Krone Premos 5000 pelletiser touches down

More than four years after it made its global debut at leading farm machinery trade show, Agritechnica in 2015, Krone’s Premos 5000 mobile pellet harvester has recently touched down on local soil.

The Premos 5000 was initially unveiled as a concept in 2015 but has since undergone several tweaks and adjustments before officially entering the production phase in 2019. The machine was recently showcased to a group of dealers, customers and members of the media at a Krone demo event in Winchelsea, Victoria.

According to Krone, the Premos 5000 is the world’s first mobile pelletiser that has the potential to revolutionise the fodder industry. It produces tightly compressed straw and hay pellets on-the-go that can provide farmers with high-quality feed and bedding for livestock, as well as a potential alternative energy source.

“Straw pellets make ideal bedding for cows, horses and poultry,” said Krone Senior Product Manager, Lars Pasedag.

“Their high liquid capacity keeps animals dry and their disinfectant qualities help to control the pathogens which lead to fungal infections such as thrush.

“They are also a high-fibre, high-density feed source, with fewer traces of pathogens and mould than straw.”

Straw pellets can also be used as an alternative energy source in place of conventional fossil fuel which emits harmful greenhouse gases.

“These pellets have the potential to transform unused straw waste into a sustainable energy source, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions,” Pasedag said.

“Straw pellets are more affordable than fossil fuel energy sources, with 2.5kg of straw pellets being equivalent to one litre of heating oil.”

The Premos 5000 features the mechanisms of a baler, harvester and pellet mill and is capable of producing up to five tonnes of pellets per hour, depending on the type of crop being fed into the machine.

Straw, hay or lucerne crops are gathered up by a 2.35m camless pick-up before being fed through an 800mm wide rotor to a feed conveyor.

The material is conveyed through two matrix rollers that compress and force it through 16mm diameter holes, as a dispenser meters water or oil onto the die rollers to optimise moisture levels and adhesion properties.

Customers can adjust the length of the pellets to be between 15mm to 40mm.

The finished product – high-density pellets – are then automatically loaded into a 5-tonne bin.

The pellets can then be fed out into a chaser bin or silo via a hydraulic elevator mounted on the side of the Premos 5000.

“The liquid dispenser – using both water and vegetable oil - allows the pellets to be adjusted in hardness, density and quality for different uses,” Pasedag said.

“Pellet bulk density sits between 600 kg/m³ and 700 kg/m³, which is three to four times denser than straw bales, making them cost-efficient and easy to store.”

The minimum power requirement to run the Premos 5000 is 350hp.

In cases where farmers are not able to operate the Premos 5000 in the field due to weather or time constraints, the machine can be used as a stationary pellet mill with the optional mill kit attached.

The kit features a 7.5m feed table for bales to be placed on, a twine remover that removes twines from the bale, and bale shredding rotors that rip the bales up. The crop is then fed into the conveyor to be made into pellets.

The Premos 5000 is currently undergoing demonstration and trial runs across the country before it officially goes on sale, according to Krone.

“There are nine machines currently working in Europe and this is the only production machine in Australia, “said Krone assistant product manager, Nathan Thomas.

“We’re trialling the machine currently in Australian conditions, obviously with Australia being a harsh country we just need to make sure the machine will perform well. And we're quite confident that it will.”

“Going forward, there may be some updates and upgrades to the machine.”

"We're excited to be able to deliver Australian farmers a potential game-changer, especially in times when fodder is in such demand,” Pasedag said.

“The Krone Premos 5000 could deliver real benefits for Australia’s farmers over the long term, while reducing environmental impact.”

Find Krone equipment for sale