Machinery updates

At Midlands Contracting we are currently spending a lot of time on some repair & maintenance projects and some new equipment for the up and coming season. Hamish Black has been rebuilding the crop row dividers from the ground up and with some modifications to make them more robust, as these machines get a beating in the season. For those who don’t know what a row divider is, it sits on the front of the tractor and separates the female plants from the male plants, so the male plants can be destroyed after pollination. Hamish has also been checking over the planters so they will be ready for the spring planting season.

Duncan King has been building a new inter row sprayer that will be mounted on a tractor. We currently have a sprayer mounted on a small truck, but it is not very operator friendly as it requires a high level of concentration and is very uncomfortable. The new sprayer’s steering will be done by GPS. It will have a colour camera guidance system attached to the spray boom, it will have very high accuracy and minimal operator input. Some of the machine is currently on its way from the UK, so will have some photos of it on our Facebook page when it is up and running.

The trucks are currently busy transporting containers to port and transporting freight all around NZ. Recently the port and empty container parks have brought in a booking system, which has made for some challenging times for our team to manage and organise, especially with the resent strikes. Moving forward the vehicle booking system (VBS) will have some merits and will hopefully help for a smoother operation. The new truck has been very busy since Rex Taylor has taken the reins, not only transporting our own products around the country but with his vast experience and contacts has managed to build some good relationships with a few businesses who are needing freight moved around New Zealand.