Aardvark Equipment Ltd.
From RitchieWiki
Aardvark Equipment Ltd. specialize in the design of custom-built articulated vehicles and trenchers. They also supply parts for other types of equipment.
It is based in Sudbury, Suffolk, England.
[edit] History
In the late 1980s a joint venture began between M.T. Agricultural of Braintree, Essex and M.J. Abbott of Dinton, Wiltshire. They came together to design and build tractor mounted, power take-off (PTO) driven wheel trenchers.
By the late 1990s the existing machines were becoming outdated and Paul Beal of Aardvark Equipment Ltd. worked with Mike Abbott of M.J. Abbott Ltd., to develop a PTO driven rock wheel trencher, the RWT 100. It has a 3.28 feet (1 m) maximum cutting depth with laser grading and a cutting width of 2.4 to 5.3 inches (6 cm to 13.5 cm). It is mounted on 140 to 200 horsepower (HP) tractors. The first of these machines was commissioned in Spring 2002. Fendt tractors make the best prime mover due to their Vario transmission and high three-point hitch lift ability.
When used in conjunction with a site dumper to remove spoil and a trailed gravel cart to supply backfill, the machine becomes the centrepiece in a “trenching train” system. It digs the trench, removes the spoil, lays the pipe or cable from the spool on the front of the tractor and finishes with backfill, completing the job in a single pass.
These machines can be used in the sportsturf industry for drainage and irrigation work, and the utility industry for ducting and cabling work. Linear work rates vary from 328 to 6562 ft (100 to 2000 m) per hour depending on the soil type and conditions. They have been used successfully in sand, clay and loam soil types, as well as slates, shales, limestones, sandstones, concrete and tarmac, but fight shy of working igneous/granite rock strata.
In 2008 Aardvark Equipment Ltd. introduced its “Rototrench” line up, including the RWT 75 model. It has a 29 in (75 cm) maximum cutting depth, a cutting width of 2.4 to 5.3 in (6 to 13.5 cm). It is a PTO driven machine and mounted on 125 to 140 hp tractor. specifically aimed at the sportsturf and amenity industries for use with 125 to 140 hp tractors. In instances where trees or other obstacles are a problem, this machine can also be used with a no discharge conveyor leaving a linear “molehill” of spoil on the side of the trench for “blading” back in after the pipes are laid.
In addition to the two existing R.W.T. 75 S & R.W.T. 100 S models, work is now underway to design the R.W.T. 125 S which will use 250 - 350 h.p. rigid frame vario transmission tractors to dig trencher up to 12" wide & 4' 2"deep.
