The new Te Pari Racewell 4-way drafter

Date: 26.09.2018

Te Pari has just released a 4-way auto Drafting Racewell HD4 sheep handler that is sure to be a game changer

Te Pari has just released the Racewell HD4. Te Pari marketing director Jeremy Blampied sees the HD4 as a natural progression for the company that already has thousands of HD3s and HD6s in operation throughout New Zealand and international markets.

Sure to turn heads in the sheep industry and in line with Te Pari’s ethos of constant improvement, the newly released 4-way auto Drafting Racewell HD4 sheep handler is a game changer.

"We have taken a great product and made it work even better. The HD3 has been on the market largely unchanged for decades and now we have introduced these innovations to the Racewell. It has enhanced its efficiency and reduced operator and labour requirements, the most obvious move being to include a fourth drafting gate.

RacewellHD3

"Adding this extra versatility requires minimal change to the existing farm infrastructure when buying a new HD4. Simply adding another fence and gate to split one of the yards is all that’s required. However, the technology and mechanical improvements are what set the HD4 apart," Jeremy says.

These improvements have come from customer demand and particularly from feedback at all the New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays® as well as the company’s sales and technical representative for Racewell, Matt Shieffelbien.

Matt, who is out with clients on their properties most days, has been actively involved in the development of the HD4.

"I saw that the drafting process often needs to be done twice to separate the lines my clients needed. With the HD4, it becomes a one-man operation with just one pass to sort both weight ranges and to identify stock that may be sick, injured or missing an ear tag.

RacewellHD4

"Weighing, dagging, vaccinating or drenching, and drafting can now be done in the same session with the help of the new multifunction remote. Although we’ve only just released this version at New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays, I’ve already sold a great number of units and have orders for more.

The plan is to market it alongside the HD3 and the bigger HD6," Matt says."The Racewell is a highly regarded machine on Kiwi farms and a firm favourite with our overseas markets. I have many customers who are on their second or even third Racewell, which I think speaks volumes about their love of the product. With the onset of technology and the demand for more accurate data by the market, the HD4 will certainly continue to have a place on farm."

RacewellHD6

Jeremy Blampied recently returned from the Te Pari Dealership Conference in Australia where the HD4 received an ecstatic response from both Australian farmers and Te Pari’s  rural dealers.

"The ‘Control Panel’ of the HD4 has been changed in layout and design to simplify use and increase reliability with the all-new one million cycle switches. These allow for higher throughput as well as longer life without service requirements.

"Now with a drenching mode that turns off the entry gate, allowing for increased output, which makes drenching faster, easier, and less back breaking. Cables that run along the sides of the races are now covered by a protective panel to stop hungry lambs having them for lunch," Jeremy says.

"The new remote, about the size of a TV remote, now allows all functions of the machine to be controlled remotely. We have included a powered backing hook in the lead-up race that is activated by a ‘magic eye’. This backing hook works in conjunction with the main sheep clamp and automatically holds the sheep waiting in the lead-up race resulting in improved sheep flow. These small changes we believe make for big improvements.

"Te Pari Products is the premier and best-known manufacturer and marketer of animal handling equipment in New Zealand and increasingly into international markets.

"We buck the Auckland centric culture, with our Oamaru based premises in Otago on the South Island."

When Te Pari opened its new purpose-built facilities in 2015, it brought head office, showroom, marketing, and manufacturing onto one site. This has provided a synergy that benefits staff and customers. The huge investment cemented the company’s commitment to the rural sector and with high hopes of taking Kiwi ingenuity global.

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