Burder Ag’s fortunes rise and fall with nation’s farmers

Wangaratta-based manufacturer Burder Ag Attachments builds tough loaders for Australian conditions – right down to individual needs

As one of Australia’s leading manufacturers of custom-built front end loaders and forklifts, Burder chief executive Adam Fendyk says the company’s fortunes rise and fall with those of the nation’s farmers.

And in recent years, those farmers have taken a battering – with uncertainty driven by droughts driving down their profits, and in turn denting demand for machinery.

Australian manufacturing has faced its own set of challenges on top of this, with more and more production heading overseas on the promise of cheaper costs.

While Burder has followed national trends of importing some overseas brands, including the German-made Stoll range of front-end loaders, over 90 per cent of its products are made onsite in Wangaratta.

For Fendyk, it is often a case of those customers getting what they pay for – and what might be a short-term saving could prove to be a long-term loss if customers miss a local perspective.

As one of Wangaratta’s biggest employers, Burder’s capacity to customise its products for individual client needs is the best – and their speed to the local market is unrivalled.

While an overseas manufacturer might take months to build the right attachment – not to mention shipping delays in a time of COVID-19 – Burder can have a loader made and fitted to your machines within three weeks.

On top of this, all the company’s models are fitted with mechanical self-levelling and efficiency systems, which help to save the lives of Australian farmers.

Fendyk says that working closely with Australian farmers helps the company, which also has bases in Port Kennedy and Toowoomba, develop new products that are good, tough and reliable.

“If Australian-made goods are robust and fit for purpose but they’re 10 per cent more expensive, it’s really not that much,” he says.

REMEMBER THE TITANS

Burder’s eponymous range of front end loaders is available in a range of shapes and sizes, suitable for tractors of between 15 and 200 horsepower (11 to 149kW).

Models in the range are able to reach dump heights of between 1.4m and 3.2m and weigh between 170kg and 1250kg.

But regardless of size, every model in the Burder loader range is made in Australia and comes with a 24-month warranty.

Among the key features of the loaders are its hydraulic dampeners, designed to help extend the life of the loader.

Burder’s Millennium locking system allows the loader to be detached from a tractor in three minutes without the use of tools – simply by unlocking and releasing a pin.

A self-latching spring mechanism known as the Quick Change Lever System allows implements to be attached easily, though a hydraulically operated system is also available.

The loaders also come with an easy-to-use level indicator and through rod tilt cylinders for fast crowding and dumping.

All hydraulic fittings are standard, for easy repair, and maintenance requirements are lessened through the greasable plated pins and Vesconite bushes placed in all wear points.

Burder’s budget front end loader range, known as Titan Loaders, also come with plated greasable pins for easy maintenance.

Titan loaders can fit tractors of between 15hp and 150hp (11 and 112kW) and weigh between 250kg and 950kg (186 to 708kW), with a dump height of up to 3.9m.

The range also boasts robust post caps with quick detach pins, easy-to-use stand legs and clear vision rams horns to allow the operator a clear view.

An electric diverter and hydraulic soft ride option are both available as optional extras.

Built with 450 tensile steel and painted with two-pack paint, models in the Titan range come with a one-year manufacturer’s warranty.

The loader can be operated by either a cab or ROPS joystick and can come with either a standard bucket, a log bucket with bolt-on ends or a 4-in-1 bucket with optional log teeth.

Models in both the Burder and Titan ranges are available across Australia. Contact https://burder.com.au for more information.