Power and payload across Africa

Power and payload across Africa

Bell Equipment, a homegrown South African company, continues to have an impact across Africa.

By Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and editor of the WhyAfrica magazine

In addition to mining, infrastructure, forestry and quarrying, agriculture will be one of the focus areas of the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip.

Agriculture is the backbone of African economies and a key area for innovation and growth.

In our endeavor to feature some of South Africa’s finest companies that do business in Africa, Bell Equipment comes to mind immediately.

Bell, founded by Irvine Bell in 1954 in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, is a home-grown South African story and the company now operates across Africa and beyond. It has a significant footprint in the mining, infrastructure, quarrying, forestry and agricultural sectors in Africa.

Launching a new tractor

Bell Equipment Forestry and Agriculture recently launched a new Haulage tractor in response to market demand for a more powerful machine capable of hauling a larger payload.

Demand for tractors is rapidly rising across the African continent. The African tractor market was valued at more than USD1.25-billion in 2025 and is forecast to grow at 6.1% CAGR to 2030, driven by mechanisation and food security needs.

Bell’s new Series V Haulage Tractor, the 2006AF is a robust 200hp (149kW) workhorse.

Its unique characteristics makes it a better tool for haulage than a typical agricultural ploughing tractor.

More powerful engine

According to Bell Equipment Product Manager, Emile van Wyk, the 4WD Bell 2006AF boasts a 15% power increase over the 173hp (129kW) units.

“We’ve built the 2006AF on the trusted and proven Series V platform, so it maintains all that our customers have become accustomed to in our Haulage Tractors. Plus, more power means the engine doesn’t work as hard to haul its load, which carries numerous operational benefits,” he explains.

Driven by the 6,8l John Deere engine, it provides 785Nm of torque through the Allison automatic transmission, enabling it to comfortably haul on-road at speeds of up to 40km/h. And, like the other models, the engine achieves Tier 3 emissions certification without the need for a complex exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system.

“One of our prototypes has clocked over 5 000 hours hauling 40t loads of timber for a Namibian biomass customer. It travels for distances up to 65km at a time and has been reported to be the best machine on site,” says Emile.

Follow WhyAfrica on the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip

Follow WhyAfrica during Leg 1 of our 2025 annual WhyAfrica Road Trip through South Africa in September and October as we slowly make our way north to the South African/Namibian border.

If you are a South African company that makes an impact in Africa, please let us know, who knows, we might pop in and make you part of the 2025 WhyAfrica story.

Image: Bell’s new Series V Haulage Tractor, the 2006AF is a robust 200hp (149kW) workhorse. Image credit: Bell Equipment

Power and payload across Africa