Bourgault claims top award

Judges said a big feature of the 24 metre (80 feet)-wide 3420 PHD Paralink Hoe Drill was the ability to fold to a transport width of 5.4m (18ft) within minutes.

The Coolamon All Rounder chaser bin was given a ‘Highly commended’ award by the judges, who assessed 18 machines and equipment.

Judging criteria included the machine’s purpose and suitability, scope of application, construction (durability and design), ease of maintenance and service, ease of operation and adjustment, availability of parts and overall value for money.

Last year, the award was won by the flexible sheep handling system, Back Up Charlie, entered by Urana, NSW farmers Charlie and Tana Webb.

Judge Mark Bowyer said the 3420’s folding mechanism was quite complex.

“For a big machine like that it takes a lot of engineering,’’ Mr Bowyer said.

“There has been several prototypes tested in Canada and we were impressed with the overall quality of the machine.

“A computer in the tractor sets out the sequence of the fold mechanism to make it fail-safe.

“For a machine that is 80 foot (24m) wide, it folds up quite narrowly and the rear wheels have steering allowing it to track along nicely on the turns.’’

Mr Bowyer expected the hoe drill to have applications in broadacre cropping areas of WA and northern NSW.

The machine was originally debuted to the North American market in 2015, with units up to 30m (100ft)-wide.

Bourgault NSW territory manager Jonathon McKenzie said the key feature of the 3420 was the ‘Transfold’ mechanism, giving a 5.4m transport width.

He said there were few manufacturers in Australia offering drills on such a large scale, with most of them being end-tow units.

“This means it takes hours to get them ready for transport, whereas the 3420 can be folded and unfolded in less than four minutes,’’ Mr McKenzie said.

“Since we showcased the 3420 to dealers in June, there has been a lot of interest created with customers as well, and we have been doing a lot of

quoting.’’