Potato Review

56 POTATO REVIEW SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 MACHINERY Dewulf going full ISOBUS for the 2023 planting season DEWULF, supplier of agricultural machines for the cultivation of potatoes and root crops, will be introducing full ISOBUS on nearly all CP and Structural potato planters from autumn 2022. ISOBUS operation is manufacturer- independent therefore available both via the tractor and via an additional display in the cabin. is means that joysticks in the tractor can be used to control the planter. If the tractor is not equipped with ISOBUS, an individual ISOBUS cable set can be ordered separately. Additional GPS-controlled display options for the tractor include License Section Control and License Variable Rate. e latter, for example, makes it possible to use task cards to con gure which areas of the eld fertiliser should be applied. ese functions are accessible and can be individually adjusted according to speci c needs at any particular time. Delivery of ISOBUS will be possible from January 2023, so the updated planter will be ready for use for the next planting season. New UK distributor for German sprayers AGVANTAGE UK Ltd has partnered with Chantry Dammann UK Ltd, to o er a product range from German sprayer manufacturer, Dammann. AgVantage is already home to the full line of Dewulf and Miedema brands and this latest development will see AgVantage becoming an authorised distributor of the popular German agricultural spraying equipment, o ering sales and support to customers in East Anglia and across the Southeast of the country. AgVantage Founder and Managing Director, Andy Carse, has almost 20 years’ experience with sprayers. He said: “ e Dammann brand, through Chantry Dammann, is growing. e opportunity to showcase the Dammann products to UK farms is an exciting prospect.” Andy is pictured with Peter Chantry of Chantry Dammann. Applications for apprenticeships invited LINCOLNSHIRE-based vegetable equipment manufacturer Tong Engineering has increased its apprentice recruitment campaign for 2022, with a variety of training opportunities available at the company’s purpose-built manufacturing facility in Spilsby. With ve apprenticeship places available in areas including fabrication, machining, tting and electrics, Tong’s established apprenticeship scheme is open to anyone aged 16 or over. “We are proud of our established apprenticeship scheme and are very pleased that over 10% of our current workforce started with the company as an apprentice, including team leaders, managers and even directors,” says JimWorley, Factory Manager at Tong Engineering. “In line with business expansion and increased production capacity brought by our new facility, the Tong 2022 apprentice scheme includes more positions than ever before.” From the apprenticeship roles on o er, new recruits have the option to select an area of speciality that best suits their career aspirations and personal skill set, all of which are supported by a customised training programme. April Armsby, now a full-time welder and fabricator at Tong Engineering, joined in 2019 after completing a full-time course at Lincoln college doing welding and fabrication. After a week’s work experience with Tong, April enrolled on the apprenticeship scheme. “My apprenticeship started with four days working in the Tong factory, plus one day in college per week. Frommy rst apprenticeship trial day, I loved it and I’ve never looked back since! e apprenticeship way meant I could experience the work and being part of a team, whilst learning the technicalities behind the engineering at the same. I would de nitely recommend it to anyone considering a phased way to enter long-term employment. My quali cations include an NVQ and a diploma in welding and fabrication.” MD Edward Tong said the family business was keen to encourage young people and new talent to get into engineering. e business recently opened its doors to its new purpose-built manufacturing facility on the edge of the company’s hometown of Spilsby.