expected to be complete by Q4 2021.

Other Key Business Highlights

• Signed a purchase order with Nel for electrolysis equipment capable of producing up to 40,000kg of H2 per day.
• Nikola Tre production test units are underway in Ulm, Germany and are scheduled to be complete in Q4 2020.
• Nikola called for redemption of outstanding public warrants in Q3 2020.

Purchase Order for Electrolysis Equipment from Nel

In June, Nikola signed a purchase order with Nel ASA for 85-megawatts of alkaline electrolyzer capacity. This purchase order will support up to five of Nikola’s hydrogen generating and dispensing stations. At capacity, these stations are expected to generate up to 40,000 kgs of hydrogen fuel each day, which would support up to 1,100 Nikola Two FCEV trucks.

Nikola’s hydrogen fueling and battery charging activities are being overseen by the newly-hired President of Nikola Energy, Pablo Koziner. Koziner is a 19-year veteran of Caterpillar, and most recently served as Vice President of CAT Electric Power and as President of Solar Turbines.

The post Nikola Corporation reports Second Quarter results appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

Agriculture’s net sales totaled $2.5 billion in the second quarter of 2020, down 18% compared to the second quarter of 2019 (down 14% on a constant currency basis). The decrease was driven by lower industry volumes linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily in Europe, partially offset by positive price realization.

With all plants and depots up and running by the end of the second quarter, CNH Industrial reported consolidated revenues of $5.6 billion, net income of $361 million and adjusted net loss of $85 million. Net debt of Industrial Activities at $2.3 billion, with positive free cash flow of $97 million helped by end-demand resuming in most markets and the Company’s cost reduction and cash preservation measures. CNH Industrial ended the quarter with strong available liquidity of $11.5 billion

Adjusted EBIT was $203 million, a $138 million decrease compared to the second quarter of 2019. Positive price realization, disciplined cost management and continued prioritization in research and development spending were more than offset by lower volume and mix and negative fixed cost absorption only partially mitigated by lower purchasing costs. Adjusted EBIT margin was 8.0% (11.0% in the second quarter of 2019).

The following is an extract from the “CNH Industrial 2020 second quarter results” press release. The complete press release can be accessed by visiting the media section of the CNH Industrial corporate website: https://www.cnhindustrial.com/en-us/media/press_releases/Pages/default.aspx or consulting the accompanying PDF.

ONSOLIDATED RESULTS

• Consolidated revenues of $5.6 billion in the second quarter of 2020, down 26% compared to the second quarter of 2019 (down 23% at constant currency)
• Reported net income of $361 million (or $0.26 per share) in the second quarter of 2020 including a gain of $1,475 million from the remeasurement to fair value of the investment in Nikola Corporation (NKLA), partially offset by $840 million of non-cash impairment charges primarily related to the goodwill allocated to Construction, as well as asset optimization charges of $282 million, mainly as a result of the adverse COVID-19 impacts on used trucks final markets in Europe
• Adjusted net loss of $85 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to adjusted net income of $430 million in the second quarter of 2019
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share loss of $0.07 in the second quarter of 2020 compared to adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.31 in the second quarter of 2019
• On June 15, Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”) affirmed CNH Industrial N.V. and CNH Industrial Capital LLC’s long-term issuer default rating at “BBB-” and changed the outlook to stable from positive

INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES

• Net sales of $5.2 billion in the second quarter of 2020, down 27% compared to the second quarter of 2019 (down 24% on a constant currency basis), due to severe adverse COVID-19 impacts on supply chain and market conditions across all regions and segments
• Adjusted EBIT(2)(3) loss of $58 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to adjusted EBIT of $527 million in the second quarter of 2019, strongly impacted by industry demand disruption, negative absorption caused by plant shutdowns and other actions to lower inventory levels, only partially offset by reduced selling, general and administrative expenses and deferral of certain research and development expenses not related to new product launches
• Net debt at June 30, 2020 of $2.3 billion, in line with March 31, 2020 despite the adverse impacts of COVID-19, as a result of positive free cash flow of $97 million and a variety of cash preservation measures

COVID-19 RELATED MATTERS

• All plants and depots resumed activities in May 2020, with safety protocols in place
• Continued social distancing rules in place with a gradual return to the office for employees who are able to work from home
• Continued support to communities
• Financial Services offered payment deferrals and debt rescheduling to the Company’s customers and dealers

Source: Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association

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