Thanks to development work by a Victorian dealer, Merlo customers now have access to a specialised telehandler for the poultry and pig industries
Merlo’s telehandler range has expanded, with the locally-designed PoultryMax giving farmers a host of additional features which are crucial to a unique industry.
Victorian dealer Farm & Diesel has been responsible for the PoultryMax’s implementation, having spent more than a decade working with customers in the poultry industry and understanding the specialised needs which the harsh conditions require.
The PoultryMax was officially launched last month at the Food with Purpose expo on the Gold Coast, with positive early feedback and a high number of enquiries.
PoultryMax takes the existing Merlo TF33.7 telehandler at its core and adds a host of features which are designed for the dusty environments associated with the poultry and pig industries.
It will be available throughout Merlo’s national dealer network, with the custom builds being undertaken by Farm & Diesel, the multi-branch dealership in Victoria’s north which has also designed the unit.
“We have basically designed it from our experience in the industry,” Farm & Diesel general manager Steven Clohesy says.
“We’ve been in the poultry industry for the last 12 years so we obviously know the harsh conditions involved.
“It has been based on plenty of customer feedback, but also us knowing if we put a normal model into these industries, it’s not going to be fit for purpose.”
Clever upgrades
The changes which have been added to the PoultryMax are all designed around enabling the telehandler to excel in some of Australia’s toughest conditions.
The first adjustment relates to the machine’s radiator, which has been made larger and upgraded with a higher flow to ensure less blockage from the dusty and hot surrounds where it does its work.
The air-conditioner system has also been upgraded, with the addition of hinges that allow easy access, making cleaning of the condenser and fans simpler.
Ease of access has also been improved with the new remote greasing bank for the boom and axles.
An upgraded air cleaner system has been added to allow for better filtration, with easy access also to this area rather than it being located down below the engine, which means the exhaust system has been rerouted to accommodate this.
Safety is also at the forefront thanks to the addition of boom lights, along with a compact LED beacon and front LED light bar to increase visibility when driving in and out of the sheds.
Other additions include stainless steel brake lines and a reverse fan on a timer.
“It has all been designed around the dusty and harsh conditions of the pig and poultry industries,” Clohesy says.
“It’s an existing telehandler, but we’ve just added these extras to it so it works better for these particular industries.”
Already strong
Merlo’s PoultryMax uses the TF33.7 as its core structure, with this machine forming part of the Italian manufacturer’s Turbofarmer range.
The PM30.7 has a 3,000kg maximum load capacity, 6.5m maximum lift height and weighs 6.6 tonnes unladen.
Powered by a 115hp (85kW) Deutz four-cylinder engine, the unit itself also has a maximum speed of 40km/h and measures just 2.02m high to enable it to work inside compact environments such as poultry sheds.
Important features are plentiful across the machine as standard, including the rear camera starting automatically when engaging the reverse shuttle – another important safety aspect in dark and compact spaces.
It is equipped with features to prevent frontal tipping without sacrificing performance elements such as boom speed and lifting capacity, including Merlo’s Adaptive Stability Control System.
This regulates the speed and maximum degree of movement according to the handled load, implement in use and the load position.
Operators can set working area restrictions, while the system uses an in-cab display to customise the speed of individual movements for both the boom and attachments.
Merlo’s boom uses a double ‘C’ profile in high-strength steel, while hydraulic hoses and electrical wires are positioned inside the boom utilising a cartridge system to both protect against any possible impact and to enable easy component extraction if maintenance is required.
Built for success
Performance, visibility, manoeuvrability, and operator comfort have all been at the forefront of the PoultryMax’s design, which aims to make shed cleaning faster, easier and more efficient.
While the TF33.7 is the base model for the PoultryMax, Clohesy says most of the upgrades which Farm & Diesel has implemented can be applied to Merlo’s other agricultural telehandlers.
“We can do the air conditioning across any of the systems, and we can also do remote greasing,” he says.
“We do that with the machines that we put in the hay industry as well, along with having reverse fans on timers.
“The concept is probably adaptable to all the models in agriculture, whereas in construction you don’t need that because you’re not in such dusty and harsh conditions.”
Farm & Diesel is excited by what PoultryMax can bring to Australian agriculture, with its debut at the Food with Purpose expo proving there is a strong appetite for the upgrades which have been implemented.
“We got over 20 enquiries out of the show,” Clohesy says.
“Talking to farmers that have already got the normal model who came and have a look, they then got to see how much we’ve done to it.
“A lot of them have already picked up on these changes, and we’ve obviously now made them which the farmers think is great.”
The PoultryMax is now available around Australia through Merlo’s national dealer network.
