IT’S the old case of ask and you will receive.
DE Engineers principal Kevin Prater put in a request to Brazilian manufacturer Asconelli to develop a 37,000 litre chase bin with a longer auger to reach higher and further.
Feedback from his WA clients specifically wanted an auger with enough reach to fill a bin from the middle, avoiding spillages.
“I got together with Asconelli engineers and this is the result,” Kevin said at last week’s Newdegate Machinery Field Days, pointing to an all-wheel steer six wheeler bin.
“The auger is big enough for fast outload (30 tonnes in 2.5 minutes) and there’s over a metre of reach into a bin, which makes it easier for road train drivers filling up.
“They can use our remote in the cab so once the bin is full they switch off the auger and move the next bin into position and then press the remote to start up the auger again.”
According to Kevin, the Asconelli has been built for WA conditions and its all-wheel steer on six wheels, reduces scuffing and ground compaction.
The auger can be raised to 4.6 metres giving it a 800 millimetre clearance over DE’s 63 tonne field bins and 500mm clearance over 76t models.
The auger can also be hydraulically lowered to make it easier to fill smaller bins.
Kevin got off to a great start at Newdegate, selling his first bin before 9am – a 63t transportable field bin.
The buyer was local farmer Geoff Richardson who also remembered buying a 25t bin 18 years ago from Kevin at the same field days.
“It was the first bin I’d ever sold,” Kevin recalled.
With a recent purchase of two hectares at Grass Valley, Kevin has 8ha in the Leeming Road site for year-round storage.
“We’re the largest silo manufacturer in the State,” he said.
“We needed more land to keep up with our production schedule.”
DE Engineers employs up to 40 people during peak periods.
