POTTINGER, THE Austrian forage and cultivation machinery manufacturer, has launched a new forage-wagon.

Ready for the 2005 silage season, the Torro is the world‘s first eight-wheel self-loading forage wagon with a capacity of up to 57cu m.

Measuring 10m long and almost 4m high, the wagon is a hybrid of Pottinger‘s high capacity Jumbo and lightweight Europrofi.

The result is massive capacity that can be handled by a 136hp tractor. Weighing in at over 18t fully-loaded, the wagon‘s eight-wheel chassis – two rows each of four wheels – keeps ground pressure down to 11.8psi.

Hydraulic suspension keeps all wheels in continual contact with the ground. The rear set of wheels are self-steering to reduce scrubbing grass leys when manoeuvring in the field. 

The Torro is fitted with a 39-knive chopper-unit that can be swung out to allow loading of long-fibre forage. The self-loading wagon can be rapidly adjusted for direct feeding of green crop.

Pottinger can rightly claim to make earthquake-proof farm implements: the family firm‘s new k7m technology testing centre includes an implement vibration stand that is hired out to test building components for earthquake resistance.

Normally, though, new Pottinger implements are tested on the unit  – a continuous multi-stress tester claimed to subject ploughs to strains representing a working lifetime of 5000ha per year for 10 years.

As a marketing tool this sort of destruction-testing seems to work. Pottinger has just announced the biggest turnover in its history with k127.6m for 2003/04, an increase of 3.4% on the year with 75% of output exported to more than 40 countries.