Last November, Spanish tillage equipment manufacturer Ovlac appointed Farmec as its distributor in Ireland. Since then, the partnership has hit the ground running, with a steady stream of plough and cultivator sales this spring.
We travelled to Farmec’s HQ in Drumree, Co Meath, to catch up with Garry Daly of Farmec Ireland and Nick Clark from Ovlac, to gain a better insight into the brand.
For some the Ovlac name may be new, but a cohort of Irish farmers and contractors will recall a time when individual dealers imported its products. Two of which were PJ Callan of Ardee, Co Louth, and Dublin-based machinery dealer, Derek Plant Farm Machinery.
“Although it’s been years now since Ovlac has had an official presence in Ireland, the following for the brand left us pleasantly surprised, based on the amount of existing Ovlac customers that visited us at last November’s FTMTA show,” explained Garry Daly.
“Many of these existing customers purchased new machines this spring.”
The Classic plough range is a more basic offering compared to the XPerience range.
Ovlac background
Ovlac is a third generation, family-owned company that originally set out over 87 years ago to manufacture ploughs. In the following years, it branched out into the cultivator market.
The company currently manufacturers 1,000 machines annually, 60% of which are exported to more than 20 countries across the globe. The European market is its strongest, accounting for 90% of total exports. In Denmark alone, the brand claims to account for 25% of the total plough market.
Nick Clark, who is responsible for the UK and Irish markets, explained how the brand prides itself at being a small manufacturer, focused on quality. The benefit of which is that it allows the R&D department to work closely with those on the factory floor and the end users.
One thing for certain is that Ovlac is fond of building its machine with strength in mind. This is evident in just how much Hardox and Domex steel is used in the construction of ploughs and cultivators, in favour of reducing weight without scarifying on strength. With its ploughs for example, Ovlac uses 8mm thick mould boards, where others use thinner.
Alongside strength, Farmec believes that the range is keenly priced in comparison to other brands on new machines, but also when it comes to spare parts.
The Eurodisc is the brand's heavier-duty disc harrow range.
Ploughs
Essentially, Ovlac offer two plough ranges; Classic and XPerience models. The Classic range is a more basic range. Available through four series: the 100 (three- and four-furrow), 120 (three- and four-furrow), 130 (four- and five-furrow) and 150 (four- and five-furrow); these machines feature a sliding headstock for front furrow width adjustment and either shearbolt or hydraulic reset. Nick outlined that the brand no longer offers spring reset on any of its plough models.
Described by Nick as a differential feature between Ovlac and its competitors is the oscillating cross shaft, which automatically adjusts the draft line and the side drift of the plough, ensuring that it always pulls straight. Nick says this places less strain on the tractor’s stabiliser arms and is a feature well suited to Irish conditions, where curved fields are the norm and it’s not always possible to plough straight. The system automatically locks for transport.
The XPerience plough range is said to be built entirely on the brand’s experience in the plough business. These models also feature an oscillating cross bar, as well as a hollow headstock shaft, with space for hoses to pass through, made out of a single cast piece with no welding and, therefore, less prone to fracturing. The legs feature a hydraulic and shear bolt protection system.
The parallelogram variable-width system allows for easy adjustment, either manually or hydraulically. The range is available in three series: the 130 (four-furrow), 150 (five-urrow) and 180 (six-furrow); with either shear bolt or hydraulic reset, the latter expected to be more common in Ireland.
All ploughs can be specified to varying customer needs, ie a full set of skimmers and discs, as well as multi depth wheel configurations.
The oscillating cross shaft across all its plough models is a unique feature to Ovlac.
Versatill
The Versatill tine cultivator is one of the brands best sellers, for cultivations from 8-15cm deep. These all-purpose 2.4m to 6m stubble cultivators are available with either two or three rows of legs. Tines are spaced at 30cm, while under-frame clearance is 86cm. Three-row machines are equipped with hydraulic reset legs as standard and are also available with levelling discs. A range of tungsten point and share options are available.
Left to right: Nicholas Clarke (Ovlac) and Garry Daly (Farmec).
Maxidisc and Eurodisc
Ovlac also offer two-disc harrow ranges: Maxidisc and Eurodisc. The Maxidisc range spans from 2.4m to 9m in working width and is a more basic model, offered with either 510mm or 610mm concave discs, for working depths between 5cm and 15cm.
All discs are mounted to the frame via rubber mounts, offering a certain degree of protection. All hubs feature double conical bearings are positioned on the inside of the disc, where they are less prone to damage during use.
The Eurodisc is a heavier-duty offering, with more aggressive 610mm discs. Another major difference is that each tine is protected by a leaf spring and not a rubber damper.
Hardox and Domex steel is again a key component in the construction of all Ovlac disc harrow ranges.
The Eurodisc range is available in working widths from 2.5m to 5.5m.
Last November, Spanish tillage equipment manufacturer Ovlac appointed Farmec as its distributor in Ireland. Since then, the partnership has hit the ground running, with a steady stream of plough and cultivator sales this spring.
We travelled to Farmec’s HQ in Drumree, Co Meath, to catch up with Garry Daly of Farmec Ireland and Nick Clark from Ovlac, to gain a better insight into the brand.
For some the Ovlac name may be new, but a cohort of Irish farmers and contractors will recall a time when individual dealers imported its products. Two of which were PJ Callan of Ardee, Co Louth, and Dublin-based machinery dealer, Derek Plant Farm Machinery.
“Although it’s been years now since Ovlac has had an official presence in Ireland, the following for the brand left us pleasantly surprised, based on the amount of existing Ovlac customers that visited us at last November’s FTMTA show,” explained Garry Daly.
“Many of these existing customers purchased new machines this spring.”
The Classic plough range is a more basic offering compared to the XPerience range.
Ovlac background
Ovlac is a third generation, family-owned company that originally set out over 87 years ago to manufacture ploughs. In the following years, it branched out into the cultivator market.
The company currently manufacturers 1,000 machines annually, 60% of which are exported to more than 20 countries across the globe. The European market is its strongest, accounting for 90% of total exports. In Denmark alone, the brand claims to account for 25% of the total plough market.
Nick Clark, who is responsible for the UK and Irish markets, explained how the brand prides itself at being a small manufacturer, focused on quality. The benefit of which is that it allows the R&D department to work closely with those on the factory floor and the end users.
One thing for certain is that Ovlac is fond of building its machine with strength in mind. This is evident in just how much Hardox and Domex steel is used in the construction of ploughs and cultivators, in favour of reducing weight without scarifying on strength. With its ploughs for example, Ovlac uses 8mm thick mould boards, where others use thinner.
Alongside strength, Farmec believes that the range is keenly priced in comparison to other brands on new machines, but also when it comes to spare parts.
The Eurodisc is the brand's heavier-duty disc harrow range.
Ploughs
Essentially, Ovlac offer two plough ranges; Classic and XPerience models. The Classic range is a more basic range. Available through four series: the 100 (three- and four-furrow), 120 (three- and four-furrow), 130 (four- and five-furrow) and 150 (four- and five-furrow); these machines feature a sliding headstock for front furrow width adjustment and either shearbolt or hydraulic reset. Nick outlined that the brand no longer offers spring reset on any of its plough models.
Described by Nick as a differential feature between Ovlac and its competitors is the oscillating cross shaft, which automatically adjusts the draft line and the side drift of the plough, ensuring that it always pulls straight. Nick says this places less strain on the tractor’s stabiliser arms and is a feature well suited to Irish conditions, where curved fields are the norm and it’s not always possible to plough straight. The system automatically locks for transport.
The XPerience plough range is said to be built entirely on the brand’s experience in the plough business. These models also feature an oscillating cross bar, as well as a hollow headstock shaft, with space for hoses to pass through, made out of a single cast piece with no welding and, therefore, less prone to fracturing. The legs feature a hydraulic and shear bolt protection system.
The parallelogram variable-width system allows for easy adjustment, either manually or hydraulically. The range is available in three series: the 130 (four-furrow), 150 (five-urrow) and 180 (six-furrow); with either shear bolt or hydraulic reset, the latter expected to be more common in Ireland.
All ploughs can be specified to varying customer needs, ie a full set of skimmers and discs, as well as multi depth wheel configurations.
The oscillating cross shaft across all its plough models is a unique feature to Ovlac.
Versatill
The Versatill tine cultivator is one of the brands best sellers, for cultivations from 8-15cm deep. These all-purpose 2.4m to 6m stubble cultivators are available with either two or three rows of legs. Tines are spaced at 30cm, while under-frame clearance is 86cm. Three-row machines are equipped with hydraulic reset legs as standard and are also available with levelling discs. A range of tungsten point and share options are available.
Left to right: Nicholas Clarke (Ovlac) and Garry Daly (Farmec).
Maxidisc and Eurodisc
Ovlac also offer two-disc harrow ranges: Maxidisc and Eurodisc. The Maxidisc range spans from 2.4m to 9m in working width and is a more basic model, offered with either 510mm or 610mm concave discs, for working depths between 5cm and 15cm.
All discs are mounted to the frame via rubber mounts, offering a certain degree of protection. All hubs feature double conical bearings are positioned on the inside of the disc, where they are less prone to damage during use.
The Eurodisc is a heavier-duty offering, with more aggressive 610mm discs. Another major difference is that each tine is protected by a leaf spring and not a rubber damper.
Hardox and Domex steel is again a key component in the construction of all Ovlac disc harrow ranges.
The Eurodisc range is available in working widths from 2.5m to 5.5m.
SHARING OPTIONS