Celebrating 70 years in business, Bell Equipment South Africa is proud of its roots in the agriculture and forestry industries and will showcase three machines at NAMPO Cape that are designed to make life easier for their discerning farming customers.

Bell OEM Product Manager, Emile van Wyk, said: “First up we’ll have the Bell Forklift, designed to make easy work of lifting heavy loads on smooth and rough terrain. It has the same frame and hydrostatic drivetrain as our current F-series Tri-wheelers and is tried and tested to deliver reliability and high performance.”

According to Emile, the Bell Forklift has governed power of 45kW and is capable of lifting loads of up to 3 500kg. “The Bell Forklift has earned a reputation in the local brickmaking industry due to its reliability and versatility. It’s designed to provide exceptional manoeuvrability and stability while delivering solid performance, making them ideal for various material handling applications in agriculture too.”

The other machines on display, from Bell Equipment’s partnership with JCB Agriculture, include the latest JCB 3CX Backhoe Loader and the entry-level JCB 530-70 Loadall.

Bell Equipment’s Dealer Development Manager, Petrie du Toit, said: “Traditionally Backhoe Loaders have been a versatile tool for farming operations in South Africa and we believe the new JCB 3CX range will cement the popularity of the machine and the brand locally.

“The range has undergone a complete cab makeover with all models now coming standard with ROPS/FOPS certified cabs and incorporating other new features designed to provide improved comfort, versatility, and productivity, and ultimately reduce costs and increase on-farm efficiency.

“There is a huge focus on ease of operation, for example, the 3CX range now has a single lever loader control incorporating a F-N-R directional switch so an operator can control the loader and transmission with one hand. There’s also a proportional switch on the side of the lever to operate the 6-in-1 bucket, which further reduces the effort needed to operate the machine.”

In terms of efficiency and operating costs, the JCB 3CX range benefits from improved hydraulics thanks to new variable displacement piston pumps that are standard across all models. The larger pump provides 150lpm, a 39% increase over the previous model. This allows the engine speed to be reduced whilst maintaining productivity effectively reducing fuel consumption. Furthermore, the variable flow pump only provides flow on demand and backs-off the flow when not required to reduce load on the engine and improve fuel consumption.

Meanwhile, JCB Agriculture’s Loadall concept has been well accepted by the agriculture sector due largely to the entry-level JCB 530-70. “Although we have larger machines for more precision work, the JCB 530-70 with its three-ton lifting capacity and seven-metre reach has brought owning a telehandler within reach of farmers needing a versatile and capable multi-tool that can handle almost any on-farm task,” said Petrie.

Bell Equipment South Africa can be found at stand 22 at NAMPO Cape.