At last year's Ploughing Championship, Merlo launched a renewed marketing campaign here in Ireland with a display of of telescopic handlers suitable for both farm and construction site use.

The company has also appointed several new dealers to ensure a more comprehensive coverage of the country, along with a product support manager to ensure that they can provide a full and informed back-up to customers.

This year, for the Ploughing, the company intends building on what has been achieved so far with another display of machines suitable for both the agricultural and construction markets.

At this year's Ploughing, Merlo will be focussing on handlers that fit into the the Irish farming environment with a selection of compact and medium capacity machines.

The models chosen for display reflect the need for nimble handlers that can operate in tight yards, while still providing the performance needed to complete tasks swiftly and safely.

While handlers are usually classified by their weight-lifting capacities and reach, the spatial performance of most is usually adequate for all but the largest stock farms that have high stacks of bales to deal with.

The purchasing decision will then become one of how quickly tasks may be performed, a feature that is dependent upon engine power.

It is the importance of this factor which is becoming more widely recognised.

The three farm machines chosen by Merlo to represent its farm range start with the TF27.6, which has a 75hp Kohler engine at its heart.

It can still lift a maximum of 2.7t and even 1t at its maximum reach of 3.3m, making it possible to load silage bales into tub feeders, for instance.

One up from this model comes the TF33.7, which has a 7m lift height and 3.3t maximum weight capacity, all driven by a 115hp Deutz engine.

With an extra 21hp comes the TF35.7 with a modest increase in lift capacity of 200kg, yet the extra power will ensure loading cycles will be reduced while still remaining compact enough for tight buildings.

In addition to the three farm-orientated models, Merlo will have two construction machines - Roto 50.26 S Plus with a 26m lift height and the P40.14 Plus, which can lift to 4t maximum.

This smaller model comes with frame levelling and boom sideshift to allow the precise placement of loads at maximum boom extension.

Also present will be the Merlo eWorker 25.5, which is a compact, electric telehandler that delivers a 2.5t lift capacity, 5m lift height, and 8-hour run-time from its lead-acid battery.