Fendt is launching the Katana 65 self-propelled forage harvester in the UK and Eire, following its introduction in France and Germany. Earlier this month a customer took delivery of the 100th machine to be sold in Europe.
The UK and Eire is the third largest market for foragers in Europe and the Katana 65 looks set to see similar sales success here, judging by the initial interest from customers, says Richard Shelton, Sales Manager for the UK and Eire.
“There’s definitely pent up demand for the Katana 65. This is coming from contractors operating fleets of our tractors, who already have experience of Fendt’s premium service and back-up.
“At 653hp the Katana is aimed at the fastest growing sector of the market and we are also receiving serious enquiries for demonstrations from customers who are new to us as well. These operators are looking at all the alternatives, including the Katana 65, before they trade up,” he explains.
Fendt has strengthened its team with two new Sales Support Specialists for the Katana. Looking after the north is Alan Haycocks, who has extensive experience of forage and grain harvesting machinery with AGCO and elsewhere. In the south Andrew Davies is joining the team, bringing a wealth of ‘hands-on’ knowledge he has built up at his family’s farming and contracting business.
James Daniel joined the team as a factory-linked Sales Engineer, just over eight months ago, on the tractor and technology side.
Andrew Dunne, Manager, Harvesting Field Support, heads up the service team. Fendt is now embarking on a country-wide demonstration programme, starting with two machines in early grass, which will be joined by more later in the season and for maize. Currently the machines will be operating from four dealers, picked purely for their geographic locations and ability to support the machines as well as hold the necessary spare parts.
The four current Katana 65 dealers are – Ross Agri Services in Scotland, RVW Pugh for Wales and the west, Redlynch Agricultural Engineering in the west of England and Alan Snow in the south west. These dealers were also chosen because they are in, or close, to the main livestock and forage growing areas.
The main AGCO Parts distribution centre at Desford is also gearing up to support the forage harvester and, adds Mr Shelton, will be introducing a ‘Green Harvest Support’ extended hours programme, similar to that provided for the harvest and autumn cultivation periods.
The Katana 65 is powered by a Mercedes-Benz MTU V8 engine, which is equipped with the latest Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhaust after treatment system and is well proven in forage harvesters.
Tuned specifically to deliver the torque and peak power to match forage harvesting demands, the 15.93 litre capacity engine develops its maximum power of 653hp at a low rated speed of 1,800rpm (ECE R120). It generates its maximum torque of 3,000Nm at a low 1,300rpm, which also helps to reduce fuel consumption. Electronic engine management provides superb control and ensures it always operates at optimum efficiency.
Access for maintenance and servicing is easy thanks to large side doors, which open on parallelogram linkages to reveal the engine and hydraulic system, as well as the two large air filters. Also, the Katana’s unique engine layout provides space for a large maintenance platform between the cooling unit and harvesting elements.
Fendt has developed a corn cracker for the Katana 65, which processes the crop efficiently with a huge surface area. It is also the simplest and easiest system on the market to quickly engage or disengage at the touch of a button, with electro-hydraulic control.
The novel design employs interlocking, V-shaped rollers to process the crop. These 265mm diameter rollers provide a significantly larger friction surface area than others, which ensures kernels are crushed efficiently. This results in better feed utilisation by animals.
The system also consumes less power due to the constant speed of the rollers and even throughput of material.
