Skellerup has launched Evolution at Fieldays, a new brand bringing single-use recyclable milking shells and silicone liners to New Zealand farms.

Skellerup Agri executive general manager Dino Kudrass says the brand brings the company’s product development together under one banner.

“It’s a new brand we’re launching as an umbrella for all of the innovation that we’ve been pushing through,” he says.

Kudrass says the company exports about 80% of its products to markets including the US, China and Europe.

“We learn a lot about what works and what doesn’t.

“We’re working with farmers all over New Zealand, so we know what the pain points and the problems are, and that positions us well to develop new products.”

The pre-assembled recyclable single-use shell is the centrepiece of the range.

“It eliminates the job that every farmer hates, which is to pull the liners at the end of the season out of the stainless steel shell, having to clean them, and then fit the new ones again.​”

The silicone liners last up to 8,000 milkings, and the black rubber 2,500.

“In New Zealand, there’s a very common misconception that it’s one season, but it depends on the herd size and number of milking points.”

The single-use design also allows more sophisticated liner features, including a patented square hackle and anti-twist geometry that would be difficult to seat correctly in a reusable shell. A square-to-round transition mimics the inside of a calf’s mouth and takes pressure off the top of the teat.

The shell is built for the realities of the dairy shed.

“This is a special, extremely tough polyolefin material,” he says.

“Car bumpers are made out of the stuff, for example. So if the front of your ute’s tough enough, then this is tough enough.”

Transparent pulse tubes and claws let farmers catch a split early or watch the milk flow.

The shells already have a track record offshore and have been selling in the US for over a year. Evolution is available now following its Fieldays launch.

Discover the Evolution range and learn more at skellerup.com

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