The Combi-RT poultry handling machine, specifically designed for the requirements of the poultry sector, will be launched this month at South African grain producers association Grain SA’s Nampo Harvest Day, in Bothaville, Free State.

Fitted with a clear-view three-stage mast, with full free lift, the Combi-RT’s low profile enables it to work outside and inside the poultry house, explains industrial equipment company Eqstra Industrial Equipment (EIE), part of JSE-listed contract mining and equipment group Eqstra Holdings.

The Combi-RT is manufactured by Ireland-based materials handling solutions provider Combilift and distributed in South Africa by Toyota Forklift, a business unit of EIE.

The Combi-RT boasts three-wheel manoeuvrability, large tractor-grip tyres, a 30° fork rotation, a differential lock feature, pivot forks, a backup alarm and a 150 mm mast side shift. It conforms to the American National Standards Institute’s B56.6 safety standard for rough terrain forklift trucks.

The benefits of the Combi-RT include its small turning radius, its multipurpose use inside poultry cages and outdoors, and the visibility-offset driving position for poultry-cage positioning.

“Having picked the empty modules from the trailer, the operator can lower the mast without any loss of speed to take the modules directly to the waiting catchers. “There is no danger of the module collecting litter on its base as it travels through the poultry house,” explains EIE national sales manager Mike Norton.

Eqstra Holdings will have a substantial presence at Nampo, offering demonstrations on its equipment and running daily special offers and a Nampo 2013 Harvest Day competition.

On show will be EIE’s range of Toyota Forklift materials handling products, the offering from Eqstra Agricultural Equipment – the sole sub- Saharan distributor of Italian farm machinery manufacturer Same & Deutz-Fahr tractors and combine harvesters.

Soil preparation implements of agricultural machinery manufacturer Nardi will also be displayed at the EIE stand, along with products from Eqstra Holdings’ other divisions, namely Eqstra Mining & Plant Rental and Eqstra Fleet Management & Logistics, as well as EIE’s 600SA Holdings.

The lifting and loading, cleansing, waste and work-at-height specialist will showcase some of its products for the first time at Nampo. Further, with EIE’s focus on reserve power, its stand will be partially powered by solar powered systems from solar power technology firm SolarWorld and photovoltaic inverters and monitoring systems manufacturer SMA Solar Technology to showcase a clean and sustainable energy source, which will help reduce its carbon footprint at Nampo.

Germany-based specialist in energy storage Hoppecke’s industrial power batteries for traction and reserve will also be exhibited and used to store the stand’s solar energy.

“These industrial-power batteries will benefit the farming community, as they reduce oper- ating costs and are more environ- ment friendly,” says Norton.