At a recent demonstration of its XSplit slurry separator, Vogelsang had arranged for one of its spreading systems to be on show to complement the separation installation.
The company, normally just known in the agricultural world for its macerators / distribution heads, is working hard to expand its presence in the slurry management market and break away from the image of a ‘one-trick pony’.
Focus on boom construction
Despite this desire to supply a much wider range of products, the one item that Vogelsang has no intention of producing is the slurry tanker itself; that is a highly competitive market, so it is content to produce the fixtures and fittings that enable a trailed barrel to work.
In addition to the pumps and macerators, the company produces a range of booms of various types and designs, stretching from 7.5m to 30m; the larger ones needing to be more complex to allow folding alongside the tanker body.
On display at Mullingar was a three-section 9m boom that folded to 3m, although a 2.5m transport width option is also available.
It had been brought to the site by Marcon Tanks Ltd. of Co. Monaghan, which has taken on an agency for Vogelsang and have fitted several to their own tankers.
Versatility from Vogelsang
Fergal Marron, who founded the company along with his partner Andrea Connolly, notes that the Vogelsang booms have several distinct features which mark them out from the competition.
The first is that they are perfectly suitable for both dribble bar and trailing shoe application and can be swapped from one to the other with relative ease.
A second major selling point is that the springs holding the shoe to the ground are longer in length than many other makes, enabling the boom to be carried higher than normal, thus engaging the landscape less.
Raising, folding and locking the booms is done by just one spool valve, with the lock mechanism operating on a time delay that engages a few seconds after the boom has docked in the upright position. When lowering the boom, it automatically disengages.
Ease of use
It is this last item which sums up the main attraction of Vogelsang booms for Fergal, they are simple to use with sequential folding meaning that just one hydraulic spool is required to operate them.
Other benefits include the robust and fully galvanised construction using box rather than folded steel for strength and rigidity.
Naturally, they come with a Vogelsang distributer head, and on the larger models the hose length to each outlet is the same.
They are not the cheapest booms on the market, but Fergal contends that they are a far more suitable choice for contractors and farmers who have a serious amount of slurry to spread and will be giving the tanker a lot of use over the season.