By Ken Fletcher

IRISH MACHINERY business, McHale, has set its sights firmly on capturing a bigger slice of the baler market with a new variable chamber range which it launched recently, at Agritechnica, in Hanover, Germany.

John Biggins, McHale’s sales manager, said: “We now export to more than 40 countries and over the last number of years have achieved a good share of the integrated baler wrapper market. Also our range of F5 fixed chamber balers has firmly established itself in the markets in which we compete.”

He said it now intends to attack the other half of the baler market, with the new V660 variable chamber round baler, which has been developed over the last two years, with extensive testing taking place in Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Japan, this past summer.

McHale says it has deliberately kept the V660’s operation simple and user friendly. That no-nonsense approach is evident in the split gearbox, which sees the left hand side drive the belts and rollers in the bale chamber, while the pick up and chopper unit are driven from the right hand side of the machine.

The baler is equipped with a 2m galvanised pick-up and accurate height control is achieved through a spring balanced hydraulic lifting system and pneumatic guide wheels.

A crop compression roller is also available as an optional extra on the V660. This evens out lumps in the swath and minimises the risk of blockages, when working in heavy swaths.

Also included is a 15-knife chopper unit which is fed by pairs of rotating tines. The double tines on the rotor ensure high output, while the spiral layout reduces the load peaks as the machine works in heavy swaths.

The bale chamber comprises of three heavy-duty endless belts, which are reinforced with synthetic material for longer life. These can make a bale from 0.7m to 1.68m and can be adjusted up from the minimum setting in increments of 20mm.