Lincolnshire poultry firm opts for Avant loader
A new Avant 420 compact loader has replaced two hired-in machines at Bennington Poultry in Lincolnshire where approximately 750,000 broilers are reared every year.
The Avant’s main task involves the placing and spreading of some 30 tonnes of wood shavings on a 63 day cycle across seven houses with a total floor space of 5,200 sq m – a task previously carried out by a combination of a skid steer loader and small tractor used to spread the material to the desired thickness.
Having seen the loader on the internet, owner Paul Fields realised that the financing cost would be almost the same as the cost of hiring the two existing machines. It would also offer much greater flexibility and versatility.
“The Avant does everything we need, being small and highly manoeuvrable.”
Paul Fields, Bennington Poultry
“The Avant does everything we need, being small and highly manoeuvrable,” said Mr Fields. “And once a batch of birds has been collected we can get on with the cleaning operation straight away without having to wait for the arrival of hired equipment.”
The 420 was supplied by local dealer Fentons of Bourne and, for this application, has been equipped with the 685 litre bucket, the largest light material bucket available. The machine is powered by a Kubota 14 kW (20 hp) engine and features an off-centre boom to provide the driver with an unrestricted view of the job in hand.
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