2011 marks 30 years since the introduction of the Marshall Multispread range of all purpose fertiliser spreaders. With over 8000 units now in use across Australia, the Marshall Multispread has become an essential piece of equipment for three generations of farmers.
The Marshall Multispread is designed and built by Roesner Pty Ltd, a family owned company committed to innovation and sustainability.
Matthew Roesner, the Great Grandson of Roesner Pty Ltd founder Arthur Roesner, is the company Technical Director and leads up its Research and Development activities.
“Agriculture is at a crossroads. Global price pressures, high exchange rates, increasing input costs and environmental concerns lead to industry uncertainty. But world agriculture must become more efficient and innovative to support a rapidly increasing global population” said Roesner.
“We are committed to our customers during this period of change. Roesner P/L has been around for 110 years and our core principles of innovation, resilience and forward thinking guide the current and future decisions we make”
Over the past 10 years Roesner P/L has invested a large proportion of its R&D budget on improving the accuracy and performance of the Multispread spinner design. This began in 2004, with the introduction of the Type B design and was followed in 2009 by the 700mm diameter Type C spinner system.
Improvements in both the design of the spinner and its fertiliser loading method lead to greater accuracy and wider spread patterns. In turn fertiliser will be used more efficiently and energy consumption, labour costs and soil compaction are minimised.
In late 2011, in time for the 2012 spreading season, the Type D spinner design will be launched. In development since mid 2010, the prototyping and testing of the Type D design has utilised the latest technology including high speed photography, computer based particle modeling, and a bespoke particle collector that measures the flow of fertiliser off the spinner disc and vanes.
Another component of the Marshall Multispread R&D programme is the design of larger capacity machines for spreading high rates of lime, gypsum and organic materials. Currently research in this area is focused on a new feed mechanism for moving large quantities of high moisture content manures out of the spreader hopper and a unique rotor system.
Roesner’s innovation programme doesn’t only focus on product development. The company continues to improve its manufacturing process. A new two part priming system is currently being installed in the company’s painting facility that will minimise paint wastage and provide superior protection from corrosive fertilisers. Both the primer and top coat are low VOC products, helping to reduce harmful emissions caused by the painting process.
Since the early 2000’s, Roesner has extensively used laser cutting and CNC bending to reduce material wastage and labour costs whilst ensuring the quality and repeatability of Multispread components. This methodology continues to evolve, helping Roesner maintain cost and resource optimisation.
Posted in General News
