Stock Journal

European technology comes down under

WORLD CLASS: Elho excels in innovative technical aspects of its machinery and offers first-class customer service.
WORLD CLASS: Elho excels in innovative technical aspects of its machinery and offers first-class customer service.

This is branded content for Colac AG.

Technology from Finland is making its mark in Australia when it comes to providing excellence in specialist machinery tasks undertaken by broadacre, mixed and small farmers.

Elho equipment is imported and supplied nationally through Colac AG, which is based in Victoria, and includes bale wrappers, feeders, shredders, forage harvesters, mower conditioners, disc mowers, mulchers, stone pickers, diggers, swathers and tedders.

These are manufactured by the Finnish, family-owned business, which was founded in 1968.

Elho specialises in production of the highest quality agricultural machines for farmers and contractors operating in diverse conditions around the globe.

The company is a pioneer that is trusted by operators in many countries in the northern and southern hemispheres.

Colac AG sales director Jon Allan said the quality and features of Elho's machines were top class.

"Elho is continuously developing new and innovative technical solutions that improve the work quality of their machines even more," he said.

"This means Elho customers get the maximum return on investment out of their machines.

"In addition to the technical advantages of its machinery, Elho invests in flexible and first-class customer service - based on extensive trials and getting feedback from users."

WIDE RANGING: Elho equipment suits all farmers and contractors.
WIDE RANGING: Elho equipment suits all farmers and contractors.

The Elho Scorpio 550 rock picker is the company's flagship machine in Australia.

With its one-pass operation, Mr Allan said it was 80 per cent more efficient than many traditional rock rakes and rock collectors.

He said these machines could pick up stones with diameters from 30 millimetres to 400mm - and had an optional small stone screen.

"The Elho rock pickers are fully hydraulic, allowing easy operation by the driver from the cabin," he said.

"The machines are accredited under the Hardox steel system, ensuring that they are strong and more than capable to work in a variety of harsh conditions.

"The hopper on Scorpio 550 will lift to a height of 2.7 metres to enable it to be unloaded straight into a trailer for easy removal.

"It has the capacity to hold 2.4 cubic metres of rocks. "

Mr Allan said the Elho rock pickers were great for cleaning-up a paddock prior to cropping, and would help to stop damage to seeders, headers and mowers.

He said the Elho V-Twin 950 super rake was the biggest model in this product range from the company.

"Built in Finland and being heavy duty in every way, these twin basket rakes cause 40pc less contamination than a standard rotary rake," he said.

"This was shown in tests done by MTT Agricultural Research in Finland."

The hopper on Scorpio 550 will lift to a height of 2.7 metres to enable it to be unloaded straight into a trailer for removal, and it has the capacity to hold 2.4 cubic metres of rocks.

- Colac AG sales director Jon Allan

Mr Allan said a substantial amount of crop could be collected with the rakes due to a working width from 4.5m to 9.5m.

"And the adjustment function is controlled from inside the comfort of the cab," he said.

"The V-Twin 950 has hydraulic flotation to ensure the raking units follow the ground contours in combination.

"This is helped by having three flotation tyres behind each basket.

"Material is brought into the windrow and can be adjusted to have the swath up to 1.8m offset of the center of the tractor."

The Elho V-Twin 950S has six tyne bars per side, and extra tines at the end closer to the swath end to tidy-up heavy windrows.

It is a PTO-driven machine, which allows a smaller horsepower tractor to pull it.

Elho produces a popular 1790 Pro bale wrapper, which has only recently become available in Australia for the 2021 season.

Mr Allan said the new Sideliner 1790 Pro built on the success of the previous Elho wrappers.

"This machine is the biggest manufactured wrapper by Elho," he said.

"The twin satellite machine has the capability to wrap bales between 1.2m and 1.8m in diameter and a capacity to handle an impressive 1600 kilograms per bale."

Mr Allan said Australian farmers were also keen on the Elho Proliner 1500 wrapper and Elho TR300 Tedder.

He said there were two new options available to the Australian market this year.

The Proliner 1500, three-point linkage wrapper can wrap six layers of plastic around a bale with a diameter of 1.2m - fully automatically and in about 35 seconds from loading to offloading.

The new Elho TR300 Tedder can be used to turn, spread and move windrows as well as combine them.

It features a rotor with a large diameter and double tynes that are secured with wires.

This means if they break, they do not end up in the baler, wagon or chopper.

Mr Allan said the large rotor on the TR tedder created a fluffy and clean windrow that dried rapidly.

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