Square bale wrapping may be a specialist sector, but it’s a sector that is now attracting increasing interest. Among the dedicated machines for the carrying out of this most awkward of packaging tasks, the Austrian-built Göweil G 4020 is now imported into the UK by Cambs-based Lely UK
Easier transport, less storage space… just two of the big reasons why there is such demand for the square-shaped silage bale. Indeed in some regions the square package is becoming even more prevalent than the once ubiquitous round bale. Flipside, of course, is that the square (80cm x 80cm) is a much tougher shape to wrap than what amounts to a regulation round ball – a fact that is even truer when that square squashes down into a rectangular section (120cm x 70cm). A simple matter of basic geometry.
Göweil’s solution is to sit the bale on a rubber belt table and flip it over with the gripping help of five guide rollers. The aim is to achieve as constant a speed as possible to enable the twin orbiting arms to produce that critically important uniform wrap of the package.
Taking a closer look at the Göweil hardware used to achieve this even wrap goal, we kick off at the front of the machine. For coupling to the tractor, the G 4020 comes with a choice of conventional drawbar or semi-mount bar on to the link arms. Of the two we opted for the semimount version, which has the big advantage of almost 100% tracking and turns what is a bulky 6m long piece of kit into a manoeuvrable combination. Turning into a tight field gateway was not a problem, even though the wheels sit right at the back of the machine.
