Don Rust of Katikati has put his engineering and design skills to work to create a unique avocado picking platform which looks set to solve not only access issues on orchards, but safety concerns too.
Don, of Mural Town Engineering in Katikati, is already well known as a designer of innovative
equipment for the forestry industry, and now he's turned his attention to horticulture.
The number of avocado orchards now reaching maturity throughout the Bay of Plenty and Northland is increasing and many have been planted in landscapes, which are anything but flat.
It was the industry's concern about how to safely and effectively harvest fruit from trees which can grow up to 8m that led Don to seek a solution.
His answer, a machine which looks like something out of science fiction, had its first public outing at the January Katikati Avocado Food and Wine Festival.
There it was displayed with opposing wheels mounted on large blocks of timber, tilting the axles to around 15° while the platform remained level, graphically illustrating the machine's self-levelling ability despite an uneven terrain.
Michael Darling of AvoWorks, a company which contract picks avocados, worked closely with Don on the design of the ATP (All Terrain Platform) giving him information on orchard conditions and the needs of pickers operating the equipment.
"There is nothing else quite like it available and it should overcome some of the safety issues we have within the industry," he said.
Michael is so impressed with the ATP that AvoWorks has agreed to buy the prototype and hopes to begin training staff in its use soon.
Mural Town Engineering will also produce a smaller ATP with a boom height of 6.6m.
"It will be compact enough to travel under kiwifruit vines before extending the boom for jobs like putting up artificial shelter above them," said Don.
Powered by a four-cylinder, 36hp diesel engine the machine is designed to travel across uneven terrain, while keeping the picking basket level. It has a boom length of 8.5m and the ability to turn in 360°.
"This means it can stop alongside a tree and pick from ground level up to the very top," said Michael.
The machine is operated from the picking basket by two joy sticks and has screens connected to cameras to show the driver what is happening at ground level.
The ATP has been more than a year in development and the project has been assisted by funding from TechNZ.
"It is built to construction equipment standards and safety is of paramount importance," said Don.
Interest from through New Zealand and overseas is strong and Don hopes to manufacture the ATP in Katikati, opening new employment opportunities for the community.
A demonstration of the ATP is to be held soon. For more information visit www.mtelco.co.nz
Don Rust of Katikati has put his engineering and design skills to work to create a unique avocado picking platform which looks set to solve not only access issues on orchards, but safety concerns too.
Don, of Mural Town Engineering in Katikati, is already well known as a designer of innovative
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