Capital Equipment News May 2017

AGRICULTURE: PRE-NAMPO

Bell has been testing the F-series for three years and has eight test units currently working in most forestry and cane regions across the country.

“NAMPO brings the whole agricultural industry, including importers, dealers and customers to one place, offering an array of products and insights for the farmer to make the best informed investments for their operations.”

year, the F-Series Tri-Wheelers officially launching in early 2018 after three years of testing and development, as well as a series of products from our partners, including Bomag, John Deere and Matriarch,” says Beningfield. Matriarch is a South African company which was established by Bell founder’s grandchildren in 2009 and in the past five years it has developed products for the sugar and forestry sectors. Its products on show will include the ULTeco 5 and 6 slewing crane loaders; the Skogger, which is used to extract and load timber; and the FASTFELL, which is used to fell and bunch timber. Visitors to Bell Equipment’s stand at NAMPO will have the privilege to preview the local manufacturer’s F-Series Tri-Wheeler, which is due to be released for sale globally during the first quarter of 2018. “The Bell Tri-Wheeler is a founding product that has become legendary due to its proud history of over 50 years in the sugar and forestry industries. There is always a danger when re-designing a product that is so well accepted by the market, but we have been mindful during the design and testing processes to keep true to the original design intent, while adequately making advancements in the

Hydraform will be launching its new Hydraform M9 block making machine at NAMPO 2017.

strategically than before,” comments Keir. “Even though we see disparate weather patterns and rainfall in different provinces, with the Western Cape still navigating a bad drought, it is encouraging that we have had good rains in the northern regions and that the crops are yielding,” he says. That said, Keir says the agricultural market is still recovering and a challenge that comes with this is accessing finance. Keir asserts that creative fiscal offerings, such as “off balance sheet” funding, are important in a climate such as this. “This type of approach to asset finance comes with benefits to the farmer, such as not having to lay out any initial capital, which helps with essential cash flow. Furthermore, lease payments on the equipment are fully tax deductible and VAT is paid on a monthly basis,” notes Keir.

“We have identified agriculture as a key market for SPE, since every farmer needs the right tools to do their work effective- ly and mechanisation is vital to running a farm more efficiently from a financial perspective,” says Keir. “NAMPO brings the whole agricultural industry, including importers, dealers and customers to one place, offering an array of products and insights for the farmer to make the best in- formed investments for their operations.” Bell’s NAMPO line-up Bell Equipment’s exhibits at this year’s show, according to Beningfield, will showcase the company’s focus on providing solutions which offer best cost per tonne to the agricultural sector. “Our products planned for NAMPO include the Series IV Tractor launched last

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