IRISH feed wagon business, Keenan, has broken new ground with its first self-propelled loader feeder wagon.

 

Essentially a marriage between its world-leading Mech-Fiber wagon body fitted on to a chassis made by Italian specialist manufacturer, Storti, the machine will be seen later this year in the UK, hopefully at the Highland, and will sell for €145-155,000.

 

Storti has considerable experience with self-propelled units – it makes 160 each year for an growing market – but this is Keenan's first stab at it. It also comes hard on the heels of another deal with Storti to make a range of vertical auger machines in Keenan colours.

 

Launched at the recent SIMA Show in Paris, the marriage looks to be a fruitful one with the self-propelled Keenan wagon attracting a lot of attention at the show.

 

The one on parade was fitted with a 16 cubic metre Mech Fiber body, though there are plans to also have a 20 cubic metre model. Theoretically, up to 38 cubic metre machines are possible with Keenan's paddle-mixer design, but their sheer size becomes a limiting factor.

 

At the sharp end of the self-propelled machine, there's a new tungsten-coated bladed cutter head design from Storti which is claimed to feed a more consistent chop length up the conveyor into the wagon for a better mix.

 

Sticking with the Storti chassis, it gets its power from a 168hp FPT engine which acts through either a 25 or a 40kph gearbox (dubbed the SP and SP+ respectively), with the latter having a 'road mode' switch to boost speed. Designers are also looking at making a four-wheel-drive model.

 

For road travel, there's self-levelling suspension which helps operator comfort. Inside the cab, it's a fairly simple set-up, with good visibility to the cutting head and twin video cameras relaying what's happening around the machine. Also in the cab is Keenan's hi-tech InTouch controller for ensuring precision in each mix.

 

Ian Leach, Keenan UK's commercial director, said more and more farmers are looking at self-propelled feeder wagons simply because of the money and men tied up in tractors and loaders. "I can see a market for us of 10 machines per year in the UK. We've already had expressions of interest from at least five farmers. By the time you add up a loader, tractor and feeder wagon cost, plus any additional labour involved, the sums add up and I would think a 500-cow unit could more than justify the cost of a self-propelled machine."

 

 

 

Global pedge by new CEO, Walker

 

 

 

KEENAN'S new CEO, Robbie Walker, is keen to drive the feed wagon business forward with the full backing of its new owners, Alltech, a world leader in livestock nutrition.

 

"It's a good fit for us and we will be actively looking to integrate the feeder wagon business into all 128 countries that we operate in," he told The Scottish Farmer just nine months down the line from the takeover.

 

"We're also looking at putting more resource into key markets, like France, the UK and Ireland and Alltech also has a lot to offer in terms of nutrition advice."

 

He added that the Storti tie-up was just the start of a long-term collaboration for Keenan and that between all-players there was a vision of innovation and best practice,