Goldwing Engineering opened its doors for the first time in April 2020. Starting a business in the middle of a pandemic when other businesses are struggling to stay afloat may seem like a bad idea, but for JP Brand, owner of Goldwing Engineering, the desire to help farmers with general engineering solutions was greater.

Long before the business officially opened, JP was already doing general engineering work and designing useful equipment. This year marks the eighth year that he has been building excavator attachments, and almost nine since he built the first spreader.

“My general manager, Jaco Jordaan, and I wanted to build machinery that had a wider application than just one task. That is why we produce spreaders, bin tippers and excavator attachments.”

Goldwing Engineering manufactures a variety of excavator attachments.

Under the category of excavator attachments, Goldwing Engineering produces attachments such as grabbers, mud or rock buckets, and root rake attachments.

The business specialises in custom machinery. The reason why custom machines are so useful, is that the farmer can be sure that the machine they ordered, will meet the needs of their unique farming operation. “We want to give the farmer his ideal solution, not a product that he will need to buy another machine for later, we also have standard machines available like spreaders for table grapes,” JP explains.

The spreader for the grape industry is compact and perfectly fits under the canopy of vines and orchards.

Goldwing Engineering serves the orchard farmer with unique spreaders

The Black Diamond range of spreaders have been designed with the orchard or grape farmer in mind.

“The spreaders started about nine years ago, specifically to serve clients in the table grape industry. Before our spreader, there was no spreader available that could drive under the canopy and between the grape rows,” JP elaborates. “Normally farmers will place heaps of soil under the grape rows, this leads to the formation of banks that compensate for the clay soil underneath. Spreading your fertiliser then becomes a challenge, as you cannot use a flat spreader.”

The Black Diamond spreaders are designed with both a conveyor and a spinner at the back. This combination is perfect for the terrain of nut orchards, fruit orchards, and vineyards.

“The benefit, however, is that any farmer can use this type of spreader. It’s not just limited to certain farming divisions,” he notes.

When describing how the machine is able to compensate for the banks of soil under the grapes, JP explains that they did a lot of research. “We considered the weight of different products that farmers might want to spread with our spreader.”

“There is software available that can be purchased separate from the spreader that will calculate and calibrate the machine for you. The farmer can now specify how much of a product needs to be spread, at what speed and ratio, to ensure the desired results. This enables the farmer to work independently and not rely on engineers to calibrate the machine.”

Another advantage is that the machines are GPS enabled, so they can easily use precision maps.

Bin tippers can tip at any height that your forklift can extend to.

Goldwing Engineering manufactures proudly South African bin tippers

Their bin tippers assist farmers, packhouses, and distributors to quickly and easily empty large crates or bins. JP points out that, “No other company in South Africa manufactures this product. Other international brands have side tippers that do not work effectively and are very expensive. On top of that, you need to remove the fork from your forklift to put this type of tipper on. This is not the case with our tippers, as they have a quick coupling system.”

Their bin tippers can tip at 145 degrees, and from any height that your forklift can extend to.

Manufacturing this tipper locally means that clients do not need to pay import costs for large equipment.

Goldwing Engineering can also provide customers with a load test certificate, at an additional fee, should they require it.

Goldwing Engineering’s equipment makes more than just in-house manufacturing possible

To enable Goldwing Engineering to produce high-quality, custom-made equipment, the business had to invest in specialised equipment, like a CNC machine. This makes it possible for them to manufacture parts for their own machines at a reduced price, thus benefitting their clients in the long run.

“We will also assist the public with specialised CNC cutting services, therefore anyone who needs this service is more than welcome to contact us,” JP concludes.

To find out more about Goldwing Engineering’s range of products, visit their website. You can also contact JP Brand on (+27)76-702-3168 or Jaco Jordaan on (+27)73-087-1466.