MILAN – South East Asian coffee growers will soon have access to a new, world-leading coffee harvesting machine thanks to the launch of the Case IH Coffee Express 200 Multi. The Coffee Express delivers the same levels of innovative product engineering, efficiency, service and support that for decades, grain, sugar and cotton growers around the world have come to expect from Case IH.
Coffee Express harvesters have been manufactured by Case IH for many years, and are well-proven in other markets around the world, such as in Central and South America.
The machines are now available to coffee growers across South East Asia, an increasingly important coffee-growing region. Potentially the Coffee Express will find a place in Vietnam and Indonesia, currently the region’s most significant coffee growing countries, as well as in Laos, Cambodia and the ‘Golden Triangle’ of north-west Thailand.
According to Case IH Asia, Middle East and Africa Product Marketing Manager, Michele Monzio, the brand’s coffee harvesting equipment employs the world’s best in bean harvesting technology.
“Our exclusive design executes high performance harvesting with the lowest damage to plants and less pulling off of leaves,” Monzio said.
“As well as the gentlest handling, this unique system provides greater versatility, allowing the producer to choose selective or full harvesting. Equipped with a fuel-efficient engine and easy maintenance, Case IH harvesters benefit from reduced operating costs, increasing profitability for producers.”
Coffee harvesting machine Case IH Coffee Express 200 Multi – Proven design
With the Case IH Coffee Express 200 Multi, harvesting efficacy, while preserving the health of the plant, is second to none. Plant damage is minimised thanks to a pair of vertical rollers, revolving at up to 0.5 turns/minute, which are fitted with nylon fingers to gently remove the coffee cherries.
The nylon fingers are fitted in two different lengths, in a combination that provides the best harvesting performance and minimum crop and plant damage.
As well as rotating, they vibrate to gently loosen the cherries, with an innovative hydraulic brake system allowing the level of vibration to be altered on the move. The distance between the two rollers can be adjusted by 80mm to accommodate plants of various sizes and ages.
Retractable ‘fishplates’ at the base of the rollers allow the base of each bush to pass gently but firmly through the machine, and gather the cherries for transfer, before horizontal augers equipped with adjustable-speed leaf fans transfer the cherries via vertical chain-and-flight conveyors either directly to the unloading conveyor or via an optional 2000-litre storage hopper, which means a tractor and trailer do not always have to be present and stopping is unnecessary.
The self-propelled Coffee Express 200 Multi is powered by an MWM three-cylinder engine producing 55hp, supplied by a 75-litre diesel tank. Ground drive is hydrostatic. Operating at a harvesting speed of 0.4-2.0 km/h, the machine can work in crops of up to 3.9m high, on average consuming 5.0 litres of diesel per hour.
Coffee Express 200 Multi operators benefit from an airconditioned cab that also features an adjustable-position steering column and fully-adjustable comfort seat. Key machine operations are easily conducted via a multi-function joystick on the operator’s right.
