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The full integration of Dutch company Steketee BV into agricultural machinery specialist Lemken will be completed in the coming months.
Five years ago, agricultural machinery specialist Lemken acquired the Dutch company Steketee B.V and expanded its crop care product portfolio with implements for mechanical weed control and future-oriented camera-assisted machine guidance.
The full integration of the crop care business will be completed during the coming months and all products will take come in the more familiar blue Lemken colour scheme.
Increasing interest in mechanical weeding solutions has seen sales triple in recent years, necessitating a move by the company to a new site to increase production capability. There is also the likelihood of the current workforce of 60 people doubling in the coming years.
Recently, Lemken released details of its first weeder harrow to round off its range of mechanical weed control implements.
The Thulit harrow is said to break new ground, with four beams and eight rows of harrow tines.
The tine pressure can be continuously adjusted to up to five kilograms on the move, resulting in a precise job, particularly during the early/ sensitive crop growth stages.
Tines are arranged with a spacing of 31.25mm to ensure blockagefree work, using stable, true-to-track, wear-free tine bearings to ensure optimum weed removal.
A straightforward quickchange system makes it easy to replace harrow tines. The Thulit features precise and continuous ground contour. Following with consistent tine pressure, making it a versatile implement – even on uneven ground and operating in ridge grown crops.
Generous clearance height and smart design removes the need for the usual springs and the chances of plants getting caught beneath the frame.
The hydraulic system also supports width control within the frame sections to avoid multiple passes across parts of the field.
A key part of the design brief was to minimise frame weight and has been achieved by reducing the number of moving parts, allowing Thulit to be operated on smaller tractors with lower lifting capacities.
A further benefit of the reduced componentry is that the driver also has a clear view of the harrow tines allowing a better oversight of the final work results.
The Thulit harrow will initially be available in early 2024 in limited quantities with working widths of six and nine metres
Complementing its existing range of tillage implements, German manufacturer Lemken has introduced the new Onyx subsoiler said to offer working depths of up to 60cm, available in two rigid versions offering three and four metre working widths, the MR/300 and MR/400.
Scheduled for release later in the year at Germany’s Agritechnica Event, Lemken’s new Solitair PT is a power harrow/drill combination designed for farmers and contractors who want to work in a wide range of soil conditions, achieving a good seedbed combined with precise drilling in one pass.
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