In the South of the country right on the Belgian border the Imants company has a pedigree going back 127 years. Little known in the UK until recently the company has built a reputation with farmers across the rest of Europe and the United States for its range of spading machines which were first introduced in the early 1970’s.
To date, UK sales have been primarily to contractors and farmers involved in beet, potatoes and vegetables. An example of the success is the ability to bury straw whilst cultivating after a carrot crop.
Opportunity may be just round the corner for increased sales in the UK after the appalling weather conditions this autumn. A spading machine produces a seed bed in a single pass and with the addition of a mounted seed drill it could be an alternative to more traditional methods. Effectively the spader assists forward motion through its rotation as opposed to creating drag through draft, enabling operation in wetter conditions and reducing wheel slip.
Having won an award for Good Industrial Design, 2013 will see the introduction of the new 48SX series rotary spader…