THV 800, the environmentally-friendly tomato harvester

“We are truly proud to present for the first time the THV 800 self-propelled tomato harvester, a high-capacity machine developed to meet a growing market demand. We believe that this machine is destined to become a bestseller, one of the flagship products of our segment.” These are the words with which Andrea Zanoli, R&D operations manager of MTS-Sandei, launched the new model at the Bologna event. Available from 2017, the THV 800 is a vigorous and durable harvester. It can work without interruption for 24 hours a day, every day of the harvesting season (approximately three months), and at the same time it is capable of handling the product very gently, always ensuring high-quality processing. The strong point of the latest born at MTS Sandei is the Volvo Penta TAD871VE engine, a Stage IV/Tier 4 Final eight litre diesel engine with SCR technology, which is notable not only for its compactness and for easy maintenance procedures, but also for its common rail injection system and the ability to ensure a high torque even at low rpm. On the one hand, this characteristic contributes to reducing the noise level of the engine, and on the other hand it reduces fuel consumption and polluting emissions. “For particularly delicate crops, which tomatoes clearly are, it is extremely important to use lightly impacting mechanical means”, says Giacomo Mondini, sales manager at Volvo Penta. And among its trump cards, the new MTS Sandei harvester can also count on the optical selection system designed to optimize the mechanical handling procedures (Model THV 800 automatically separates the fruits from rocks and soil, then places them inside a trailer towed by the tractor) and ensures the cleanliness of the product. Compatible with a wide variety of equipment, this self-propelled machine can be adapted to work well with strawberries, peppers and cucumbers.