Mini Digger - Schaffer Articulated Loader Case Studies
3033 & 3150
Schaffer owners Keith and Kerry Parnell
Industry type Tree
farming
Location Tincurrin,
Western Australia
Model 3033
mini digger
Accessories Forks,
GP bucket, rotary hoe, cement spreader
Usage Moving
racks of seedlings around the nursery, loading trucks on rough terrain, general
earthworks
Requirement A
mini digger capable of negotiating tight nursery aisles while carrying maximum
seed trays
Two Schaffers better than one for growing trees
At Keith and Kerry Parnell’s tree nursery at Tincurrin in
Western Australia’s eastern Wheatbelt region, a Schaffer 3033 mini digger proved
so successful they added a second Schaffer mini digger to their fleet.
The nursery
has a capacity of up to three million seedlings including oil mallee, a tree
that can produce energy for sustainable development while reducing soil
salinity. The seedlings are propagated in a greenhouse, then transported into
cell trays as they mature. They are moved around the nursery on racks, capable
of holding up to 70,000 seedlings.
Before
acquiring their first Schaffer 3033 mini digger in 2005, the Parnells used a
tractor with a rear-mounted forklift to take the trays to the edge of the
nursery. However, the tractor was too wide to take the trays down the aisles,
so they had to be carried by hand.
Keith and
Kerry’s Schaffer 3033 mini digger, which is only 1.4 metres wide, proved
compact enough to transport the trays down the 1.6m aisles, helping to reduce
labour costs and speed up the work. Keith says special racks were built that
can carry 72 trays at a time, enabling the mini digger to take the place of at
least two staff.
“The Schaffer
3033 is one of the best things I have bought for the nursery – it’s fantastic,”
Keith says.
Schaffer loaders,
which range in power from 26hp to 177hp, provide superior performance under all
conditions and really excel in tight spots, where their articulated agility is
an asset.
“Other loaders
tested were either too wide for the confined nursery spaces or too small and
light to perform the required tasks. A skid steer machine was not suitable
because it damages the ground, unlike the Schaffer mini digger,” Keith says.
The Parnells
backed their enthusiasm for their Schaffer by purchasing a second Schaffer mini
digger in 2009,
this time the top-selling 3150.
TEC SPEC – 3303
Engine
Kubota D1703 -
36hp
Speed
Single
speed, 15km/hr
Wheels and tyres
31x15.5-15
Total width
1400mm
Bucket pivot point
2950mm
ROPS
Fold-down ROPS
Sales 1300 88 21 61 Cameron Moir 0417 669 707
cmoir@schaffer-loaders.com.au