The Sumo Trio has become a well-known piece of kit for UK farmers since its launch in 2002. Emily Padfield tried a 5.5m version out on the back of the new Claas Xerion 4500.

If there’s one thing British farmers want from a cultivator, it’s robustness. And the move towards using increasingly lighter-grade steel, even if it’s the Hardox, extra-toughened variety, can sometimes make potential buyers nervous.

Yorkshire company Sumo has tried to steer away from going down the dieting route. Although it exploits the new technology toughened steel offers, the machines that come out of the Melbourne factory are anything but lightweight.

Sumo now has 1200 trailed and mounted Trios working in the UK, and around 60 on the continent – the latter a market that is growing by the day, according to international sales manager Stewart Peckitt.

The model we tested was the 5.5m trailed version. Available with shearbolt or auto-reset legs, it’s a pretty solid piece of kit all round. “Only 10% opt for auto-reset on the larger trailed machines, while 25% of mounted units go out with the feature,” says Mr Peckitt.

There are 2.5m, 3m and 3.5m mounted versions available with a trailing kit option, and 4m to 6.5m trailed versions for larger hp requirements. Although there are calls for 8m and 10m models, Mr Peckitt admits that the expense this would add to fabricating a new chassis simply wouldn’t be feasible just yet. “The market for these beasts is Eastern Europe and in particular the Ukraine, where soil is definitely ‘boys land’.”

The firm’s design staff (not to mention owner Shaun Wealleans) have spent a lot of time in the tractor seat. “We’ve all had traumatic times where the kit’s not been up to the job, so our philosophy has always been to design kit that’s able to do the job with the horsepower of today, at a reasonable price.”

A farm manager’s son, Mr Wealleans started out with a van and some spanners, carrying out routine repairs on farms around his local area. Farmers soon asked him to fabricate specific pieces of kit, and 12 years ago, the first Sumo front press was born. After that, he made specific pieces for KRM, Lynx Engineering, Grimme and Kverneland.

The original concept was to design a cultivator for a medium-sized tractor that would do a job that other manufacturers would charge in the region of £30,000 for. And so the first Trio was born, which went on sale for about £10,000.

The distinctive sub-soiler aims to bust compaction to a depth of up to 40cm (16 inches), while discing or levelling the top 6-10cm (2-3 inches). This is then followed by an 800mm (30inch) multi-packer that works to produce a deep profile at the same time as leaving a weatherproof, stale seedbed.

The legs, which are made from Hardox steel, are all low-draft requirement spec and work at depths between six and 14 inches.

Behind the Xerion, with 483hp to play with, we were able to put it in right to the 14in mark. However, it made it grunt in the clay soil we were cultivating, so we eased off to about 10in.

The 20in scalloped discs are mounted in pairs on a single shaft using a taper roller bearing, meaning operators only have to grease once a week. To protect against stone damage, each disc has rubber protection to provide a level of suspension.

All 4m and above models come as standard with 10 stud axles, brakes and lights with optional air brakes. A rear-mounted drawbar can be fitted, too, in case you’ve got something else to pull behind. Recently, the company has started to supply a semi-mounting kit which can be fitted to any tractor and machine combination in Sumo’s range.

This ball and socket system is proving increasingly popular, according to Sumo, as it stops the jiggling around that occurs with a traditional drawbar, allows for tighter headland turns and more articulation.

Behind the Xerion this would have been good, although it costs in the region of £1250.