Veenhuis Fullject X-line injectors: Joined up thinking

We’ve been to see the Fullject X-line, a new range of compact and lightweight injectors from Dutch manufacturer Veenhuis.

KEEPING IT BRIEF

Veenhuis was established in 1938.
Around 400 machines are produced at Rijssen each year. These are split 50:50 between tankers and injectors.
The slurry tanker range peaks with the 30m³ triple-axle Profiline. The company has built two 40m³ tankers on quadruple axles.
Western Europe accounts for 80-85% of production. Main markets are the Benelux, France, Germany and the UK, followed by Italy, Poland and Spain. Other markets include Canada, the USA and Australia/New Zealand.
Veenhuis and Schuitemaker share the same facility at the Dutch town of Rijssen, close to the German border
160 staff work at the Rjjssen facility.

The new range was born out of the merger of Veenhuis and Schuitemaker in 2019 to form the SVgroup. At the time of the merger, Schuitemaker made slurry tankers and injectors, but was stronger with its forage wagons, silage trailers and Feedo feeding wagons. In a good year, Veenhuis accounted for 60% of the new grassland injectors sold in the Netherlands each year. The decision was quickly taken to drop Schuitemaker slurry kit to focus on forage wagons and trailers, leaving Veenhuis to take care of slurry machines.

Widths up to 10.5m are fitted with a single Veenhuis macerator (four Vogelsang units are used on the wider 12 and 15m models).Half of the 12 blades in the Veenhuis unit can be removed to increase output when working with thicker slurry.

The five-folding frame design comes from the previous 12m injectors from both Schuitemaker and Veenhuis. When folded for transport, slurry from the two outer sections drips onto the mid-mounted macerator. The contractor is unhappy with this.

A new injector range was needed, and in developing it the R&D department was presented with a multitude of challenges. These included reducing the weight, developing wider widths of up to 15m, and at least 35cm of clearance and a maximum of 4.0m transport height on all models. Others included using 40% fewer wear parts and a third fewer greasing points.

The formation of the SVgroup brought many synergies on the purchasing, marketing and sales fronts, and components for both brands are produced in the fabrications hall. There are also many synergies on the R&D and manufacturing front, and the starting point for the new range of grassland injectors was to retain the best features from the Schuitemaker Exacta (8.7m and 9.7m) and Veenhuis Euroject (up to 8.4m) and 12m Premiumject.

Key parts of the design would include the Veenhuis triple plated disc, which comprises three discs bolted together with a self-sharpening effect. While the Schuitemaker Exacta was praised for the frame and Hydrocare pendulum system.

The cross-connection construction of the element to the frame is new. Fitted to all widths, this uses a hydraulic ram to maintain a pre-set pressure on the discs.

The main new feature added to the mix is the cross-connection construction of the element to the frame. Fitted to all widths, this uses a hydraulic ram to maintain a pre-set pressure on the discs. The result provides a higher degree of pendulation than the previous Euroject range.

The first results of their efforts were previewed two years later at the Dutch ATH show in September 2022 with the first models (9.0m and 10.5m) in the new Fullject X-line Pro (single disc) range. The Fullject X-line derives its name from the new X-line element attachment.

Like all other models in the range, the 10.5m injector folds to a transport width of 3.0m. Transport height is 3.66m. Weight is 3.5t the 2.6t 9.0m version remains well under 3.0m on the road.. The paintwork of the main frame has changed from yellow to grey.

Row spacing is 18.75cm. Thanks to the parallelogram construction, the outlets are always at 90 degrees to the ground. 60mm diameter hoses are still fitted to the Ecoject and Terraject. The hoses on all Fullject X-Line widths up to 15m are all 50mm.

Fullject X-line injectors are assembled at the Dutch plant. Many of the components, including the frame and linkage, are made in-house.

While these were the only two models for the 2023 slurry season, the company also quietly tested a 15m variant, which it brought to Agritechnica later that same year. Smaller 6.0m and 7.5m models joined the range for the 2024 slurry season, and at ATH 2024, the range was completed with twin disc models in widths of 9.0, 10.5m and 12m and a 12m Pro, which is pre-prepped to work with an umbilical hose.