mighty MERLO

Merlo Turbo Farmer 42.7 CS 140

With many European manufacturers refining their designs over the last 30 years, the telehandler has evolved into a truly versatile machine. A good example is Merlo, a company that has been building equipment since 1964 and more specifically telehandlers since 1981. Its factory in Cuneo in Northern Italy has been dedicated to the continual improvement of these machines.

Because Merlo builds a wide range of telehandlers designed for construction through to farming and everything in between, the machines are built around a modular design. A central heavy-duty steel plate chassis forms the backbone of each machine, and then the components attached to this can be purpose selected to ensure the machine suits its end use.

Recently, we caught up with Power Farming Merlo specialist Ken Bill, who showed us around a Merlo Turbo Farmer 42.7 CS

140. Designed for use on farms, we set it up with a bucket grab and carried out some work with straw bales in a stubble field to assess how the machine performed.

ENGINE

Following on with the modular design, the engine