Scottish grower chooses next generation mobile grader
3rd November 2021
When East Lothian-based J. Haig Hamilton & Sons decided to upgrade its potato grading operations to ensure the most advanced handling of the company’s valuable 550-acre crop, it chose long-standing
When East Lothian-based J. Haig Hamilton & Sons decided to upgrade its potato grading operations to ensure the most advanced handling of the company’s valuable 550-acre crop, it chose long-standing manufacturing partner Tong Engineering’s flagship Caretaker mobile grader.
Haig Hamilton farms a total of 3,500 acres of land. As well as a high- quality crop of potatoes, the family business also farms oilseed rape, winter barley and winter wheat. With the latest equipment advancements including increased automation, upgraded cleaning capabilities, and improved energy efficiency with Tong’s Blue-Inverter all-electric direct drive technology, Haig Hamilton could see that investing in the latest technologies would bring significant savings in labour, time and costs. “Our old Caretaker from Tong was reaching 11 years old and, whilst it remained very reliable, the new models of the Caretaker have progressed so much,” says Mr Hamilton. “We have been farming for over 30 years and have always dealt with Tong throughout that time. […] When the time came to upgrade our grader, we knew that Tong would deliver the advanced, custom-built solution that we were looking for.”
Featuring a high-capacity infeed hopper, the Caretaker grading system specified for Haig Hamilton incorporates an 8-row model of Tong’s EasyClean separator, complete with full Auto-Touch HMI control, for unrivalled cleaning and control in all conditions as well as advanced diagnostics. A 2.4m wide Tong EasyGrade screen grading module carefully grades crop before it passes over a 6-Man LED-lit inspection area and is then gently transferred to boxes via Tong’s Midi EasyFill box filler.
“Our new Caretaker is configured exactly to our specification,” explains Mr Hamilton. “[…] When you are specifying the machine, all the options promise to transform operations and efficiency in a variety of ways and now the machine is in operation I can certainly confirm that they really do.
“Going from a 4-row cleaner to the 8-row EasyClean means we are now able to double our processing capacity when required, but it’s the automation that is really making all the difference. Being based in Scotland, changeable weather is usually one of our biggest challenges, […] but the Tong Auto-Touch HMI control system is extremely advanced and easy to use; at the touch of a button, all adjustments to the cleaner’s settings are completely automatic. Most notably, the automatic high-speed cleaning function is incredible! We can schedule it to take place at set intervals, or in relatively dry conditions […] we set it to run at the end of each day.”
Nick Woodcock, sales manager at Tong Engineering, comments: “[The Hamiltons’] new Caretaker features our most advanced options, and we have even taken their bespoke configuration a step further by designing some additional, unique features which have truly encompassed their most specific requirements. These features include an electric remote-controlled retractable canopy and an in-built water supply for the EasyClean’s spray bars. They have left no stone unturned in specifying a highly advanced machine for the most efficient handling.”
