Cane Loaders are the 3-wheeld Workhorses of the Sugar Industry
Nobody who has spent a little time in the province of KwaZulu-Natal could fail to be aware of the importance of sugar to the economy of the region. The growing area extends from the province’s South Coast through the Midlands and all the way to its border with neighbouring Swaziland, also a sugar-producing nation, to the north. When harvest time arrives, the crop provides a welcome source of work and much-needed income for KZN’s rural communities as well as an enticing snack for local children. The practice of cutting the crop manually has persisted and requires backbreaking effort on the part of the cutters. However, to get the crop loaded and on the road to the sugar mills, the farmers rely on the remarkable abilities of the 3-wheeled machines known as cane loaders.
Despite their distinctly inelegant appearance, without doubt, one of the most striking characteristic of these vehicles is their unparalleled ability to move with all the grace and agility of a ballet dancer. Much like a fairground dodgem car, these incredible machines are able to move seamlessly between forward and reverse motion, to rotate in their own length and, while it may not be a recommended manoeuver, they have even been seen to perform wheelies, although balanced on their front wheels rather than motorcycle-style.
Acting first rather like a bulldozer, a front-mounted grabber is used to scoop up the cut stems from the ground. Once it is fully loaded, the grabber tightens its grip to secure the load while an articulated arm elevates it rather like a crane, after which is driven to the transport vehicle where it is then deposited on to its load bed. Equally stable on bumpy surfaces and steep inclines as they are on the flat, these remarkably speedy cane loaders are just as tough as they are agile.
Just as, over the years, the names Ilovo and Tongaat-Hullet have become synonymous with the sugar that South Africans consume in its various forms, the name of Bell is one that is instantly associated with these hardworking mechanical workhorses upon which these companies depend to gather in the unrefined raw material.
In much the same way, it is the name of Kanu Equipment that will most often be the first to enter the minds of South Africa’s farmers at the mention of cane loaders. Along with those who rely on other vehicles and machines in the world-class Bell product range, most of the nation’s cane farmers tend to favour Kanu when planning to purchase a new unit, looking for spare parts or accessories or in need of a specialist maintenance and repair service.
Next time that you find yourself driving along one of KZN’s roads in the wake of a fully laden cane transporter before hooting impatiently and desperate to pass it, take a second look at the size of that load. Then pause for a moment to wonder at the ability of these tough little, three-wheeled workhorses to stack such a huge vehicle to capacity with no more effort than the spin of a wheel and a touch on a lever or two. Therein lies the magic of the Bell cane loader.
