BA Pumps expand
Cambridge based BA Pumps & Sprayers, specialists in New Zealand-made spraying equipment, has acquired Tokoroa Engineering’s product range, including the iconic Milk Bar mobile calf feeder products, alongside calf and feed trailers.
Farmers, fruit or vege growers, vineyard owners or rural contractors -- most either know of or own gear made by Bertolini, whose distinctive blue tanks make them a standout in any field.
The company has recently changed its name: from June 1 it was renamed BA Pumps & Sprayers, under the same ownership and business model.
Bertolini Australasia was formed in 1989 by Mark, Penny and Guy Rendle, with Richard Skeates, when they secured the rights to sell Bertolini pumps in New Zealand from Iddromeccanica Bertolini SpA of Italy.
They went on to develop a range of equipment using the large range of agricultural and industrial pumps available to them, and developed a wide range of sprayers and pressure cleaning equipment.
Today the range includes sprayers, pressure cleaners and fertiliser spreaders, and the company is the sole distributor of Iddromeccanica Bertolini pumps, Collard vineyard equipment, Boisselet under-vine equipment and TeeJet agricultural products.
If customers can’t find what they need, the in-house design and engineering team can custom build gear to order.
Custom-built sprayers are popular with rural spraying contractors, especially those built for truck or Toyota Landcruiser; an extensive array of options includes 1000L or larger tanks, hydraulic spray booms with wing lift, GPS, ABSC autorate controllers and airbag suspension.
The business has remained loyal in using as many New Zealand suppliers as possible, rather than outsourcing manufacturing and quality control overseas; most products are certified as NZ-made.
Growth prompted a move in 2017 to a new, purpose-built facility 5km from Cambridge; staff numbers grew and production capacity expanded.
Three men have been sentenced in District Courts after Ministry for Primary Industries prosecutions over animal welfare, food safety and cattle tracing offences.
Fonterra’s 2026 financial year was a year of delivery, with record volumes of milk collected, processed and shipped by the co-op.
OPINION: The Government's decision to reinstate agriculture and horticultural science as a standalone subject from Year 11 is the right one.
Dairy farmers, still holding onto their Fonterra shares despite switching milk supply elsewhere or exiting the industry, now face a stricter share sell-down requirement.
Hamilton-based agritech company Aimer Farming has completed a $3 million capital raise to support its next stage of growth, including a beef farming product due to launch in 2027.
When dairy manager Miriam Lauridsen learned the farm, she was joining held weekly health and safety meetings, she initially thought that was “a bit over the top”. Experiencing that culture changed her mind.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.