Latest News - July 06
02.07.06 - SIMBA TO MARKET SPREAD-A-BALE
Simba International will take over the marketing of the RASE Gold Medal winning Spread-A-Bale machine with effect from today (Sunday 2nd July 2006).
The Spread-A-Bale is a self-loading straw spreading machine that enables livestock farmers to distribute straw bedding across the full width of livestock pens with minimal disturbance to the stock themselves and without staff having to enter the pens, which achieves optimum working speed and livestock and operator safety. As well as huge time savings, users also report significant savings in straw usage.
It was invented by Cheshire dairy farmer Michael Hughes, and is manufactured by CHK Plc, based in Crewe, Cheshire. Until now it has been marketed either directly by the company or through a network of authorised dealers covering key livestock farming areas of the country.
Simba aims to complement the existing dealer network with further appointments to ensure all potential market areas are covered by professional companies capable of providing the high standard of support and service that the company demands of dealers handling its existing arable machinery ranges.
Commenting for Simba, sales director Guy Leversha said: “We believe the Spread-A-Bale has huge potential, both in Britain and in our export markets. Like Simba’s own equipment, it helps users reduce the time and cost of essential farm management tasks, while offering several significant operational and safety benefits.
“Because the machine does not chop straw as aggressively as alternative machines do, it creates far less dust, which is an increasingly important consideration as it benefits the environment as well as the health and welfare of both livestock and operators”.
For CHK, Alan Pinkney says the deal offers much better market penetration and support in areas where it had not previously had a strong presence. With many users saying the machine is indispensable to the management of their livestock units, the company has improved several key elements of the machine to improve reliability
These include higher specification spreader rotor shaft seals and a new pressure relief valve to ensure the loading/unloading rotors always operate effectively, as well as a new mid-roller bearing and lighter rollers with machined shanks to ensure that there is no lateral movement of the loading/un-loading belt.
The machine received a Gold Medal under the RASE Machinery Award scheme. These are only ever awarded to machines that combine important new features and advantages with outstanding technical and economic merit. The RASE judges’ citation reads:
“Spread-A-Bale is a one-man operated, self-loading, straw bedding device. It is specifically designed for use with a materials handler/telescopic loader. Four models are offered to suit to sizes of rectangular and two sizes of round bales.
“The machine consists of a bale chamber with a bed conveyor and a pair of spreading rotors. The system is controlled and powered for a single double-acting auxiliary hydraulic point.
“When loading the spreader head is raised, the chamber is presented end-on to the bale and the bale is taken in by reversing the movement of the bed. Then the rotor head is lowered, rotor speed is increased to 450 – 650 rpm and the forward moving conveyor takes the bale into the spreading rotors.
“The straw is not chopped, which minimises dust levels of the benefit of the animals and the operator. Spread distance from the head is up to 8m. The operator, except for pulling out the twine from the bale, does not need to leave his/her cab or enter the yards with the stock.
“Users visited made intensive, often every-day, use of the spreader. One using about 16 tonnes of straw a week estimated a 30% reduction is straw use due to the even spreading and the ‘little and often’ approach. One other estimated a 50% reduction.
“Time to spread one large bale was of the order of 20 to 40 seconds, giving a very large advantage in labour use. A typical quotation was one man taking 30 to 40 minutes to do what previously took two men two hours. Cattle were not disturbed by the spreading process, and dust levels were low.
“Operators found the spreader robust, easy and quick to attach and use, and the self-loading was entirely reliable. It performed particularly well on articulated loaders”.
