Irish show how it's done
MPI director general Ray Smith reckons NZ has a lot to learn from the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority – called Teagasc (pronounced ‘Chog us’).
Starting out around five years ago importing one-off items alongside his main job as a contractor, Gavin Brownrigg now operates Brownrigg Agri Gear from a yard near Pirongia, specialising in haulage solutions from Irish manufacturers.
Donnelly Trailers, built in County Tyrone for more than 40 years, offered customers a versatile trailer, based around a flat-bed construction.
This design can be optioned to suit individual requirements, unlike most other manufacturers who build trailers with the floor and sides folded in one piece.
Taking a Donnelly flat bed, it can be given a rear extension to create a bale trailer, have sides added to cart loose material, or topped off with a silage bin for harvest duties. Working closely with the factory, trailers are customised for the New Zealand market. Being 2.698 metres wide for added stability that is further enhanced with 22.5 inches tyres, which also reduce the overall height. Those radial tyres also help with flotation on difficult ground conditions, while steel belted sidewalls help with longevity, particularly during high speed road travel.
Typically imported in 14 or 16 tonne capacities, the trailers are specified with four-wheel braking, double bogie axle arrangements and sprung drawbars. A favourite with contractors is the design of the front headboard that offers improved visibility – particularly useful for rear filling, so well suited to opening out maize paddocks. Brownrigg also offers US sourced after-market, automated sheeting systems for the trailers.
A more recent addition, also from the Green Isle, is the Slurry Kat range, manufactured in County Armagh since 1994. Offering a dedicated range of products that cover the general haulage, construction and bale silage sectors, the company also offers products to service the rapidly emerging effluent market.
Based around a dump trailer type lower body, that can be customised with the addition of silage bins, the company makes use of S355 high tensile steel or Hardox 700 steel to offer increased strength, lower tare weights and higher payloads. The popular Proline SK series, typically with 22 tonne capacity offers standard features such as 10-stud commercial axles with hydraulic brakes, heavy duty suspension a rapid cycle, single, hydraulic tipping ram rated to 48 tonnes capacity and with a width of 2.7 metres to promote stability.
Moving forwards, Brownrigg is also starting to address the demand for the effluent handling and spreading market, so currently hold stock of 12,500 litre, single axle with flotation tyres and a hydraulic filler arm for loading from the tractor seat.
