Special Product: Motorised Cutter (Cantas TM)

What is Motorized Cutter (Cantas ^TM )?

It is a specifically designed tool used for harvesting oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and pruning fronds. Designed for palms lower than 4.5 meter height, it employs a specially designed sickle (patented C-sickle) executed by a vibrating mechanism to perform the cutting operation mechanically. The design of ‘C-sickle' has been proven to give a higher cutting efficiency and at the same time minimizing the vibration transferred to the body of the operator. Powered by a 2-stroke petrol engine, it is equipped with a telescopic pole and a cutting head (a vibrating mechanism and a C-sickle).

Specification

• Engine
• 2-stroke petrol engine
• Power : 1.3 hp
• Max engine speed : 10500 RPM
• Working speed : 3000 – 5000 RPM
• Fuel capacity : 440 cm 3
• Maximum length : 3.6 m (telescopic)
• Total weight : 7.2 kg

Motorised cutter

Special features :

Fast cutting action

Easy to operate

Durable engine

Equipped with anti-vibration system

Working system

The machine comes with its own system for optimizing its performance and productivity. In the harvesting, a team of at least two people is formed to carry out cutting and evacuation of FFB. It is fully recommended that the cutter is only to harvest and the carrier does other operations such as arranging and staking fronds, collecting and transporting FFB; and collecting loose fruits. Normally he needs two helpers.

Cantas has been tested and used by commercial plantations both in peninsular and Sabah/Sarawak. To date more than 90 units are being used in plantation agencies such as BSSB, Golden Hope, FELCRA, EPA, Felda, Sime Darby, LKPP, Sabahmas and individual smallholders. In Boonrich Estate Lahad Datu (the pioneer of Cantas user), Cantas has been used for more than 1500 hours with more than 75000 FFB (> 1000 tonne) harvested.




Table below gives some figures of one successful estate using Cantas before and after using at Tereh Selatan Estate (EPA), Kluang, Johor .

	Manual	Cantas	Diff
Total harvester (cutter + helper)	16	8	- 8
Land : labour (ha)	1 : 18	1 : 37	+ 1 : 19
Average productivity (tonne/team)	4 : 19	11 : 60	+ 7.41
Harvesting cost (RM/tonne)	RM33	RM20	- RM13.00
(Note: 626 tonne FFB/month for 292 ha)

The results proved that using Cantas cut total workers by half, land to labour ratio was doubled, productivity nearly tripled and harvesting cost reduced by 75%.

Other trial results from various estates were encouraging where the average productivity was 14tonne/day or 7tonne/man-day; or an average of 50 to 100 FFB per hour (cut only). Depending on cropping level and land topography, the team could cover 5 to 10 hectares per day. Fuel consumption was recorded at 1.0 liters per day. The productivity achieved was very much depending on the crop yield and estates topography. However the type of t errain or topography of an estate does not restrict its usage as It can be used in all-terrain conditions such as flat, undulating, hilly slope or in peat areas.

Cantas is proven very effective, fast and helps increase harvesting productivity, thereby enabling workers to get more income, and the estates to get extra productivity besides reducing production cost due to significant labour reduction. Using Cantas a harvester can get RM2200 per month (Productivity: 200tonne/month @ 8tonne/man-day, payment rate RM1/tonne).

Impact to workers

• Reduce manual energy
• Increase operational area
• Improve productivity
• Increase income
• Impact to estates
• Improve productivity
• Reduce cost
• Reduce labour requirement
• Reduce social problem due to reduction of foreign workers

Impact to the country

• Reduce foreign labour
• Reduce social problem due to reduction of foreign labours
• Reduce money draining out to other country

From the macro aspect, considering total planted area in Malaysia approaching 4.30 million hectares in 2005, and assuming only 10% of this total area is using cantas , a total of 60,000 workforce could be reduced accounting for cost savings as much as R0.50 billion draining out of country by foreign workers.

Patent

The technology was patented in seven countries, i.e . Malaysia, Thailand, Colombia, Costa Rica, Philippine, Brazil and Thailand

Recognition

The technology has been recognized by Ministry of Science and Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) through the winning of three awards; viz. The Very Best Award and Gold Medal Award in Malaysian Technology Expo (MTE 2006) held at PWTC in February 2006; and a Silver Medal in ITEX 2005 at the same venue in May 2005. It also qualified for top 20 for ‘ Anugerah Inovasi Negara ” 2006.


For More Information do not hesitate to contact us

email : maarov98[at]tm.net.my