Forklifts &Telehandlers in Australian Agricultural Applications

With the increase of bulk goods, bale sizes, supply and demand materials handling equipment has become essential to agricultural processes. Traditionally forklifts were used and proved to be inadequate unless they were an all terrain model. Even then the operator was limited to lifting and moving. Inevitably in all industries technology evolves and has been innovated to improve processes, productivity and operator safety. The versatility of the telehandler has come in to its own and is becoming widely used in agricultural applications.

The telehandler has the ability to not only lift a load but to also work with crane jib. The attachments on offer in many ranges of telehandler’s on the market include dirt buckets, grain buckets, rotators, power brooms and that just names a few. The agricultural range of telehandler scan also be fitted with three point linkage and power take-off. This makes the telehandler a truly universal piece of equipment.

Telehandler’s are easily manoeuvrable. Most models include 4 wheel steering and all wheel drive and offer a range of transmissions to suit your application.

On the market today you can purchase or hire telehandler’s with varied lift heights and in different capacities.There are some dealers that include a range of telehandler’s tailored to suit hay and poultry specific productions.

Lencrow Materials Handling has been involved in the supply of off road forklifts and materials handling equipment since the early 1980’s and in that time has seen the popularisation of these units and manufacturer’s develop equipment unique to Australian agricultural industries. In Europe the telehandler is the most commonly used piece of equipment already in agriculture.

Modern telehandler’s come standard with an enclosed cabin, ROPs, FOPs and are fitted with anti tipping equipment as standard. This is upgradable to full crane safety equipment for when a jib is fitted to the unit. There are a number of different manufactures selling this type of equipment and are usually European imports. These versions are the most compact offering the most features.

While the telehandler does have a range of versatile attachments available it should be noted that the unit and attachment must be rated to suit each other. Each unit is sold with a rating chart in the cabin unique to its capabilities and attachment recommendations.

Another important point to note when purchasing a used telehandler in Australia is that there has been a number of “grey import” units sold. A “grey import” is a unit that is produced to be supplied in another country and may be fitted with parts that are not available locally or have non-compliant construction. If you are unsure of this we would recommend that you consult the dealer of the equipment and quote the full model number and serial number for confirmation.

Lencrow Materials Handling is the dealer for a number of all terrain forklifts and telehander’s and offers a specialised off road forklift and telehandler spare parts for most makes and models.

For more details on this article or that equipment here call Lencrow on 1300 516 436 or visit www.lencrowforklifts.com.au