Fantasy meets reality — Editorial
With another National Fieldays done and dusted for the year it is an opportune time to reflect on the current state of New Zealand’s primary sector.
It specialises in grassland machinery such as mowers, tedders and rakes.
Dating back 60 years, the company employs 280 employees producing machinery that meets the criteria of simple, strong and robust.
Its mowers range in size from 2.6 to 15m in front- and rear-mounted, trailed and butterfly format, or the range-topping five-unit, 15m trailed version.
Tedders are available from 4 to 15m and rakes 6 to 12.50m, meaning there is a machine for any operation. Construction in all the ranges uses quality components, with bearings from SKF, heavy-duty driveshafts from Walterscheid with service intervals up to 250 hours, and gearboxes from Bondoli and Pavesi.
Mower cutter-bars built in-house are modular, using the company’s disc drive safety system (DDSS). These comprise four shear pins in the hub beneath each disc, breaking under impact to prevent damage to the bed. Export manager Bogataj claims that, since the system’s introduction in 2007, no replacement gears have had to be supplied because of impact damage.
Looking at the cutter-bar, the wedge-shaped assembly is oil-filled for instant lubrication at start-up.
The bars are complemented by discs, skids and in-fill cleaner plates made from Hardox steel to extend service life. A quick-change knife system allows rapid in-field replacement. Bolt-up knife fittings can be supplied for arduous conditions.
The hydraulic suspension is designed to place about 180kg loading to ensure a clean cut and allow good ground adaption at all times.
For front mounted units, available from 3 to 3.5m working width, the S-Flow system uses a pulling motion combined with hydro-pneumatic suspension to ensure the mower floats over undulations and obstructions.
