How are Condor products born? In this article we tell how the TATA CALF mixer,one of our most successful products, was born.
We have been present on the world market for over 58 years and we have always participated in national and international events and fairs, giving them great importance beign aware of the potential that these fairs offer to advertise our products.
Comparison with a customer
About 15 years ago, during a fair taking place in northern Germany, we presented our own items such as steel components for milking parlors, milk pumps, steel end vessels, tanks and milk transport tanks. One of our important Russian customers shared with us his need to offer farmers with considerable numbers of calves a solution to distribute milk quickly, properly mixed and always at the same temperature.
The study of the project
Back from the fair we immediately started the study, realizing that there was actually no machine that would help the breeder in the preparation and distribution. A food that is always well mixed and at the right temperature is essential for the good nutrition and health of calves, increasing the guarantees of survival of the animal. We designed the TATA CALF completely independently, within our company, with the precious collaboration of breeder friends who have lent themselves to doing heating, mixing and distribution tests and tests. We started production after over a year of field testing, trying to optimize the product more and more, year after year.
First models and improvements
The first models were built on a painted steel base, positioned on four wheels, two of which were swivel. The control cabinet was also made of painted steel, while the tank was the only stainless steel component. Shortly after we decided to transform the base and equip it with three large wheels, thus making it decidedly more manageable and suitable for any type of terrain.
The stainless steel cabinet was a quick consequence in the evolution of the project. Given the increasingly frequent requests of large capacities over 150 liters, a special and specific two-speed electric drive gear motor has been developed, together with an Italian company specialized in the production of motors, obviously equipped with a rescue brake. So we started producing the first TATA CALF mixers equipped with an electric traction motor.
Demands have considerably increased, and this has led us to the study of an electronic control unit, designed specifically to be dedicated to the TATA CALF mixer. The electronic project was developed with one of our Italian partners. The first version of the software handled heating, distribution, and mixing, but there are multiple upgrade versions developed later.
Large capacity mixers
We studied, together with one of our foreign customers, large capacity mixers for stables with an important number of calves, moving on to the production of mixers on wheels with a capacity over 200 liters. Producing TATA distributor mixers and heaters on wheels over 200 liters also meant expanding the choice of equipment.
You could have the TATA mixer, heater and distributor up to 700 liters, equipped with an electric drive motor. Together with our partner we have developed a new electric traction motor for large capacities, up to 700 liters, achieving great success. Condor was in fact the only company on the world market to produce dispensers, heaters and mixers of milk powder equipped with an electric traction motor.
In addition to mixers we have developed pasteurizers, heaters and distributors of fresh milk, always on wheels, with manual or electric traction, up to a capacity of 500 liters for pasteurizers. We have therefore updated the electronic board, increasing functions and adding different settings and programs for both mixers and more complex pasteurizers.
Fixed base mixers
We replaced the galvanized steel crankcase with the beautiful stainless steel base on all models, from the smallest 50lt, to the largest 1000lt. Mixers are now also built with a fixed base, with a simple drain tap or even a pipe for distribution directly into calves cages, when the number of these is important.
All components and accessories of our TATA CALF mixers and pasteurizers are built within the company and, where not possible, such as electric motors and electrical and electronic parts, are purchased from certified Italian companies. Condor ensures the constant availability of service and spare parts at its warehouse, always equipped with every component. From the first model of mixer that entered into force at the ‘’Zappaterra‘’ farm in Mantua, time has passed.
Meanwhile, the farm has purchased a beautiful distributor pasteurizer on motorized wheels with a capacity of 300 liters. Condor, always attentive to the needs and demands of the Italian and world market, is constantly developing with its products. The brand new electronic board has arrived that allows all the products that will be equipped with it to join the Agriculture 4.0 System, but we will talk about this in another article..