Thatched
roofing is inevitably associated with the north of Germany. However, that the material
is experiencing a renaissance in the building sector these days is not common
knowledge. 80% of the reed for the German market is imported from foreign
countries - mainly from Austria,
Hungary, Romania, Poland
or Turkey.
The remaining
demand is covered by the few domestic areas, on which automatic reed harvesting
is cost-covering. Reed growers can harvest from January till March, they have
to use special vehicles and are usually in knee-deep water. Reed is found in
the shallow banks of lakes, in fenlands and on boggy shoulders.
Thatcher,
Christoph Behrens from Lower Saxony (in the north of Germany),
one of about 50 craft enterprises in Germany, is also in the happy
position to be a reed grower. The Thatcher harvests the reed with 3 special
vehicles, which he developed single-handedly.
The most
recent, is a harvesting vehicle based on a snow groomer that is fitted with a
radio remote control by Cattron-Theimeg Europe. The groomer comprises of a
self-built cutter bar, a transport system and a construction to clean the reed.
All functions are hydraulically controlled. By means of these functions, the
operating team of the groomer, consisting of two people, can cut and store the
reed on the vehicle at the same time. Previously the harvesting had to be
interrupted several times, to allow the operator to dismount in order to
operate the loading platform.
Apart from
reducing the harvest capacity of the groomer, this meant, for the operating
team wet feet in the knee-deep water.
By installing
a radio remote control, it is now possible, to operate the load platform from
the cab of the vehicle. "Excalibur", a
hand-held transmitter with 12 push buttons, combined with a ct24 receiver with
17 relays is ideal for the amount of commands (platform lift / lower / tilt /
straighten / move left and right as well as move reed bundles to the back) .
Andreas
Kruse, field representative at CTE, is glad "With our standard product
Excalibur we could offer a customized solution for our customer's very special
application. As a result of this, not only the harvest capacity and the
efficiency of the groom could be increased, but the team can also be happy
about their dry feet at the end of their work day."
