Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 43 MACHINERY TONG Engineering’s new manufacturing facility in Spilsby is now in operation. e £3.6 million rst phase building is part of a two- phase project on the seven-acre site. Managing Director Edward Tong said the last few months had been challenging, as Tong had to adapt its working procedures to ensure a safe and sustainable manufacturing environment. He said: “We feel very fortunate that we have been able to continue our business operations and expansion plans throughout such unprecedented times. We are delighted that operation has commenced at our new factory, even if the grand opening we had planned has had to been postponed slightly!” e newpurpose-built rst phase manufacturing facility ismore than 126metres long, 24metres wide and 11metres high and hasmore production capacity than both of the company’s existing factories and has been built to accommodate the company’s growing business and range of equipment it manufactures. All systems go at new factory “ e new factory is dedicated to our assembly process, and with the signi cant increase in height, this has allowed us to dramatically advance our lifting capacity and assembly capabilities,” said Edward. e company is now able to increase production capacity further by adding shot blasting and powder coating processes at the new facility. e company, which manufactures a range of vegetable handling equipment, received a £500,000 grant from the Greater Lincolnshire Growth Fund. TILLER RISES TO THE WELLSDEN CHALLENGE WELLSDEN Farm has overcome the challenges presented by an abrasive year, with particularly stony conditions, following the purchase of its third bed tiller. Shaun Smith, fromWellsden Farm purchased a ScanStone 5.4m Bed Tiller which went to work in the Spring of 2020. After a successful trial and demo of the machine, he decided it met his needs and could be driven comfortably by the tractor he already had, an MF 7260. With the somewhat arduous conditions experienced in the Mearns area, Sean Smith opted for auto reset ploughs on the rear of the bed tiller and said the quick-change blades stood the test of the stony condition where blade changing was being done more often than usual. e ScanStone 5.4m Bed Tiller covered approximately 270 acres for Wellsden. Wellsden Farm also has a ScanStone 4 Webber, front mounted tiller and now a 5.4m rear mounted folding unit and ploughs. e machine is equipped with reduction gearboxes to mitigate the strain on the main cross shaft. is in turn slows the rotor down but keeps a highspeed shaft, limiting the torque strain. Sean also particularly liked the achievable depth of the bed tiller. Demand for fill and seal machines GAINSBOROUGH-based GIC, which designs and manufactures vertical form ll and seal machines for potato processing and packing companies, has invested more than £30,000 in its factory, increasing its production area by 90 square metres, in response to rising demand. Directors Andy Beal and Luke Murphy (pictured) say sales of new and refurbished machines are ourishing despite the national economic situation. “Despite the awful situation with the pandemic, we have seen enquiries and orders reach record levels,” said Andy.