A specialist Dutch manufacturer – Herder – will shortly unveil a new concept ‘systems tractor’.
The machine (see featured picture) will actually be a vehicular platform, that will serve as a base unit for an hydraulic arm (or even several arms).
At the end of this arm will likely be one of the company’s numerous products – such as a flail head for trimming hedges, a drainage pump or even a stump grinder.
The concept vehicle will be known as the Herder One. Its announcement coincides with the company’s 70th anniversary.
Why has the company ventured from the design and manufacture of attachments into the realm of vehicles? It claims that the Herder One concept originated from the idea that “the arm and vehicle should become one”.
It, says the firm, will “deliver a single superior product, with one service point for maintenance and be the number one solution for all maintenance on verges and ditches”.
Key features will include a rotating cab, literally giving the operator all-round visibility.
Real-life versions of the concept are expected to break cover next month at the company’s factory in Holland.
Who or what is Herder?
Herder was founded in 1947; it has since grown to become, what it describes as, a “worldwide market leader in the area of ditch, verge, tree and bank maintenance”.
A Herder tractor-mounted hydraulic arm from 1975
The company is based at Herculesweg in Middelburg (south-western region of Holland). Its 10,000m² factory is home to all manner of machine tools. The facility is also equipped with an in-house painting line.
About 95 employees work there; nowadays its products are exported to over 30 countries.
The product range includes hedge and verge trimming equipment, along with ditch cleaning and trenching equipment.
