Imagine 100 000 head of hungry cattle bellowing to be fed – to avoid that, the team at Karan Beef feedlots in Gauteng needs to prepare almost 900t of feed every day. They need equipment they can rely on and they’ve found it in Manitou Maniscopic machines. Joe Spencer reports.
Studies show cattle have their own preferences when it comes to the time of day at which they eat, and how often they eat in a day. At any time of the day or night on Karan Beef’s feedlot, just outside Heidelberg in Gauteng, some of the 100 000 head of cattle are eating. The team at Karan needs to quickly and efficiently prepare almost 900t of feed daily, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
An operation this size needs the most dependable and efficient machinery. Karan has chosen Manitou Maniscopic machines for handling feed, as well as moving feed ingredients, bulk bags and fertiliser, soil, manure and building materials. The team at Karan has so much confidence in Manitou, they don’t have a standby machine. The units’ reliability is backed up by a team of experts from Manitou Southern Africa, who provide the very best operator training and after-sales service. Manitou was one of the pioneers of rough terrain-handling equipment and has many years of experience gained on farms around the world. |fw
A Manitou works at Karan’s feed mill, unloading bales from trailers and stacking them in the yard, ready for the feed mixers. The Manitou’s overall dimensions allow the unit to work in confined spaces and it can reach every corner of a shed or feed mill.
The four-wheel steering means that when the front wheels are turned right, the rear wheels go left to give a turning circle of only 3,7m. The layout of the controls makes it simple to operate.
These machines aren’t affected by the dust generated by the feed mill, because effective filters keep their insides absolutely clean, and the fans blow upwards so they don’t whirl dust up from the floor.
Charles Brown of Karan Beef says, “I don’t know how we’d feed all the cattle without our Manitou materials handling machines. Karan was already using Manitou for feed handling when I joined the company eight years ago and I’m still amazed by these machines’ power, dexterity and overall capability.”
This Manitou works in the fields, loading and unloading bales. With a lift capacity of 2,7t to a height of 5,5m and a forward reach that extends to 3,2m, it can reach bales on any trailer or stack. It can move fully loaded over rough terrain and the highly effective hydraulic control system lets operators make really neat stacks or compact trailer loads.
