JCB has made a big breakthrough in Hollywood. Twenty machines, including Skid steer loaders, Loadall telescopic handlers and JS excavators were delivered to the set the 20th Century Fox film Alien Covenant which hits UK and Irish cinema screens on Friday.

The machines were wrapped in gold to give them a more futuristic look. Six JCB generators were also provided for the film makers to use. They star in the film alongside Michael Fassbender and Katherine Waterston.

JCB worldwide marketing director Michael Plummer said: “This is the biggest product placement exercise in JCB’s history and involved more than £1m worth of machines.

“Ridley Scott’s idea to wrap the machines in gold delivered a stunning result and is certainly an eye-catching addition to a film which will be seen by millions of people around the world.”

NI dealer gets big New Holland award

At the New Holland dealer awards for 2016, Northern Irish dealer Brian Keys Tractors Ltd was awarded New Holland Tractor Dealer of the Year for the UK and Ireland. Owner Brian Keys said he was “very shocked but pleased as punch” to receive the award.

“It’s the team in the background who have done all the hard work. They are all really good guys and the service team especially, excels. Our customers already receive great support from the team but now there will be an extra level of confidence knowing we have had to reach a certain standard to win this award.”

The Irish dealer award went to Cowan Tractors from Manorcunningham, Co Donegal.

Bertie Cowan of Cowan Tractors, said: “The award was really unexpected and it was great to hear that as a team we had done so well. We weren’t thinking about the awards we were just trying to do our best. Our clients have had a good year in the field and we are glad to have been a part of that.”

New Claas test facility

Claas is planning a new test facility at its headquarters in Harsewinkel, Germany. The new centre will be used to test components for combine harvesters, forage harvesters and tractors. The test centre will be able to simulate a broad variety of climatic conditions encountered during harvests around the world. These simulations help the engineers to assess the performance capabilities and reliability of the machinery at an early stage of its development. Instead of using diesel engines to run the simulations, 300Kw electric drive units will be used instead. The new facility will have a total floor space of 8,000m² and will come at a cost of over €15m.