Flingk Machinebouw was established in 2011 by Niels van den Berselaar and Marijn Berben. The foundation to today’s business began in 2008, when their first product was a type of silage pusher.

This market was quickly saturated and the company diversified. Today, the Flingk company does a wide range of feeding and bedding equipment. It currently employs 26 people and moved into larger new premises last year, another indication of its growth and ambition as a manufacturer.

Frederick says customers come to Flingk with problems they encounter on the farm, and then the company carries out its own research before designing a machine to provide a solution. This approach is central to Flingk’s motto of solving everyday problems on the farm with innovative and well-built machinery. The name itself reflects something of the company’s values.

Frederick explains that “Flingk” is the Dutch word for “tough”, and all the machinery coming out of its factory is built with the expectation that it will spend its working life in a demanding farm environment.

Keeping the silage pit face refreshed

According to Frederick, winter fodder quality starts at the silage pit face.

“Once a pit is opened, exposure to air and rain can increase the risk of heating, nutrient loss, which can lead to mould and bacterial growth issues.”

That is where Flingk’s shear grab design comes in as the amount of time that silage is exposed to the elements is greatly reduced, as prolonged exposure of silage means its feed value diminishes over time.

He says most farmers across Europe are excellent when it comes to preparing grass in the field for silage preservation.

“They apply fertiliser at the right time, cut at the correct growth stage and height, manage the sugar levels, wilt it and pack it properly, all to get the fermentation right and the best winter feed. But what we find is the feed-out side is often overlooked.”

Unfortunately, we find we must educate some farmers about silage feed-out and maintaining the pit face.

“If you take a top footballer or athlete, for example, they train properly, eat the best food available and get plenty of rest. You wouldn’t expect them to eat food that had been left outside for days, exposed to air and moisture, as they may get an upset stomach and hence can’t perform.”

Some farmers are still expecting their top pedigree cows to perform at a very high level, where spoiled silage from the face of the pit can be fed out.

“The same attention to detail that goes into producing the silage needs to continue when it comes to taking it out of the pit, and our customers are seeing the rewards.”

Frederick also says there is little benefit in ripping out a large, 1t block of feed from the pit only to drop it into a diet feeder, where it can place an unnecessary large shock and load on the driveline and PTO clutch pack of the tractor itself. Instead, the philosophy of Flingk is to make the feeding process more controlled from the outset and its implement removes the silage and dispenses it out in a much more controlled manner.

Flingk’s larger KHXL takes the concept further, combining a high cutting height with a relatively shallow cutting depth which avoids ledging and loafing of the pit face. This implement allows more of the face to be refreshed regularly, with the company saying the approach can help to greatly reduce heating and spoilage.

Rather than tearing the face and leaving an uneven surface, Flingk uses finer-toothed knives which are designed to cut through the silage cleanly and with less force, leaving a smooth, compact sealed surface behind.

“The principle is simple, remove what is needed while disturbing as little of the remaining silage as possible and lifting up layers, whereby you’re exposing it to air,” he says.

Another point Frederick alludes to is customers can also feed a more consistent diet because you grab the pit from top to bottom or across more layers.

But it is the cutting action and large footprint that is central to the design. He says farmers need to understand that silage preservation does not end when the clamp is sheeted; once the face is opened, management becomes an ongoing process.

Keeping the exposed area moving as quickly as possible while minimising unnecessary disturbance is key to maintaining silage quality, as it greatly reduces the chance of potential mycotoxin contamination.

“The bite depth of 35mm makes it easy to take a large volume of grass in one go with a clean cutting action and no tearing, it therefore leaves the pit face like it was shaven.”

Round bales can also be sliced and fed into diet feeders, or put directly onto feed passages no problem. Some of the company’s shear grab range are also designed to be multipurpose implements, so there is no need to remove it from the loader if a customer wants to load concentrates.

It can be used as a bucket, thanks in part to what Flingk describes as a “full floor”, as these models are not using traditional tines, or you don’t have waste silage falling around the yard. Flingk offers several shear grab sizes for articulated loaders, telehandlers and front loaders.

The inside of the base bucket has a large curve, which is what makes it easy to unload, as material flows and breaks up rather than a large solid lump being dumped into diet feeders. The KHMII, for example, uses hardened-steel front blades, a Hardox 500 lower blade and replaceable knives.

Taking the labour out of bedding

The same principle of solving a practical problem can be seen on the bedding side of Flingk’s business too. The Flingk SE250 is an electric-powered, hand-pushed cubicle bedding machine and lime spreader, designed to make cubicle maintenance less labour-intensive.

Frederick explains why farmers like it as it is highly manoeuvrable and specifically built to handle material mixtures like sawdust, chopped straw and lime without clogging.

Its SE electric bedder operates with two 12-volt batteries and includes a charger. An electrically driven stirrer in the hopper helps prevent blockages, while an adjustable conveyor and a mechanical metering shutter allow the quantity and thickness of bedding to be easily controlled.

According to Frederick, this means the farmer is not simply mechanising the task – the machine is also designed to make the application more consistent and cannot over/under use lime for a job that needs to be repeated regularly, that matters.

Instead of relying on someone to manually distribute bedding and judge the amount as they go, the machine provides a controlled method of spreading. The result is an even cover which reduces the chance of herd health issues like mastitis while reducing the physical labour involved.

Flingk’s wider bedding range of equipment also reflects the fact that there is no single bedding system across modern farms. Flingk offers different machines for different materials and applications, from sawdust to sand and straw, to a host of other bedding mixtures.

That flexibility is important to the company’s approach, he says. Rather than expecting every farm to work around one machine, the machinery is developed around different farming systems.

A wider range of feeders, bedding equipment and straw blowers

Its straw-handling range, for example, includes machines designed to distribute straw with different systems and capacities.

Flingk’s SVV straw distributor is designed to handle big bales, both round and square, which can be configured with conveyor or spreading-disc systems, depending on the application.

On the bedding side, the company also offers machines for different materials and cubicle arrangements, including equipment designed to work with sawdust, sand and heavier bedding mixtures.

The breadth of the range reflects how the company has developed since those early days with the silage pusher.

Premium machinery with a practical purpose

Flingk positions itself as a premium manufacturer, but Frederick’s description of the company puts the emphasis less on premium as a price point and more on the construction and thinking behind the machine.

“The aim is to build equipment that lasts, works efficiently and tackles a genuine problem.”

That can be seen in the detail such as replaceable knives, wear-resistant components and accessible pivot points on the silage shear grabs.

Flingk also uses flexible ball-jointed pivot points on the grab’s main hinges and cylinders, which it says helps absorb external forces and reduce the risk of damage.

“The sharp milled Hardox blades on the lower body and the small bite depth make it easy to press into the silage and not put a back pressure or machine hydraulics or hoses. Those details may not be the first thing a farmer notices when looking at a machine in a brochure, but they become considerably more important after several years of use,” he says.

Ireland is already part of Flingk’s business, but Frederick says the company wants to build its presence here even further, with the development of a larger dealer network an important part of its ambition.

“For a machinery manufacturer, having the right machine is only part of the equation. Farmers also need access to dealers who understand the equipment, can help match a machine to the job and support it once it is working on-farm,” he says.

Some machines need to be set up with the right brackets to a particular material handler, a suitable oil flow, or electric supply for optimum performance.

Frederick’s says farmers or dealers can contact him through their website and he is happy to assist in any way possible.