Arriving from Spain at the FTMTA show, is Ovlac, a family-owned company that has been producing agricultural equipment since 1936 and has made the mouldboard plough its specialty.
It is not entirely unknown here in Ireland, as there have been attempts to import its products in the past, but these were by individual dealers on an ad hoc basis rather than a concerted attempt to make an impression on the market.
All of that has changed, with Farmec of Co. Meath now launching the full range here in Ireland as part of its portfolio of general agricultural equipment offered to the trade on a wholesale basis.
Something different from Ovlac
Ireland is blessed with a wide choice of ploughs to choose from, so it might seem somewhat optimistic to bring another make to the table, but as Nicholas Clarke of Ovlac points out, its ploughs have distinct features unique to the make.
The first, is an oscillating cross shaft which, it is claimed, ensures the plough follows the tractor due to it being able to move independently of the linkage.
Pulling the plough from one central pivot point automatically corrects alignment, and makes hitching the plough easier.
By allowing this limited movement at the headstock, the plough is able to follow headlands and irregular shaped fields, increasing daily output.
Hardox everywhere
Another notable feature, is that wherever possible Hardox steel is used, and not just in the wearing parts.
Hardox is many times stronger than standard steel allowing less of it to be used, which, in turn reduces the overall weight of the plough while still making it stronger.
This puts less strain on the rear end of the tractor while reducing the ground compaction, especially at the headlands.
It is not only the ploughs that benefit from its use, the company favours its use wherever possible across the whole range of its tillage implements, bringing durability and weight reduction to all products.
Alongside the plough at the FTMTA show was a Eurodisc-II short disc harrow designed to work from between 15 – 40cm, thanks to its 610cm diameter discs which are set at an aggressive angle to encourage penetration.
Leaf, rather coil springs provide the pressure on the discs and each disc has its own dedicated spring, this too is claimed to be unique to Ovlac.