Kverneland Group recently hosted a Pre – Agritechnica event at their seed drill manufacturing plant in Soest, Germany. As well as providing an exclusive Agritechnica preview there was also an opportunity to view the latest investments at the Soest plant.
At the factory there has been almost €30m euro spent developing a state of the art paint line which is similar to systems used by some of the top car manufacturers. Key features of the new paint shop include the continuous blasting facility which ensures all surfaces are free from rust and scale prior to painting which is a mandatory pre – requisite for high quality coating, the zinc phosphate application which matches automotive standards and the cathodic electrophoretic paint process which is an automated coating process for components with complex shapes and ensures all cavities and undercuts are fully protected. This ensures all seed drills which leave the Kverneland factory are ready to meet the demands of the modern farmer.
Kverneland also used the event to showcase a number of new products which are set to be launched at Agritechnica in November. One of the highlights was the first public outing of the new U – Drill, Kverneland’s latest offering in the trailed drill market. The layout on Kverneland's latest U-drill may be similar to existing models, with packer tyres leading two rows of discs, then a staggered row of packer/transport tyres and a new double-disc coulter assembly. What's different is that the 6m model weighs 3t less than its predecessor. "The lower weight and larger packer tyres make the U-drill (pictured above) easier to pull," says product manager Thorsten Kreft. "It can run behind a less powerful tractor. "As well as a continuous flow for the fan, the U-drill needs only one single-acting hydraulic service and just 3.5 litres of oil. In-cab selection and transducers on the depth adjustment cylinders enable the U-drill operator to alter depth on the move and lift out the front tyres. The discs are shared with the new Qualidisc compact cultivator. Each is mounted on its own rubber suspension arm and has sealed bearings. They are more aggressive than those on the MSC. Next, 900mm packer tyres with 250mm stagger to discourage sticky soil build-up crush any remaining clods and reconsolidate the soil to encourage water into the seeding zone through capillary action. They are aligned with the new "CD" coulter assembly, comprising a narrow double-disc opener and following press wheel. "The 380mm diameter coulters have up to 100kg of pressure - compared with 160kg on the MSC drill - and can drop into hollows as well as rise over crests for more accurate seeding depth," Mr Kreft points out. A backbone chassis is another change and, with the centre-split wings folded, it is easy to reach the two Accord seed metering assemblies that allow half drill shut-off. A 4,350-litre slim line hopper is mounted to the chassis on weigh cells, mainly to provide more accurate seed rate control than a theoretical calibration.
The new Qualidisc farmer compact cultivator also received its first showing, Kverneland is working hard to cut both weight and maintenance requirements on this model and The Qualidisc Farmer compact cultivator is 15% lighter than the regular version to make it suitable for smaller tractorsIn the case of the Qualidisc, the weight has come off the frame. All the key features remain, including two rows of maintenance-free discs and hydraulic roller depth adjustment.
Turning to forage machinery and of particular interest to Irish customers will be the new 2800 series centre mounted plain mowers. With working widths from 2.8 – 3.6m these mowers guarantee excellent ground following capabilities and ease of transport with 125° vertical fold.
9. September 2013
