ORLANDO, Florida – Versatile has taken a step closer to becoming a full line agricultural equipment manufacturer with its acquisition of Minnesota company Red Ball’s designs and manufacturing assets after the Minnesota company got into financial difficulty.
The result is Versatile’s first self-propelled sprayer, the SX275. Retailing for about $239,000 US, the sprayer ditched the Red Ball 7830’s John Deere engine in favour of a 6.7 litre Cummins and outfitted it with Ravens’ 4400 or optional top end Enviso system.
Otherwise, the machine remains the same as the Red Ball machine. The sprayer will be built in Willmar, Minnesota.
The Raven affiliation extends to the tractor lineup, where Raven will power the new automated steering and guidance for Versatile’s machinery line. Another first for the tractor maker.
Versatile is now offering one of the highest horsepower options in an agricultural tractor with the launch of its 575. With a horsepower bulge that tops 600, it’s just short of the Agco Challenger 975’s 631 peak and ahead of nearly every other machine in the marketplace. The big Winnipeg-built machine is aimed at the large farms of the Canadian Prairies, the U.S. Plains states and Australia. The price of the new machine is about $325,500 including the company’s new VPAS guidance and automated steering system.
The Winnipeg company launched sprayer and big tractor in Las Vegas and announced it at Ag Connect Expo in Orlando, Florida.
