Published by Farmers Guide, October 2008

Vicon adds hedge/verge cutters to its offering

Farmers Guide reports from Western France, where a well-known name from the UK machinery market recently revealed a brand new product range.

BEST-known in the UK for its fertiliser spreaders and forage equipment, Kverneland Group company Vicon has now entered the hedge/verge cutter market with its new Vicon Reach Mower (VRM) range.
Developed during the past two years, the machines will be built in France by Lagarde. Owned by Kverneland until last year, the Bordeaux-based company has been building specialist flail mowers for vineyards since 1963 and diversified into hedgecutters for the French market in the early 1990s.
Vicon sales Manager David Furber was quick to point out that the new models were not simply a re-badging exercise (the Vicon models will retain Lagarde's existing colour scheme).
"We have worked closely with Lagarde to design machines especially for the UK market," he said. "The parallel arm geometry on the VRM range was developed to meet our specification, while the floating flail head is another feature that had never been used on the company's French cutters - and, of course, the flail arms working to the left was another novelty."
Extensive field-testing of prototypes in the UK has convinced Vicon that it has a top-quality product that can compete with the very best cutters already on sale here.
"We will be competing at the top end of the market, but the prices will be mid-range," Vicon Product Manager Cliff Buck said. "We'll be offering many high-spec features as standard, so there will not be so many options on the price list."
Vicon revealed it had a five-year plan to build market share in the UK and an initial 10-year agreement with Lagarde to build and supply the machines.
"We're confident that the VRM range will find a market in the UK," Mr Buck added. "We know there are concerns among farmers and dealers about a lack of choice, especially with one of the big manufacturers owning three brands, and we can now offer a high-quality product to suit every type of buyer.
"We've talked to our dealers and we know that many don't have access to hedge/verge cutters at the moment, or are not happy with the terms from their existing supplier. That means we will have excellent coverage for the range through our premier dealer network right from the start, while our dealers will benefit from access to an excellent product, and one that has a different seasonal profile from our existing products."

Three series
The VRM range has been segmented into three series - 4000, 5000 and 6000 - each targeted at a slightly different market. The 4000-series machines come with a 46hp flail head motor and arms with a reach of 4.4m or 4.8m and is aimed at farmers who want to cut their own hedges/verges. The 5000-series cutters have a 55hp flail head motor and 5.0m, 5.5m and 6.0m arms and are aimed at larger farmers and contractors, while the 6000-series offers the same three arms, but with a 65hp flail head motor for heavy-use contractors that use the machines year-round.
All three series offer PTO-driven independent hydraulic systems, with the 5000- and 6000-series models supplied as standard with an electric oil cooling system. A dual-direction rotor is standard on all machines, as is indirect motor drive, flail head float, arm float, power slew and a mechanical transport lock.
The 4000-series arms are available in standard or parallel configuration, while the 5000- and 6000-series arms also have a forward arm option that places the flail head 80cm ahead of its standard position to aid operator comfort. For those that require them (apparently they are in demand for cutting central reservations on motorways and dual carriageways), standard arms that cut to the right can also be supplied at no extra cost.
As might be expected, the 4000-series VRM is supplied as standard with cable controls, although electric controls can be added as a £1,546 option. Electric controls are standard on the 5000-series VRM, with an extra £2,000 bringing the user the top-of-the-range proportional electronic joystick control that comes as standard on the 6000-series.
All three series are supplied as standard with a 1.2m heavy-duty flail head complete with T-flails (Y-knives are optional). The 5000- and 6000-series machines can also be supplied with an optional 1.6m heavy-duty flail head, and a quick-fit flail head option for easily swapping between different attachments, which include a heavy-duty branch-cutting rotor.
The flail heads can rotate through 230 degrees on all VRM cutters, while switchable flail head float is also standard to allow the head to closely follow the ground's contours. Arm suspension is also fitted as standard to help provide smooth operation, although this can be locked when required to provide precise control for hedge finishing.
The VRM range is supplied as standard with a three-point linkage fitting kit that is said to allow the cutters to be mounted to any tractor without modification, while a tractor-specific sub-frame mounting system is optional for 5000- and 6000-series machines.
Prices start at £14,015 for the standard left arm 4.4m VRM4644, rising to £27,275 for the VRM6560PF with a 6.0m parallel forward arm.