By Katy Gilbert

Tong adds new compact option to popular FieldLoad PRO machine

Further to strong sales and worldwide demand for Tong’s industry leading FieldLoad PRO, the company’s fieldloading machine is now available in a compact 1800mm wide specification. The new model has been designed to suit vegetable growers and producers looking to create post-harvest efficiencies at lower throughputs than the company’s flagship machine.

“The FieldLoad PRO continues to be a very popular set-up for truly versatile and efficient post-harvest handling,” says Richard Knighton, Sales Manager at Tong Engineering. “We have always referred to the machine as our on-farm and in-field powerhouse and it really has proved to be just that, with many customers processing in excess of 100 tons of crop per hour into boxes, bulkers and bulk storage. However, we work with vegetable producers of all sizes and not everyone needs such a high capacity machine; and this is where the new, narrower machine can ensure all the same efficiencies to suit lower throughput requirements.”

Suitable for use on a wide range of root crops including potatoes, carrots, onions and more, the new, more compact FieldLoad PRO features all the same options as the flagship machine but simply in a narrower format. The machine features a heavy duty reception hopper feeding a choice of crop cleaning units including Tong’s renowned EasyClean separator available with Auto-Touch HMI controls, as well as the company’s high-speed PU coil cleaning system and star cleaning units.

Custom-built to suit grower’s exact specification, the new FieldLoad PRO model will feature the standard 4-man inspection cabin and a 1300mm wide fully foldable cart elevator. A super-silent onboard generator provides power efficiency for in-field operation, which can be bypassed for mains power when operating on-farm. Like the larger model, the new compact model can be specified with the latest optical sorting equipment as an alternative to the standard inspection cabin, for ultimate automation and sorting efficiency.

“We pride ourselves on continuously developing our equipment to ensure the most suitable solutions for growers large and small in the UK and worldwide,” added Charlie Rich, Sales Director at Tong Engineering. “The new compact model of the FieldLoad PRO is one of the latest examples of this, where we have introduced a new compact and affordable machine which brings all the efficiencies of the flagship FieldLoad PRO to even more vegetable growers.”