The ROC company produces a specialist range of 'mergers', or groupers as they might be better known in Ireland.

The machines combine the action of a pick-up reel with the transfer action of a grouper belt to bring one or more swaths together ready for harvesting.

Aimed primarily at alfalfa growers, biogas plants and other large growers of hay and straw, on both sides of the Atlantic, the machines are claimed to be far more gentle on the crops being swathed.

This is particularly important for alfalfa growers, for the plant tends to be quite brittle when dry. When harvested as forage, it usually contains around 18-20% crude protein, making it a valuable crop, and not one to be wasted.

The machines use tines to lift the swathes onto a transfer belt which then places it to whichever side is required.

The advantage being that the crop is not dragged across the ground as the tines of a rake would, resulting in high losses through leaf shatter.

The company was formed in 1996 and is currently owned and run by Denis and Raffaele Ubaldi, who will continue in their present roles once the deal is complete.

By taking an 80% share of the company, Shingo Hanada (CEO of Kverneland Group) believes that -

Meanwhile, the Ubaldi brothers said:

Taking on board an Italian company involved in the production of forage machinery for drier climates may not have an immediate impact on the Irish market, as the products are not aimed at grassland farmers.

However, it does confirm that Kverneland, now under the umbrella of Kubota, finds itself in a strong enough position to acquire companies that strengthen its presence in the hay and forage sector throughout Europe and America.