A further choice of hard wearing replacements for original soil-engaging parts on tillage equipment has been introduced by Spaldings as the newly-appointed exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for the ACREplus range from Milson Foundry in New Zealand.

The range comprises plain and winged points for subsoilers and cultivators made to accurate patterns to fit existing implements, using a uniquely hard-wearing surface to help minimise running costs and downtime, and maintain quality of work over many acres.

Spaldings marketing director Nigel Whelan notes that the company already offers its customers a wide choice of wearing parts solutions.

“Earlier this year we introduced the Universal drill coulter points from Dutch Openers and we already offer an extensive range of standard and Durafaced parts for ploughs and cultivators,” he explains.

“We also supply Ferobide tungsten tile sets for the ultimate in wear-proofing and now the ACREplus range of points for cultivators, subsoilers and tine drills provides another cost-effective option, with characteristics that are particularly well suited to soils that are quite abrasive or have a high stone content.”

The ACREplus range comes from Milson Foundry, a leading producer of specialist, high-quality castings supplied to agricultural equipment manufacturers in North America and Europe.

Its soil-engaging parts business is built on a high-chrome iron comprising a ‘secret recipe’ of materials formulated and then heat treated to provide high wear resistance without being brittle.

Walter Davis of Milson Foundry explains that the ‘hardness’ of a wear-resistant material is only half the story when it comes to making soil-engaging components.

“For our ACREplus products we use special steel that has superior wear resistance but can still be welded,” he says. “We attach it to the surface of a base material that absorbs impact shocks and this enhances point life by eliminating breakages.”

Milson’s special steel is applied on the leading edges of points and wings to help keep their shape and lift characteristics, and tungsten technology is used in the form of relatively small tiles – which helps keep the cost down – brazed into positions where the wear pressure is greatest.

“This further increases point life and improves penetration, and the combination of materials makes our products well suited to flinty and other stony soils,” says Walter Davis.

The end result is a range of replacement parts that maintain their performance over time and provide a consistent level of quality work at lower cost per acre.

As with all other products in the Spaldings range of tools, parts, consumables and equipment, the ACREplus products can be purchased online at www.Spaldings.co.uk, via the company’s telesales staff, or face-to-face with members of the regional sales and service support team.