CU LTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY Mostly dry weather, lots of interest and plenty of novelties New control unit for unloaders also operable remotely The problem of the unloader belt running at full speed from the moment that emptying starts is over. This has now been resolved with the new unloaders from Van der Peet of Nieuwkoop, says Henk van der Peet at the show, because the control unit has recently become fully electrically controlled. With the hydraulic system it could happen that when the release belt was stopped at the ‘full speed’ position, operators forgot to turn the knob back to low speed. When restarted, the belt ran immediately at full speed and then you have a problem if the belt is too full. With the new electric version, this problem is a thing of the past. After stopping the belt, the setting automatically returns to the minimum speed and that’s the starting point when it’s turned on again. Using a knob, the operator of the belt can increase the speed as desired. Another advantage of the electrical version is that it can be controlled remotely. This is useful for the reception area in French-fry factories, for example, where they often have several unloaders at the conveyor belt. The operator in the reception area often also operates the unloader and, up to now, had to walk there to switch it on and off. With the electrical control box, this can now be done remotely from the control room. This saves time and reduces errors and clean-up work, for example in the event of malfunctions or accumulation in the receiving line, because it’s now possible to stop the unloading belt more quickly. An additional advantage of the electrical control box is that the maintenance costs are lower. It has fewer parts that wear out and is also more resistant to dust and moisture, says Van der Peet. Because the demand for the unloaders with this new type of control is already very high, the surcharge is very low, according to the director. A complete unloader that’s equipped with this new system is available from 53,000 euros excluding VAT. ‘The problem of the unloader belt running at full speed from the moment that emptying starts is over. This has now been resolved with new unloaders’, says Henk van der Peet. Simplified BLUM transfer truck for potato growers The demand for transfer trucks like the one that Belgian manufacturer BLUM of Sint-Truiden has in its stand is going well, only it could go even faster if the price list were to start at a slightly lower level, says business manager Kristof Blum. ‘A full-option version such as this twin-axle vehicle with full hydraulic equipment, including height adjustments of the side panels and suspension chassis will easily cost 150,000 euros excluding VAT. No problem for a contractor who works with it all the time, but potato growers who only want to use it during the harvesting reason quickly find such a purchase price too high. That’s why we’re going to bring a simplified version onto the market next year. Extras such as the suspension chassis and hydraulic side panel adjustments will not be included and we’ll take the hydraulics from the tractor, for example. We expect to be able to achieve a starting price that starts somewhere between 110,000 and 120,000 euros excluding VAT’, says Blum. Next year, Blum is going to bring a simplified version of the transfer truck onto the market. Potato World 2019 • number 4 33 Pagina 32
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