Wednesday, 13 March 2019 07:14

Tackles the toughest beasts

Written by  Mark Daniel
Combi Clamp cattle handler. Combi Clamp cattle handler.

Wayne Coffey designed the original Combi Clamp sheep handler 16 years ago while managing a hill country sheep property east of Taihape.

Combi Clamp’s cattle handling history began with the import of the Ritchie Auto head yoke, from the same Scottish company that manufactures the sheep handling equipment. Unlike anything else on offer in the New Zealand market, it solved many cattle handling issues. However, long lead times from the UK resulted in obtaining a licence to manufacture the head yokes in Palmerston North. 

Today, the business is still owned and operated by the original family, who manufacture all products in Manawatu.

With cattle weighing becoming the norm and the need to improve general health and safety for cattle handling, the need for a quality cattle crush featured strongly in Combi Clamp’s plans. Bringing together practical ideas from farmers with clever engineering, the Combi Clamp is designed to be user-friendly. It has automatic catching, controlled forward and rearward release of the animal, automatic resetting to catch the next animal and safe access to all areas of the animal.

Made in NZ to high standards using quality materials, units are hot-dipped galvanised. 

Standard units have a 75 x 50 x 5mm main frame, a Corten steel floor and rubber flooring for a long life and quiet operation to reduce noise and keep cattle calm. 

They also have an auto catch/auto reset head bail, heavy-duty hinges to resist sagging, heavy-duty slam catches on gates and easy access for lubrication. 

Top-access gates on both sides of the crush allow access to the animal’s upper body and back; these work with split gates on both sides of the unit. 

Options include a rear remote for the head bail and an offside gate opener for drafting out of the opposite side from the operator. 

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