Fendt to fight for a chunk of ‘combi’ baler-wrapper sales

After a long and seemingly challenging period of integration, we are beginning to see some definite answers as to just how AGCO will handle the many machines introduced to its stable by the purchase of Lely’s forage division last year.

At this week’s Fendt ‘Field Day’ at Wurzburg (in central Germany), the company introduced a ‘new’ line-up of round balers and ‘combi’ units (known as the Rotana range); although the machines themselves are developed from the well-established Lely (Welger) units.

Three new machines will replace the existing 1125 F, 2125 F and 2125 F ProFi. The first of these is the fixed-chamber Rotana 130 F (pictured below).

The other new offerings are the (fixed-chamber) Rotana 130 F Combi and (variable-chamber) Rotana 160 V Combi. The two latter machines are combination baler-wrappers.

One of these (a Rotana 130 F Combi) is pictured below.

The new machines are claimed to incorporate many improvements over the ones from which they have evolved. It’s worth noting that the existing (variable-chamber) 4160 V and 4180 V will continue to be produced.

Much attention has apparently been paid to the process of bale formation. For example, the design and placement of the rollers has been changed; there is now a larger throat area to allow speedier feeding of material into the chamber.

‘Denser’ bales

Bales are also said to be “denser”; a new sensor monitors the density from 70% (of bale formation) to completion. This information is then passed to the in-cab terminal, which guides the operator down the swath (to help produce a more “uniform bale shape”).

The machine can communicate with the tractor via either Fendt’s own E-Link control or by ISOBUS.

Access to the roller mechanisms has also been improved, by re-designing the side panels.

Other major changes (over the previous machines) include a new free-wheeling sprocket mechanism; its job is to protect the drive-line in the event of the machine becoming jammed.

This system allows the bale to continue rotating (even though material is no longer being fed into the chamber). This feature, claims Fendt, “greatly eases shock loads on the machine”.

In a further attempt to boost reliability, the main drive to the rollers is now split between two chains. Fendt claims that, by doing so, the load is more evenly spread (with less abrasion damage to each chain).

A rubber mat at the chamber entrance and individual wipes for the roller bearings also “reduce wear and tear”.

‘Combi’ machines

The ‘combi’ versions of the ‘new’ balers have evolved from the previous Lely Tornado units, but there are changes.

For example, Rotana Combi machines have new side supports – to prevent slippage of the bale during transfer (from the chamber to the wrapping station).

Another alteration sees the inclination angle of the bale chamber reduced by 8° (apparently to improve both stability and crop-flow).

The movement of the bale rearwards (to the wrapping station) is effected by a transfer arm. Plastic can be applied at three different pre-load settings – to suit the various film types available.

Lone wrapper

In a somewhat unexpected move, Fendt also introduced the Rollector 130 (pictured below) – a trailed wrapper that can handle bales with diameters between 0.9 and 1.3m.