Latest News - June 06
14.06.06 - AQUEEL WINS SILVER MEDAL & SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
Simba’s revolutionary Aqueel roller has scored a notable double – taking a Silver Medal in the RASE’s Machinery Awards Scheme, and also winning the important Sustainability Award under the same scheme.
RASE Silver Medals are only made to machines that have proved their capabilities in the field – the judging process includes farmer interviews that ensure judges get a very practical view of each machine.
Commenting for Simba, Rod Daffern, the company’s chairman, said: “We are delighted the Aqueel is receiving this recognition. Farmers are increasingly aware of the need to protect the environment while completing fieldwork, and the Aqueel is already proving its ability to do that for many users – both across the UK and abroad”.
Simba took on the development and marketing of the implement in 2000, working with its inventor Charles Creyke, who also designed the de-stoning system now used in potato production across the world.
The Aqueel is a roller made from a durable but slightly flexible polyurethane material that presses a lattice of divots into cultivated soil that hold water where it falls. This enables it to percolate into the soil rather than run laterally across the surface, which can cause erosion and remove soil, nutrients and residual chemicals from the field.
Its flexibility gives it excellent non-stick qualities, enabling it to ‘run clean’ without the need for scrapers and so be used as the central pressing element of power harrow combination drills.
The award of a Silver Medal indicates that the implement includes a significant new design feature – something that is most certainly true of the Aqueel! In their citation the RASE judging panel commented:
“The majority of users consulted were on the lighter soil types and growing mainly potato and vegetable crops.
“They used the Aqueel to give good soil firming without the excessive action of some steel rollers on fragile soils, to conserve water (both irrigation and rainfall), and reduce wind and water erosion. The self-cleaning and reduced draft gave quality and uninterrupted work over a wide range of soil conditions.
“Other users were on heavier land, were growing combinable crops, and did not have erosion problems. They had been looking for an alternative to steel and tyre-packer systems, and benefited from the versatility and low down-time of the self-cleaning Aqueel”.
