High speed bale wrapping will be featured by OPICO at the forthcoming ScotGrass event (Thursday, May 20 th at Roberthill Farm, Lockerbie) with the first showing in the UK of the new 1620 Sideliner Automatic bale wrapper.

The flagship of the Sideliner range, the 1620 Automatic extends the Sideliner range to three trailed models, comprising the well known 1520, the new 1620 and the new 1620 Automatic.

A feature of the 1620 Automatic is that it is electronically controlled, whereas the 1520 and 1620 machines are operated mechanically.

The 1620 models both feature a twin orbital wrapping arm which, say OPICO, doubles the speed of the wrapping action and cuts the time to complete the whole operation by up to one-third.

Another benefit of the Sideliner system is that the bale wrapper picks bales up “endways” rather than the “sideways” system favoured by conventional table wrappers. This enables the wrapper to be driven up and down the field in line with the rows of bales left by the baler, which speeds up the wrapping operation and makes it more efficient.

Because they are lower to the ground, the Sideliners are more stable and take less time to load the bale onto the table, say OPICO. Furthermore, when loading, the Sideliners use the tractor as a counterbalance, eliminating the need for a counterbalance weight. This means the wrapper is lighter and there is less damage to the field with ruts in a wet season.

Optional extras include tandem wheels and a bale rotator.

Prices start at £8072 for the 1520, rising to £11,295 for the 1620 and £13,649 for the 1620 Auto.