“Trend from serial to client-specific machines”

Bijlsma Hercules started in 1938 as a farriery, evolving over the years into a producer of machines for harvesting, washing, sorting and bagging potatoes and other crops. Nowadays, the red and yellow machines are used all over the world. Still, over the years, a lot has changed. “While we used to produce serially in the past, these days every machine is made bespoke for the client. That way, we combine the know-how and experience of the client with our machine expertise,” says Jan Bijlsma, who represents the third generation of the company.

“As soon as the product is off the land, we take it up,” Jan says. A specialism of Bijlsma’s is that nearly all machines from their range can be installed on a single frame. “The biggest advantage of these combinations is that the transition from one machine to the other is always perfect. Because the combinations are equipped with a heavy-duty tow bar construction, they can be easily transported, even across long distances.”

Besides the pre-sorters, transporters, hall fillers, clod and stone separators and scoop and brush machines, Bijlsma also offers a wide range of filling machines for crates and big bags. Generally, the machines can be divided into three filling principles. The first system is the simplest crate filler, with a supply belt depositing the produce through a raisable fall damper into the crates. Option two provides a somewhat more advanced solution, with a transport belt with product inhibitors ‘bending’ into the crate, which means the produce is put into the crates carefully. This occurs fully automatically.

The third principle is the most advanced option, in which the product is ‘laid’ into the crates or big bags. By making use of a vertical belt with transverse cleats and a programme in which filling takes place through a layer system, the crate or big bag is filled in the most efficient way possible. With an optional weighing unit, during filling it’s noted what weight is contained in the crate or big bag. When reaching the pre-set weight, the machine stops filling, and automatically switches to the other side, so that the filling process keeps going.

A remarkable branch of the company is made up of the industrial machines, but Jan says that’s not so strange. “With our agricultural background, we are used to finding the most practical solutions to logistical problems. We now offer special transport belts for glass, machines to process paper pulp, fish, candy or recycled products, and complete palletizing and packaging lines. But we are also familiar with transporting sand, gravel, fertilizer or cement, so our machines are found in many a world port!”

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Bijlsma Hercules
Jan Bijlsma